LEIMERT PARK AFTER DARK OR ROUNDS AND SQUARESWhat do you get when you combine a round man, a few round drums, round-robin promotion, and Leimert Park after dark? The answer is "Revolutionary Minded" poetry.
Revolutionary Minded is a brand spanking new poetry venue in Leimert Park hosted by Babu and housed at the former 5th Street Dick's. The joint made its official debut on Monday, September 10th, and if a weekly show can be judged by its debut, this one is going to be red hot.
The house was packed with poets, spoken word artists, and musicians. The mic was open, the sage was burning, the food was cooking, and cool beats were playing in the background. Yawo, Ron, and Ed on drums and Artus Mansoir on guitar (no, this rhyme was not intended!) provided some smooth accompaniment while the poets followed each other on stage to raise the temperature higher and higher. It all started with two poems by Jackie Big, followed by the gracious host Babu and his quasi-Shakespearian poem "To B or Not To B." Then, Kenny B. got the ladies' attention with his ode to a Black woman and another very mellow love poem. Rochelle "Charm"-ed us with her "Hearing Confusion," and Thea got everybody's attention with two powerhouse poems about God, gratefulness, and manifesting one's own strength. Rowinism showed himself "From the Inside Out" and confessed that "sometimes life is just too hazy," and LitRave's own Jelena (yes, that's me!) followed. Then, Shawnette stepped to the mic, followed by Bridget Gray ("High Yellow School") who talked about her rare form of amnesia ("I have a rare form of fatal amnesia, for I have forgotten how to breathe..."). The host of "Inner Verse," Yawo, talked about "Well, well, well..." what else but "Change." Vanessa read a few entries from her journal and decided to "Jump Today." Gimel admitted to "feeling incomplete" and brought the house down talking about his "Reflections" over a cool Afro beat. Nafeesa was next, then Gina Nicole, followed by Dr. Flow. Then, they brought Sekou to the stage. He dedicated his rhymes "to brothas who don't blast everybody" and got the ladies positively swooning. Babu then declared that "Round Is Good, Square Is Bad..." and nobody complained, 'cause they liked the sound of the round drums, and the roundabout way poets got onto the mic, and the food served from the round Kweny's kitchen. Babu was followed by Love Child, Ghasai (sorry, brother, if I misspelled your name!), C-Bone Jones, and Sesi Ras. Then, Artus Mansoir sang a marvellous "...Life is an amusement park, so come inside..." and talked about "Thinker's Brain." A man called Otherwise came up to the mic to rap, but forgot his lines and proceeded to freestyle about freestyle and positively bring the house down.
Most LA poetry "icons" were in the house (Alice The Poet, Tovi Khali, Gina Loring, Poetri the Poet...) and getting ready to speak. Still, the early morning hours were rolling around pretty quickly, and your humble reporter had to leave. Chantee's song "You can never tell what's on man's mind" rang in the air, drum beat was spilling down the street, and half-moon was peering through the clouds. A picture perfect night in Leimert Park after dark! So - as Babu would say - next time, be there or be SQUARE!
Upcoming feature poets are Tovi Khali on September 17th, C-Bone Jones on September 24th, and Bridget Gray on October 1st. Be there or... ya know!
Revolutionary Minded Poetry
Mondays 9:00 (closer to 10:00) PM to 1:00 AM
3335 W. 43rd Place Leimert Park
(former 5th Street Dick's, between Vision Theatre and Project Blowed)
Lingering poetically in Leimert Park and raving for LitRave,
Jelena aka Helen the Bashful Dragon
No comments:
Post a Comment