Interview with a Song Bird: Jamila Anderson aka Calliope Muse

If all you beautiful readers out there haven't yet noticed, I have some of the most amazing friends in the world. Comedians, actors, drag artists, poets, writers of all genres, organizers, lovers (a couple of haters...but I love them too), and musicians. The interview that I am publishing today is with another Minnesota ex-pat living in New York City (we have our own social group in NYC called Minne-Apple in the Big Apple...kookers!). Jamila Andersono aka Calliope Muse is a fierce actor, musician, and friend. Check out her new single, Kryptonite on iTunes! And thank you Jamila for this awesome interview. WERQ!!!!!

1. I met your gorgeous self probably seven or eight years ago in Minneapolis. At the time, you had the Minneapolis Theater scene by the throat. Now adays, you seem to be focusing more on music than theater. Why the change?

YOU'RE GORGEOUS! Thanks for the props! I have to say I was pretty happy with my acting career and didn't really plan to change. I've always been a “singer” but I certainly had no aspirations to be in the music biz at the time. Then an opportunity was presented to me that seemed like a real shot so I switched gears. I ain't no dummy – even though I thought I had my plans the Universe gave me the chance to do something on another level so I knew I had to go for it. I happened to catch the eye of a producer while waiting for a Minneapolis city bus one day and eventually he and I had crossed paths again and he revealed that he was a producer with his own label and studio and had earned a Grammy as a musician, etc... I don't want to go to far into this because it turned out to be kind of sour for me in the end. But I managed to have a short career as a Rock singer with my own band and did some minor touring, local gigs, oddly to NASCAR races and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Eventually my single charted Billboard's Hot 100 chart for 21 consecutive weeks and peaked at #15. So despite the fact that the whole thing crashed and burned, I still have that. I fearfully went back to acting and was really touched by how well received I was upon my return. Rohan Preston even wrote a cool article about it in the Star Tribune. After the drama with the music, I was happy to try and forget about it and really wanted to move on and get back to my acting roots. But ha ha, once again, when we think we know the grand plan for our lives... Much to my surprise, music fell in my lap again about 2 years later when I got a wild hair up my ass and moved to New York. I hope I don't sound arrogant saying that it just fell into my lap – it's just that it was truly not on my radar in either situation. I came to New York with little planned just looking to live in a place I always wanted to be and possibly up my acting game but I met an amazing person who, after swapping stories days after we met, turned out to be a Grammy-nominated producer and former Hip Hop star. NICE. Yes, I sang rock music but that was the more unfamiliar lane... I grew up on Soul, R&B and Hip Hop so I was excited at the shot of sing over his tracks. Eventually, he let me hear some of his stuff and I was more than SOLD. I wanted in!! But I knew it wasn't going to be just that easy. So I made a bootleg demo on my laptop with one of his beats and emailed it to him. After waiting for an excruciating week and creating various ways to ask if he'd listened to it yet, he finally responded “I couldn't stop playing it. I played it over and over.” We knew we had made some dope shit together. I demoed another and another... but the first demo lit the fire. That was how my current single came about. He also named me 'Muse' because he felt inspired by what I was creating with his beats and wanted to create even more, which he would, when I was around. And I feel equally as inspired by him so it is a match made in heaven. Now, don't get me wrong, just because I didn't actively seek this career, I still love it. I'm hungry for it and equally as dedicated to it as I am my acting. I think it was something I ran from for a long time, being the daughter of a singer/musician. Sometimes the Universe has to show you who you are supposed to be; sometimes we get in our own way thinking we know what we are supposed to do but as an artist you must be open to using your gifts wherever and wherever they are called upon. That being said, I used my gift to write a song about my hoo-ha. Let's discuss a bit later.

2. You just dropped a new single, Kryptonite, under the name of Calliope Muse featuring Chedda Bang. Tell me about how you decide to use the stage name Calliope Muse.

About the name, I touched on it a little bit in that previous question/answer... I was named Muse because of the effect I have on my producer, artistically. I like to be creative, share ideas and collaborate and think outside of the box so I think that can get people's creative juices flowing too. I had heard something like that before and just laughed it off and took it as harmless flirtation but this time I saw I really did have a positive effect on other musicians/artists whenever I was in the studio (not to toot my own horn, this is what I was TOLD – and I'm not sure that is the case with acting, ha ha). But we all know there is a huge band named Muse so I had to find a twist to the name so I could keep the name that meant something to me and not get sued. I did some reading about the Greek Muses and learned about Calliope, who is the wisest and eldest of the Muses and carried a writing tablet and whatnot. I knew that was me. So hence, Calliope Muse. I also changed my name when I had the Rock band to “J”- no one called me by my name. The reason I change my name is because I feel that when I'm on stage as a singer I am another person in a way. Calliope Muse has a character of her own and taking on that personality is important to me and allows me to see the full vision for my music. Calliope is a side of me, not a made up character... In other words, Calliope says and does things the regular me wouldn't get away with.... Calliope is my more confident, street smart side. She has stories of her own to tell.

3. The song Kryptonite is the SHIT (and available via iTunes for $.99). In the song, you own the power of your sexuality (and let me tell you I know more than one woman back home that has been hoping and praying that you will take a dip into the coochie pool)....talk to me about working as a female hip-hop artist, that is a fierce feminist, in a musical genre where the commercial side of the genre (versus some of the independent and amazing political hip hop artists) that is not known for its feminist politics or its valuation of women.

First, THANK YOU. I have to side with the gay men on the topic of coochie, so my apologies ladies, it's not going to happen but I am very flattered nonetheless (and am rather curious about who is on this list!) I should probably leave some mystique for PR purposes but I'm not really about bullshitting. Much love and respect though, always. Moving on. Yes, Kryptonite is my retort to all of those ego-maniacal men who feel that their penis is so amazing it should be wearing a cape - I playfully call him “Captain Save-a-Hoe”. You know, the guy who thinks he's gonna whip you into submission with his awesome cock? Yeah. This is to that guy. “You think you're Superman? Not tonight. You heard 'em right, they call me Kryptonite.” The truth is, after some noteworthy feedback, it turns out I have some “skills” of my own and I got sick of hearing all that talk when I was the one coming out on top – pun intended. I know that isn't exactly “meaningful” in the literal sense but I believe that a lot of women are taught to be submissive, to “take it” in many areas of life. Sex is very related to power. For obviously sexual reasons, but also for self-esteem, self-empowerment reasons I believe it is important for a woman to feel sensually and sexually powerful. She may CHOOSE to play the submissive roll but she owns her body and her choices and her libido. Does that make me a feminist? I don't know. I am the kind of woman who enjoys chivalry but I ain't no punk, no what I mean? I love a gentleman but I am very capable. You'll learn a lot about how I feel as a woman when my full album is released. I go in on some subjects that will have you testifyin'... Which maybe is a good segue into the next part of your question. I don't know if I can define myself as a Hip-Hop artist by way of my part because I don't consider myself a rapper by any means. That shit is hard. But I do kind of blur the line a little (when you hear Kryptonite you'll get it) and I have authentic Hip-Hop tracks so my music will be played on Hip-Hop stations. But I really do care that people know I don't call myself a rapper. The whole point of who Calliope Muse is is to speak for a woman that I feel isn't really being represented in main stream Hip-Hop. I do not see myself in any of these women whose records get played 1000 times a day on every station. I buy my purse from the same place I buy my floor cleaner and I really do not care for wearing high heels, even though I can and will rock those bitches. But like, where is the regular but still super fly chick? She's down-to-earth but not “neo-soul”. She's strong and sexy but not raunchy. She is feminine but looks amazing in jeans, a t-shirt and some Chucks. Everyone is so over-the-top and caricatured right now - who can keep up with that? How is that real and how does anyone really relate? So my music and style is about that chick who is your trusted friend, the cool big sister – she is real, the girl in your hood but she still shines like a star and holds her own in the world whether she's got a dollar in her pocket or not.

4. You are beloved by queer men and you have spoken proudly, to me, of the acceptance you have seen from your producers towards queer folks...talk to me a bit about your work with the queer community...and a bit about why you are writing a song, as you told me, for your gays.

I work with men who are grown-ups, nawmean? They have gay associates/friends/family members. They are mature ethical men and respect that people are who they are and don't really give a shit who you're sleeping with. I won't say we have a rainbow flag hanging in the studio, per se, but if you are respectful of them, they are respectful of you, no matter who you are or what your background is. We do the music because we love it and if you come to us with a positive attitude and on good terms then that's all that matters - it's all about the music and nothing else. I, however, do love me some gays! I worked a lot with a theatre in Minneapolis (Pillsbury House Theatre) that addressed GLBT concerns and lifestyles in an awesome way and I began to not only become educated but formed some real friendships that allowed me to have some meaningful insight about the queer community. My love comes from recognizing the strength and courage it takes to be Out in this shitty world that does nothing but judge and persecute you if you are an “other”. I am an other - a Black woman, more specifically bi-racial so I can relate to that “we're not sure what you are but you're not like us” dynamic. I have Lupus so I have that stigma to work around as well. And you know, my mama just raised me right. Equal rights. So at any given time you may find me going off on someone in defense of the gay community. Sense of humor aside, I will check someone using hate speech in a hot minute. I take up for my friends. And let's face it, some of the most colorful, audacious humans in the world are the gays so how can you not love them! Hence my song. It's too sassy for hetero pants, if you know what I mean, so I must write it for my sassy gays – specifically the sassy gays since all gays are not the same, lesson number one. I don't wanna spill the beans but one of the lines is “Bitch, you're fierce. She ain't as cute as you.” It's going to be too fun.


5. First theater, now music, what's next in the life of Jamila Anderson aka Calliope Muse?

I am really just getting started with my career as Calliope Muse. The single is out on iTunes but we are getting a lot together as we speak so we can officially drop it. We will be shooting my music video in the next month or so, I am really excited about that. And I am collaborating in the studio with some major Hip Hop talents, like ChipFu of the Fu Schnikens who has been a blast to work with. (Some other names I can't leak yet but we will let you know if you stay plugged in to me...) So I have my work cut out for me for sure. We are releasing “Kryptonite” first on the FantoMusic Audiodrome album, which is a showcase of my producer Fantom's producing skills and the artists in our crew. This album is bananas, you'll love every track. Then we will later release my full album – total crack rock. But that is just the beginning... I am still an actor so that is always in my bag of tricks. You just never know where I'll pop up!

6. Thank you for spending some time with me! Where can folks find more information about you and your work/performances/releases?

I am on the usual social networking sites – facebook.com/calliopemusemusic and Twitter @TheRealCMuse. For a free listen to Kryptonite you can go to reverbnation.com/calliopemuse or buy it for $.99 on iTunes. Just stay tuned in with me and FantoMusic Audiodrome and we will announce important dates as they come. We really need that underground support right now because we believe this music is about the people and for the people and not the red-taped and industry bullshit. So check it out, let me know what you think.

Brandon, most patient friend of mine. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND SPACE ON YOUR DOPE BLOG!!! Love.

Calliope Muse is a real woman’s storyteller – telling tales of her life’s passions in the form of love and sexuality, frustration and anger. She fills the gap between the polished, glam R&B crooner and the over-the-top, ultra-raunchy rapstress by way of her identifiable “every-woman” style of lyrics and honest, lusty, heart-felt vocals. With Grammy-nominated, Staten Island Hip-Hop legend, FANTOM producing and supplying the dopest authentic hip-hop tracks, her music goes beyond thinking; it is about feeling and is a much-needed remedy to the redundant over-played and over-used themes and sounds of Hip-Hop and R&B of the current market. Calliope Muse is a true artist and a triple threat: Singer, Writer and Actress. She is awarded, versatile and experienced in the business of music – all while being fresh, innovative and relevant. Her latest single, “Kryptonite” (featured on the “Takers” Official Motion Picture Mixtape) will be officially releasing in the Spring of 2011 on the FANTOMUSIC AUDIODROME Album, with a self-titled debut solo album releasing soon after.

Calliope Muse – “You want this. You need this.”

That's SO Gay or Christina Aguilera is My Gaybee Mama

Oh my God(dess). I am listening to Christina Aguilera's new song "Bobblehead." Excuse me while I declare this song to be, and I quote the fierce Shante Paradigm Smalls, the muthafuckin' "new catty homo jam of the summer."

Shante ain't NEVER lied. And that girl is writing her PhD on homo hop. The girl knows queer jams.

Listening to this song reminds me of all the beauty of being a big old Fagatron.

We can take a frickin' line from Charlie Brown, set it to a beat, have a pint size diva sing some lyrics and turn that shit into a hit!

Can I get an amen from the choir?

I love homosexuality, bisexuality, lesbionics, transfabulosity aka QUEER RULES!

Not going to lie. We are the muses of every generation.

Behind every King there is a Queen and behind every Queen there is a circuit boy in cooty cutters flagging and eating homemade hummus from the B-Girl Lesbian DJ.

WERQ!

There is a reason we are called gay y'all, cuz we ARE of which happiness is made. Funny, sassy, artistic, loving, sensual, sexual, and messy. THAT my friends is living...and, excuse my francois, but FUCK THE HRC and anyone else that wants to turn us into homodrones or heteroclones that look, sound, smell, and bore like everyone else.

Paint me hot pink and call me Magenta...cuz if I started a hard core cholo gang it would be called QUEER FOR LIFE.

I think I am going to get that tattooed in a circle around my asshole.

Cum out cum out wherever you are.

Oh wait...I forgot the point of this blog....BOBBLE HEADS by Christina Aguilera is the shit.

Buy her new album Bionic.

I have spoken.

The Play Is the Thing: An Interview with Mark Snyder

One of the greatest compliments I have been paid in the last few months has been the gift of being approached by amazing local artists that are interested in sharing their work with me and with my readers. From Charlie Vazquez to Yamaneika Saunders, I have been tickled to interview some amazing human beings that are doing so much, through their individual artistic forms, to bring a new, deeper, and broader understanding of life to the world.

My editor at Summerfolk Press once told me that artists take experiences outside of time and bring them into a temporal state in order to help those around us see everyday things in a different way, and Mark Snyder, is doing that through his play Lila Cante. I plan on seeing this play myself this weekend, but I had the opportunity to interview this gifted man for My Feet Only Walk Forward.

I haven't yet had the honor of meeting Mr. Snyder in person, though we have many connections. Plus, he loves Minneapolis, which makes me adore him without even having met him.

It also doesn't hurt that he is scrumptiously adorable.

Here's my interview with Mark. Do yourself a favor, and go and check out his play.


Tell me about Lila Cante, what is the story about?

LILA CANTE is a dark and sexy play about two siblings - both trying to pursue their artistic inclinations - who must come together and battle over their elusive mother’s legacy with the corporate music industry. It is also a funny and dangerous play about loneliness and forging new connections in spite of ourselves. I think our production burns from a white-hot center of love and compassion.

Who is Lila Cante, and why this play important at this particular moment?

Lila Cante is a reclusive singer-songwriter who produced one masterpiece solo album in the pre-grunge early 1990s, just before bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam and Liz Phair were entering the mainstream media. She releases one album of ten songs, followed by almost twenty years of silence (though she raises her two kids while touring the country and performing). The play is as much about how her choices and behaviors have impacted her children as it is about what they will do about her.

The play examines the backlash of the relationship between art and commerce, and about how those two entities are now trying to feed on each other in order to survive. It’s a play that uses modern culture (blogs, file-sharing, downloads, etc) as forms of communication. It is interesting, because I first started working on this play in 2001, and now the music industry’s total descent into irrelevance has really been the play’s blessing! It’s almost like the play caught up with the rest of the world and is ready to engage with it.

As a queer playwright, how does your sexuality influence what you bring to the stage?

I grapple with the label game all the time, because I don’t really appreciate being ghettoized, just like everyone else. I think my queerness certainly provides a filter through which I experience the world and tell the stories I want to tell. Without being conscious of it, queer is a given circumstance. As a writer, being more emphatic and less black-and-white about human nature and our motivations to do good and bad deeds is directly-connected to my sexuality and the world I inhabit in my plays. I work very hard to remain open and available to all kinds of experiences, without judgment, and then processing them later - via the plays.

What is it you hope to achieve through your production?

At Hand Theatre approached me about doing a staged reading and subsequent production late last winter; I’ve been working on new drafts and rewrites up through the day of first preview (where I gave one of our actors two new lines!). I think the play is in the best possible shape, and I feel like the months of workshops and rehearsals with some fantastic and sensitive actors was instrumental in transforming LILA CANTE into its current form. Our director Sara Sahin has given the play such a vibrancy and sensitivity that I think really gives the writing its true pulse. The audiences have been quite enthusiastic and jazzed by the play - the highest compliments I receive are when people ask me if Lila’s album is still in print and if they can purchase it at their local record store!

I’ve been very wishy-washy about getting a full-length play of mine onto a New York stage for some time now; this production, with these actors, and with this company is about as good as the “debut” could get. I’m very proud of it.


If folks leave the theater with one thought, idea, or notion, what would you like it to be?

True human connection is difficult to trust and hard to sustain, but we must continue attempting it in order to stay alive.

Also, I would love for people to appreciate the world of indie rock and how hard it is to forge a living making music - perhaps they would hesitate more before they click the “free download” button on their computers.


Why playwriting? Why not write a novel or compose free verse that you can shout in Union Square?

I started writing and staging plays when I was five years old; my personality is hard-wired towards the dramatic. Just last night I saw the new revival of “The Royal Family” on Broadway and I nearly burst into tears over this family’s sheer love and the thirst for the stage. I am a creature of the theater, pure and simple. It’s my language and my instincts.

Working with a director and actors and designers also creates a tribe-mentality that I find very stimulating and inspiring. I relish nothing more than sitting down to work knowing that a bunch of other artists are waiting for the new pages so they can give them life. It helps the writing process quite a bit. You’re not so lonely as if I were writing a novel or poems. And I save my voice by sitting in a chair taking notes during a performance instead of shouting in a square!

What does the vehicle of the theater give you that other literary forms do not?

Being a playwright is the best of both worlds - I get to indulge my literary impulses while at the same time being engaged directly with the public during performance. Conversing with the director, the designers, and those marvelous actors about the play as I’m continuing to write it. Returning to the play in performance, and learning from each of the different audiences. Theater is alive and vibrant and never truly finished - because the play will be done again, in a different city with a different cast for different people. It’s ever-changing and forces you to remain in the “now” of it (to get all Eckhart Tolle on you, Brandon!).

Finally, if folks want to catch Lila Cante or find out more about the super sexy Mark Snyder, how can they do that?

For tickets to LILA CANTE (through October 18, with a just-added matinee performance on Saturday, October 17!):
https://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?EID=&showCode=LIL8&GUID

At Hand Theatre’s website is:
www.athandtheatre.com

I can be found at:
www.facebook.com/markbsnyder

Thank you, Brandon - this was fun!!

Thank you Mark, for letting me promote your work on my little corner of the web.

Beyonce Ain't Got Nuttin' On Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo

Today I heard a music most most beautiful.

Forgive me if I wax on the poetic side and get a bit dime store novelish, but damn...I had an experience today that totally blew my mind.

So, for the last three months I have been practicing Nichiren Buddhism. As I, an obvious neophyte, understand it...Nichiren Buddhism is a school of Buddhist thought that has peace and justice as core values, teaches that enlightenment can be reached in a single lifetime, that all people are welcome regardless of who they are or from whence they come, and that the essence of the law is encapsulated in the title of the Lotus Sutra, the last sutra espoused by Shakyamunia aka “The Buddha,” which is Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo means “I dedicate myself to the cosmic law of cause and effect as expressed through sound.”

And what a helluva sound it is.

Today, David and I went to gongyo (prayer service), which begins with a fast-as-lightning recitation of a portion of the Lotus Sutra. I had the words spelled out for me phonetically, and though I tried my damnedest to keep up I felt like a white boy from Connecticut dropped in the middle of a Puerto Rican family fight. It was not cute. The service continues with a constant chanting of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo...which I have down just fine. Hell, I've had that down since the first time I saw Tina Turner's biography “What's Love Got to Do with It.” I am still clapping from the scene when she beats the hell out of Ike with that boot.

My name is Tina Turner. I have 35 cents, if you give me a room, I swear I will pay you back.

Sorry...I had a Negro moment.

Anyway, so today, David and I were chanting, and the room was filled with the polyglot poly-hued Rainbow Coalition youth to elder congregation that is the Sokka Gokkai International. Black folks, white folks, Asian folks, Latin@s, queers, and Jews...I have never been to a more diverse, in all senses of the word, room.

About 10 minutes into the chanting, with a very loud and very enthusiastic Japanese girl sitting next to me...basically shouting instead of chanting (love ain't had nothing to do with that mess)...when the most intense thing happened.

The chanting, quite literally, stopped sounding like a group of folks on meth trying to shout Japanese phonetically at the top of their lungs, to an amazing and God-touched choir. In dead seriousness, I grew up in the church...and I grew up with a church choir that makes Kirk Franklin and the Family sound like Ma Jones and the Little Rascals. I have written before that I experience God through music and that my most divine experiences have come during musical experiences, and today...my prayers...my chanting...mixing with the chanting of the other folks in the room took on, truly, a symphonic choral sound.

I am not lying or exaggerating when I say there was a tremendous harmony, baritones, tenors, sopranos, altos, all mixing together...weaving together...without a director, without practice, and without prompting. I have never experienced that before during gongyo, but to experience it today was breathtaking.

The beautiful thing about Buddhism, particularly Nichiren Buddhism, is that it is a religion without a dogma that welcomes all faith paths. In order to be a Nichiren Buddhist and a member of Sokka Gokkai, I don't have to give up my love of Jesus. The fact that through worshiping the Divine in this way and the Divine as it manifests in all creatures takes nothing away from my belief in the mercy, grace, and love of Christ is a true blessing.

And the fact that I came to this understanding, through the gift of music...the only way that I have ever experienced the immediate presence of the Creator, tells me that I have found the right place and a spiritual home.

Ginuwine, Joe, Chico de Barge: Free Concert On July 26 in New York

Hey folks! My girl Shante "Paradigm" Smalls of B.Q.E. fame brought to my attention that there will be a free concert on July 26th from 3pm to 7pm on Central Park's Summer Stage featuring Chico de Barge, Joe, and Ginuwine.

I will so be there.

For more information on the series, which is presented by WBLS 35th Anniversary and Globe Star Media, click here.

Eminem Eats Ass

I saw it with my own eyes. An angel with the ass of Sascha Baron Cohen decended from heaven in the midst of the MTV music awards and landed directly in Eminem's face. After a moment of hestitation...in front of millions of viewers from around the world...Eminmen buried his face in that God's gift and shoved his tongue so far in Borat's bootie that he could taste the grit from Uzbekistan in the back of Sascha's throat.

Then...realizing that he had popped major (or minor as the case was) wood in front of his homeboys...and that Dr. Dre had gotten a visible stiffy too...Eminmen...fighting that great beast Internalized Homophobia, quickly whipped it out, jerked off, shot on Borat's back, zipped up, signaled to his body guards and split. From the initial unzip to the zip up took roughly 14 seconds.

Later that evening, in an interview with TMZ, Eminmen claimed that the entire incident was due to a wardrobe malfunction with his zipper, that he was straight as hell, and that he was very angry at Sascha Baron Cohen. He indicated they would be meeting at a private, members only club called Steamworks to have a conversation about the incident and iron things out.

Details to follow.

Fuck Eminem.

I don't give a flying fuck that he happened to get sober with the help of Elton John. Sir Elton's only interest was in getting to hold onto Eminems tight little body while he came down from his latest hit. Eminem is a homophobic biyatch who has been no friend to the queer community. I don't care if the stunt was planned. I still want to punch Eminmen in the face. The fact that it was planned means that he thinks it's ok to promote homophobia and heterosexism as a joke.

I repeat. Fuck Eminem.

I am so tired of homophobic hip hop (and reggae) artists from Kingston, Jaimaca to Jaimaca, Queens throwing shade, advocating, violence against queer folks, and then...when they realize that the music business is chock full of faggotry...make some half-assed public recant and expect us all to go back to loving their asses. Eat my ass.

It is time that we turn to supporting queer hip hop artists that are holding it down on their own. Folks like my friends Invincible and Torri Fixx. Artists that spit hype shit, make their own beats, write their own lyrics, and all without having to denigrate women, queer folks or themselves in order to make music or a dollar. How about this...nothing makes you less than a man to be afraid of other men and the feelings you have. Running away from yourself or anyone else out of undeserved fear is an act of cowardice and has no place in a principled person. Now what.

I will be bold enough to say that Eminem has had more dick in his ass than Perez Hilton. And we all know Perez is a piggy poppered up power bottom that has "Abandon all hope ye who enter here" tattoed above his brown winker and a lower intestine with a permafrost layer of rotted jizz.

Damn...I grossed myself out with that last one.

I say...God bless Sascha Baron Cohen. Mazel Tov. You are my guardian angel.

Update: My friend Thomas Leavitt told me about another kick ass queer hip hop artist by the name of Juba Kalamka...support Juba as well!

Mother Africa

I have been having an exchange on Facebook with a young queer man from Kenya. Today, I posted on my Facebook status that I know magic exists in the world. This young Kenyan wrote and said that he knows magic exists at least in Africa.

I responded that indeed it does and that when we, the lost children, were taken from our Mother's shore, when we were forced into terror and darkness, when we laid side by side in filth and fear, we carried her, our great Mother with us. When we walked again into the light, when that first nameless black person touched foot on this side of the Atlantic ocean, all of the power, the spirits, the magic, the Gods, and the ancestors of our African peoples emerged with us. Into this land, onto this land, with our blood and our labor and our great burden and tragedy we brought all of our powerful and magnificent history. We brought Songhai and the Lower Kingdom. We brought the great Arab empires of the North. We brought with us a legacy of science, math, philosophy, and literature. We brought with us a power and magic so powerful that Southern whites trembled at the thought of the Obeah woman. They sought out the cures of the Voodouin. They turned to us as healers, teachers, nurses. Even as they tried to beat the spirit out of us, strip our history from us, pull out our native tongues, and steal our drums they could not escape the power that is naturally and by birthright ours.

Our people have and continue to struggle. We are not perfect. There is no master race. But it is undeniable that this world, which once revered us, then reviled us, has been undeniable and markedly impacted by us in a way that no other people have ever done. OUr music, our language, our culture, our history, our ways of being and our ways of fighting can be found on every inhabited continent on this planet. From Asia to South America, liberation struggles base their fights on the fights fought by us. The modes of expression, particularly hip-hop, have taken this planet by storm...Aboriginal youth, Japanese teens, Dutch b-boys all draw on and embrace those things which we brought into this world.

African genocide is the ultimate Caine and Able sin. It is the original curse. It is kin slaying. We are one family. Our Mother is Africa. She watches her children no matter where the are in the world. A Mother never abandons her child.

Slammers! YOU KNOW!

So, back home in Minneapolis I have the honor of belonging to a group of kick ass friends. These friends form the core of a softball team called the Slammers. The team is crazy. The people are crazy. And you know my black ass is crazy. So that all works out pretty well. This morning I was looking at my man in the shower and I said out loud, "GOOD MORN'TING!"

Now in SlammerSpeak, which draws heavily from the vocabulary of Tyler Perry and the Color Purple, Good Morn'ting is what you say when you see a fine ass man and you just want to climb on top of them and do things to make Jesus go back into his cave. My friend Isha Mae is also the kick ass and well known queer hip hop artist Tori Fixx. A year and a half ago he released a music video called Good Mornting. If you look closely, you can see a whole lot of the back of my neck in the video (I am the guy with the silver chain on)...and once you even see my profile. I am so famous.

Anyway, I am missing Isha this morning. Check out his video Good Mornting<. TRIM SPA BABY!