nEW sWING

something new is happening to me. my life.
it's like the dream of old coming to be. realising.
it's got me wishing it hastens. but i can't rush fate.
so i wait. with baited breath.
i wait and wish and think and anticipate.
she feels like infatuation fused with destiny.
soulmate fused with me.
she's slowly occupying every inch of my thoughts.
and i?
i ain't complaining.
coz its a new swing.
i've waited. with baited breath.
for maybe too long. time to sing.
bring her me and my egocentric self. fades.
start a book whose chapters will erase.
the old.

w2797

Bigger Than Hiphop

Ever met someone you felt you could endlessly derive inspiration, wisdom and knowledge from? I met three this past weekend. That’s what my Saturday turned out to be at the 15^th WAPI. These three luminaries were none other than M1 of the underground supergroup Dead Prez, Umi of PoW and Mama C – Tanzania-based former Black Panther.

The blend of sharp, crisp nuggets of mind sparkers, grafitti, visual art, bhangra-fused hiphop trax, poetry and electric climax perfomance from M1 and Umi left me with just one word for my sato. Absolutelyawesomesmackingincredible!

Am not a sucker for celebs or larger-than-life personalities but for me, right from the onset of knowing one of the Dead Prez would be in Nairobi, i had an almost zealous urge to see them. Besides that i’ve always attended WAPI and so we would be on the same venue anyway, i yearned to engage one-on-one with one of the realest MCs in hiphop today. I realized that dream and more. I discovered that realness beyond my expectations.

At the press brief, M1 and Umi spat out what could easily have been the anthem for this WAPI’s theme – Detox. They churned out fact and wisdom, history and inspiration for a good 30 minutes. If anyone of us in that room left the same, that would be a great shame. I came to realise from the straightup attitude of these MCs what i’ve always hoped this whole music shabang would one day be. Bigger than Hiphop. Bigger than the blingblings, bigger than the môet, bigger than the platinum grills or the gold-rimmed rides. Surely, it had to be bigger than these self-centered facets.

It is.

It’s about building and lasting relationships with ourselves. It’s bigger than hiphop. It’s about rebuilding from the disadvantaged shackles of our history. It’s bigger than hiphop. It’s about learning from our mistakes, excesses and exercising our talents with boldnes . It’s bigger than hiphop. It’s about galvanising our resources to face the great future waiting to embace us. It’s bigger than hiphop. It’s about recognising our inner strength, cultivating it in ourselves and our kids from when they pronounce “mama” to release it in its grandest form once it climaxes. It’s bigger than hiphop. It’s about celebrating our heritage, our uniqueness, our bonds, our lives with others not restrained by the brainwashing machinery of what the “Haves” would want us to remain in.

Something about these lessons resonated so much with me that it was perhaps not surprising that that morning i came along with a piece i did dedicated to Dead Prez – Detoxikation of the Mind. I gave this piece to M1 and he requested i sign it for him. Such humbleness! And he autographed my copy too! That felt great, it affirmed that this man genuinely taught and preached water. Listening to him was to realize that his music was truly Bigger than Hiphop!

And the images from Sato! Enjoy!!!

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On other news, isn’t this life but a fleeting past-time? The irony hit me like an iron anvil on top of my head – Colin McRae dying in a helicopter crash! Damn and we still dispute the decree of the Almighty.

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Romance for Dummies 1

Sometime back I thought it would probably be a good idea to write a book (a manual really) to help people like myself survive through romance. It was an idea borne out of necessity. Dates were like water in a desert and when I thought I landed one, it turned out to be a really large gaping mirage. And because Romance as a word is over-romanticized, it makes getting into it a very daunting task. Trust me.

So rule number one. De-romanticize romance. How do you do that? Well, you see all those lovey-dovey messages in your phone. Don’t ever use them as hook-up lines. Just walk up straight and say “My number is..”. You may get a new number back or a very heavy slap. Either way, your cheeks will get some action. Those little red candles sitting pretty at your place, waiting for that “perfect” nice dinner that will never be, thrash them far far away. And call the rubbish collector to come for the bin. Babyface songs? Listen only when she’s interested. And if she feigns even a faint interest, cram the whole Lyricsforyou.com page. Otherwise, put Westside Connection’s “Westward”.

Once you get the hang of it, go on and eradicate every little component that suggests “romance-according-to-Desperate-Housewives-Ruby-and-other-Soaps”. These sitcoms are broadcast to millions of poor souls who actually believe them to be real and go out to practice what they saw the previous night. Suddenly you have millions of dumb potato-couches acting the same. Being cliché is the number one killer of a boring unromantic relationship.

So rule number two. Be different. Unrealistically unpredictable. If on the first date you said you love fish on coconut, vehemently deny it at date two! That ain’t lying; it’s slightly bending the predictability curve. Never ever be caught with the same lie twice. To make it easier, keep a Little Book of Excuses. Tick as used. The more spontaneous you are the better. That applies to positions too. Debating positions I mean.

Rule number three is simple. Learn all the basic facts about the other person. Number of siblings, how many sisters, brothers, mums and fathers, toes on right foot. Favourite colour, worst ever experience, thing that angers them the most (to be used to your advantage) etc. There’s something exciting about knowing that someone else knows something about you. I’ve never understood what that was all about, but since it works, hey! Keep a track of all these in a Little Book of Facts & Figures. The Figures will have things like ideal waist size, real waist size, ideal weight, actual weight, ideal age, actual age, shoe size etc).. Mostly use the ideal figures. Drop them like gems in conversations, wisely and sparingly. The opposite although true, may be disastrous to future relationship prospects. Say something along the lines, “Darling, that model doesn’t compare to your figure 8” although she may be an oversized 37. Again, this is not lying its only slightly stretching the international waist size standards.