Easy Like Sunday Morning

Nothing could have prepared me for the abrupt transition to life on campus this semester. 5 courses, including three 3-hour seminars are helping me understand that I've never really been academically challenged until last week. With hours upon hours of studying a day, random meetings, impersonal Americans, and über-cold weather, it's sometimes difficult to get a piece of mind in the City of Brotherly Love. That's when I have to provide my own escapes...

**Fade to Mount Vernon Hospital Parking lot, circa early 2000's**

Not exactly everyone's idea of a dream vacation getaway, right? Well, speak for yourself. See, although I grew up with both parents and a sister, members of the household went their separate ways on Sunday. While my Mom and sister visited New Rochelle's Holy Family Catholic Church and honored my mother's tradition, Dad and I were regulars at Mount Vernon's Grace Baptist Church, home to Westchester's largest black congregation. (I'm about to bring it home, ya'll. Stay with me.)

As a physician at Mount Vernon hospital (located about 4 blocks from our church sanctuary) my father works 7 days a week and usually makes his rounds after church around noon. Once I was old enough, he'd let me stay in the car by myself and wait from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on the needs of his patients that Sunday. Normally, this would be frustrating and tedious for a self-absorbed teenager bred in the "me" generation of instant gratification. In my case, however, I could always count on Hal Jackson & company to wait in the car with me week after week.

Every Sunday afternoon, "Hal Jackson's Sunday Classics" would keep me company in Dad's Jeep while I perused the latest church bulletin, still clad in suit and tie. The show's theme song, Miles Davis' take on "Someday My Prince Will Come," came to sound like a letter from home, as I was greeting by the familiar tune at the opening of the show each Sunday at noon. Jackson, who plays the essential rhythm & blues, jazz, and soul records from across the decades, became an anonymous friend of sorts, and I'll always look back fondly on those Sunday afternoons.

During my listening sessions, I also had my weekly post-church brunches to look forward to, a rare moment when my Dad and I would get to catch up one-on-one, break bread and reflect on the sermon. Brunch was usually the next stop after the hospital, and this special few-hour stretch most Sundays was often the highlight of my week. Even since I've left home for college, the routine often continues when I come home for break. After hearing a familiar tune on my iPod the other day, I've been revisiting those Sunday afternoons that became such a formative stage of my musical experience and education. Below is a sample playlist* of a few tracks you're likely to hear if you tune into 107.5, WBLS on Sundays from 12-4. Here's to you, Mr. Jackson.




Funny, it doesn't feel that cold anymore.


*You can stream 30 second clips on the playlist above, however if you sign up for a free imeem account (which I highly recommend) you can play them in their entirety once you log in.

Hip-Hop and Housing

The Birthplace of Hip-Hop
On August 11, 1973, in the first floor recreation room of 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, hip hop was born. It was on that day that DJ Kool Herc, known as the founder of hip hop, and his sister threw the first hip hop house party. Scholars, musicians, and the media widely recognize 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, aka General Sedgwick House, in the Bronx borough of New York City, as the birthplace of hip hop, a uniquely American musical genre and culture that has taken over the world.

In recognition of its important place in American history, in July of 2007, 1520 Sedgwick was declared eligible to be listed as a state and federal landmark. Congressman Serrano of the Bronx honored Sedgwick and Kool Herc in the Congressional record.

Now 1520 Sedgwick is at risk of converting to market-rate housing!
1520 Sedgwick was built in 1969 under a state program to provide quality affordable housing for New Yorkers. This affordable housing helped revitalize the Bronx and made it possible for working families like DJ Kool Herc's to thrive and create the communities that gave rise to hip-hop.

The owner of 1520 Sedgwick plans to remove the building from this affordability program by February 2008! The owner of Sedgwick intends to sell the building to a private equity investor who has already taken several buildings out of the affordability program in the Bronx.

As gentrification sweeps through New York City, the low and moderate income families who have lived in these communities for decades are being pushed out.

You can help!
The tenants of 1520 Sedgwick refuse to be swept aside! They are organizing to preserve their building and they need your help. The 1520 Sedgwick Tenant Association has been working with the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) and Tenants & Neighbors to preserve their buildings and help them convert 1520 Sedgwick into a permanently affordable, limited-equity cooperative.

UHAB has entered into negotiations with the companies who control 1520 Sedgwick and they have offered to sell the building to UHAB and the tenants. Using money from the State and City of New York and your contributions, we hope to reach a fair purchase price and save 1520
Sedgwick as affordable for the next generations of New Yorkers!

-Save1520.org


As an Urban Studies major and lover/student of hip-hop, this definitely strikes a chord with me. Spread the word, and make a contribution if you can. Every bit counts.

For more info, check out the Save 1520 campaign's site.

"Ice Cold!!" (c) Andre 3000

It's 25 degrees. I am NOT used to this! Not only am I rocking a scarf, hats, gloves, a Northface, etc., but it actually snowed out here yesterday. This may not sound dramatic, but this is after a semester of straight flip-flops and shorts, people.

Anyway, the depressing weather's starting to take it's toll, and I'm doing my best to hang in there. Despite the force of Mother Nature, I guess there are some ways to cope... I present exhibit A:



I think I'm just a lil' bit warmer now.

Return to Illadelph

Back on campus, ya'll. For the most part, it looks like Philly's in the same shape that I left in, but there's definitely a little adjusting I'll have to do. Classes start Wednesday, so I have a hot minute to decompress before getting immersed in Penndom.



Oh yea, somehow I've forgotten to post a mix I put together last month. It's a blend of a bunch of under-the-radar tracks I had in heavy rotation last year. Download, enjoy, and feel free to pass it on.


P.S.
The tracklisting's posted on my myspace page.

Next stop, West Philly.

It's been about three weeks back in New Rochelle, and like it or not, winter break is winding down. I've been in talks with my bandmates from Like Mindz ("Penn's ONLY and HOTTEST hip-hop band") and it looks as if we're back in business this semester. MC Legion's graduation along with Dan "the Bass Man" Caroff's medical school commitments may mean a change in the lineup, but the show MUST go on, ya'll. It looks like our boy John Daise from Haverford College will be joining us to fill out the bottom, and Kris, Spanky, Neez, and myself are back in full effect. For those unfamiliar, here's your chance to meet the fam:



See ya'll in Philly!

Back In Babylon.

I'm home. There are way too many thoughts to post now, but suffice to say the culture shock is a lot more difficult this time around. For now, let's reflect.



As always, thoughts and feedback are welcome.

P.S.
I will be continuing this blog now that I'm back in the states, so feel free to check in from time to time on the latest updates with Vocab Productions.

It Takes a Village

I’ve been mentally preparing myself for my 10/16 departure for a while, but it’s barely sinking in. They’re telling me the eastern seaboard of the U.S. has received heavy snow lately, and just yesterday my dad said he woke up to 23°F weather! I haven’t worn long sleeves since March, so I’m having trouble visualizing what the New York climate really has in store for me. But enough about that.

This past weekend, I took my second trip back to the Volta Region, the area on the Ghana’s Eastern border. I heard that my friend from the Int’l Hostel was headed there with some friends, so the night before our departure I accepted his invite to join them. Since it’s exam period, the people I usually travel with were unable to join us, and I ended up going with a group of about eight people from another exchange program. For those of you who have kept up with my posts, you may remember Dagbe, the cultural center near the Togo border where I took some amazing drumming and dance classes. Well, since “my money be small small” (I’m broke) I decided I’d head back up with the crew, but opted to stay in an neighboring village for free instead of the center’s pricey guest accommodations. That decision turned out to be one of best calls I’ve made all semester, and my friend James was more than happy to accommodate. James is one of the center’s many drumming instructors, and after I met him during my first round of classes he said I would always be welcome to stay in his home. After a pleasantly uneventful 3 hour ride in a tro-tro (mid-sized van/gypsy cab), I split from the rest of the group and settled into my quarters in the village.

Although I’ve studied Asante Twi and can get by with my basic skills, my rudimentary abilities were useless during my trip. While it’s the most widely spoken non-English language in Ghana (about 44% of Ghanaians claim it as their first language), it’s only one of about 40 of the nation’s languages. The Volta Region is home to the Ewe, and these people speak a language of the same name. If any villagers spoke a second language, it was usually French (due to the proximity of the Francophone Togo). This made for an especially interesting experience, as only some of the educated children and the Dagbe instructors spoke any English. Despite the language barrier, many of the children remembered me from my previous trip. As I walked around the village after unpacking, I was greeted with a few excited shouts of “Kwame!!” from the friends I made some weeks back. Despite limited communication, I was received quite warmly by my extended family in the village and oftentimes the kids were able to translate for me.

The three days and two nights I spend in the village consisted of some of the most memorable, emotional, puzzling, and rewarding experiences I’ve had in Ghana. There are many vivid snapshots and moments frozen in my mind that I’m sure these memories are going to stay with me for long time…

The exuberant welcome bear hug from Selorm. The impromptu barefoot, bare-chested race through cassava fields with Felix. The amazing jog on the beach that culminated in a dive into the refreshing Atlantic. A dizzying motorbike ride through the darkness with two companions. The hollowed out shell I used to draw bathwater from the well. The countless coconuts that provided perpetual refreshment during the hot days. The calluses on my fingers from playing the Gatingo, Sogo, Kitee and Master Drums with my brothers. I don’t even mind the contaminated stew that left me out of commission for the last 24 hours.

There’s no way I can do justice to the experience through text, let alone verbal expression.