Son of Jahaka & Jazzopetry
One of the few things I love more than vibing with poetically-minded people is learning new language, especially lyrically-related language. My mind tasted the word synesthesia, upon learning its meaning, with the same relish my tongue felt letting synethesia roll off of it. Synesthesia, to me, tastes very purple, in a velvety sort of fashion. (As opposed to the sound of yellow piano music, dig?)
But now I have a new word to taste: "Jazzopetry." Yeah, baby... that tastes like a tenor saxophone holding high C, and it sounds like a freshly lit cig chasing down a swig of precisely-warmed cognac. Jazzopetry is of course a purely fictional word (To avoid the possibility of having to eat another hat, I looked this one up!) which, for me, gives it added creative appeal. I make up words all the time, like poetherapy, SeptaVerse, and Theophilosophonlogy.
Nice thing about Jazzopetry is that is also comes with a link and a chance to connect with artists in nearby Buffalo. The jazzopetry.net site itself doesn't show a whole lot of recent activity, but hey! Everybody isn't as fanatical about this spoken word stuff as I am... I'm sure the Jazzopetry people will be back.
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Last night I let my son host Open Minds Over Open Mics. He did a fantastic job, especially since it was his first time acting as Emcee for any prolonged period, there were few people in attendance when he started (which can be good or bad for a 1st-timer) and my son is extremely nervous to begin with.
He did a smart thing and started out with his strongest talent, which is freestyle rhyme. My sons rips lines from the top of his dome like he has Dr. Suess in one ear, Mother Goose in the other, and Dolomite running shit in the middle. Yeah, I'm biased, but just check him out some time if you doubt me. Kid is baaad.
His humility, combined with an uncanny ability to turn nervous energy into humorous charm, won the audience for him. ("I'm a terrible host and I deserve a spanking. [His eyebrows raise invitingly toward one young lady in the audience] Any takers?") He read a lot of his father's poetry, which didn't hurt him at that venue.
His style and tempo set a whole new vibe on the Open Minds scene and Robert Ricks, who swept in with about a dozen late-teen/early 20-something people, started collecting for a prize pot to give whoever might win a "Freestyle Contest." By that time yours truly had relieved Willis III of hosting responsibilities.
I was kinda leary about the Freestyle Contest at first, because this smacked suspiciously of a battle, as in Rap Battle, and I wanted no part of that. But it also sounded a little like a Poetry Slam, which is right down my alley. So I took the bull by the horns, so to speak, and rolled with it. Robert immediately declared I would be ineligible to compete (he's heard me freestyle before) but he was going to allow Willis III compete. I nixed that idea and my son understood. However, I did ask him to set the standard by dropping the first improv, and he ripped it in stellar fashion.
A young man named Durell spit the hottest flow and therefore took the pot. All the young ladies followed him out, perhaps to McDonald's to help him spend his newly-acquired $30. I was almost at a loss for words to tell my son how proud I am of him. But I think he knows... We plan to do the contest style thing on a weeky basis, and it I think it will be a popular draw.
Either way, I hope my son stays active and gives serious thought to the idea of taking over at Monroe Avenue, or one of the other venues. He's a talented young man and definitely shares his father's spirit... He's a real son of a Jah...
posted by JahStorm @ 3:55 PM
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