After hankering for a frappaccino when in New York last week, it seemed more community friendly to find somewhere local. That's how I stumbled on a 75 cent coffee sandwich-board sign on Bowery Street in Soho...after wandering in, I heard sounds drifting from what turned out to be a back room.
I peered through a gap in the curtain, swinging at the side of the coffee bar, to see a dread sitting on a bar stool, & thought..'riiighhhtt, what's this then?'
I went through..curiousity taking the better of me & was lucky enough to have one of the best experiences of my life. Inside were these amazing kids from Brooklyn & Harlem, spitting street poetry, clicking their fingers to words & phrases that resonated with each other. Like the poet Purple, who rhymed about life experiences; about being young, black & gay, equating Obama to being a manager of McDonalds...America is like McDonalds, still the same but with a different manager.
Being on a payphone to their fictitious mothers, imagining they were saying words they'd always meant to say..'"Please deposit"....Mom, my time's running out.'
So without dwelling on it too much, [you can see it for yourself on the videos attached] next time you're in a new or even your own city...forgo your usual restaurant, cafe or bar. Don't go & get that frappaccino from Starbucks. Go somewhere new, experience something different & you'll feel enriched...You'll never know what or who you'll discover.
Check out these talented kids at www.bowerypoetry.com &
www.urbanartbeat.org
To provide underserved youth with innovative opportunities in the arts
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