and now I'm ready......to explode!!!

Aaaaaaaawwwww yeeeeeaaaa boooooiiii!!! We worked on "May Day" the other night. Let's just say it is waaaaaaave more chaotic and intense than I thought it would be, but guess what, I like it just as much...maybe even more than before :P This song gets me AMP because we're singing what's happening. We sound like sirens, it sounds like chaos it's so raunchy and rebellious. And just when I thought life couldn't get cooler....I get to rap!!! Chika chika what!! Well, I guess it's really more like rhythmic spoken word, but I wanna feel cool, so I'm calling it rap! I'm so happy I recorded this rehearsal, other wise I'd be done for!! These songs are so challenging rhythmically. Especially for the narrator DAMN there's some stuff he has to do that literally boggles my mind. My head hurts just thinking about it. But soon enough it'll all become second nature and we'll start adding in our own personal stash of swag. OOOOOUUUUUUWEEEEE!! SWAG!

I spent a lovely Friday evening with my granny at a Tye Tribbett gospel concert and it was too much fun!!! I ran into Tyla and my buddy T.J. which was cool. But anyway, we can learn a lot from Tye Tribbett and his troop. Lively, energetic, passionate, real. Full of the holy spirit, full of catchy refrains. There was shouting and clapping and tears of joy, they even did a praise dance which was sooooo awesome. 'Passing Strange' has encompassed the black religious experience and I think it's beautiful. I want to be sure to not mock, but embody to the extreme. Stew and company have been very respectful and dead on in that sense. That concert was so much like Baptist fashion show in the way of call and response and the jumping for joy....literally. People went there to feel the spirit...and we did!! Music IS the freight train in which God travels! That concert proved it! It was so joyous and uplifting. It was especially touching for me to see my Granny happy and to know that it was because I was in her presence with the Lord. Precious moments.
It's like a mirror, this show, a reflection of my life. When I listen to the lyrics of 'Mom's song', I hear her heart. My granny plays the role of the mother. Always knowing, always loving, not always understanding. I play the role of the youth, defiant, bold and in hot pursuit of the real. "See I've been running from this world for far longer than you." That's brilliant and clarifying. You think your chasing but at some point you'll realize your actually running!! And you'd better run on the straight and narrow or you'll end up on the island of bad. <--you like that Scott?) Then you'll be asking yourself "What did I do to deserve this?" the better question is "What didn't I do to avoid this?". My granny loves me and she is so wise. Listening is waiting, and I need to listen, listen, listen.

It's funny how things change. It's funny how even the wildest turn mild. It's funny how you never say 'when I was younger' until you've matured in some sense. Then it gets scary, when u do some reflecting with your new, mature, aspect on life. I've done a lot of floating, tumbleweeding if you will,just breezing through life. Acting now and dealing later. I'm only just now really, truly, realizing that this is my life and it's the only one I've got. That is such a powerful line for me. This is your life and there aint no way out. That's so true, it's chilling. It's like a bucket of cold water to the face!! Makes you wanna change paths and right wrongs and live fully.

There are so many profound messages within the songs in this show. I love "the Black one"!! A fun little show tune where the youth gets to paint the picture of Black America....but he's posing because has he ever personally been oppressed?.....NO!! I've never met anyone who always thought it was ok to be who they are. We are constantly trying to fit into the norm. Most of the time faking it until we make it or until we just develop our own "norm". I love how the youth is pretending to be this "ghetto warrior" when he's really this kid from the suburbs. He's trying to stand out.....to fit in. He's pretending for the sake of others acceptance. For a long time in my life, I had to deal with...."you talk White.", "you act White." etc etc etc. It had me thinking that I wasn't being true to myself. So I'd try to "talk Black" and "act Black" It mostly left me conflicted and confused. I have since recognized that I speak how I speak and I act how I act! Anyone who is trying to categorize or generalize me is trying to destroy my individualism and I'm not gonna stand for it!! It's amazing how this show is so all in all relatable. Even if you're not "the Black one" you can relate because we all have tried being something that we are not in order to feel accepted. DEEP.

I want every adolescent in the world to see this show. Every single one in the whole wide world!!! It's life shaping!! Hell, I want every HUMAN in the world to see this show, especially if you think you've got life all figured out. Double check your answers here!! Since I've been digging deep into it, I feel like I've got all the answers I need for life and now it's on! I'm equipped and I want to share it. I'm ready, willing, and nervous. REAL is all throughout this show and I want my performance to come off that way. Raw, natural, authentic, REAL. This is going to be a challenge, but, I'm gonna devour this elephant one tasty bite at a time. I'm gonna grow and stretch and expand and develop! I'm gonna take it all in like a black hole and now...I'm ready to explode!!