A letter to my city:
Portland, I don't understand you.
I throw you a FREE, all-ages hip-hop show, at a centrally located space, at a respectable hour even, with great performers and where are you? Several dozen people (who were amazing and clearly made a good choice on how to spend their evening) rolled through- but where were you city?
People said it was the rain... This is Portland! If we are going to use rain as a reason to not do anything, we might as well not bother ever leaving the house. This is the wetlands, rain is always a 50/50 possibility at the least in a town like this. Isn't Seattle the ONLY city with more precipitation?! (This is a guess, I have not consulted any official sources on this one yet.) We aren't in some desert city and the rain is so out of the ordinary that everything shuts down, i mean it wasn't a snow day or something!
Luckily the super cool people made it. Some former students (not surprisingly students who did well and clearly have good heads on their shoulders, cause they knew the show Walidah and I put on was the place to be. Thank you Francisco and Grace and Alex). Some co-workers with arts education that I work with made it after long days of youth work. (Greg, I know it wasn't easy getting out after a rough day. And two of them even brought some of their youth groups with them! YAY Mareya and BeUtee! Cause the young people were a blast to have there! We even gave them CDs and t-shirts as momentos cause their energy was so on point and they were so excited. Way to represent United Voices and HB LEE!) Some people even crawled out of the 503 woodwork, friends who I haven't seen in ages brought friends and/or family which was great, so great in fact I even hung out with an old buddy i hadn't seen in years after for a couple of hours, and you know how I don't always go that post event social route these days. (Great to kick it Ken, more of that! Darlene how do you manage to get more beautiful every time I see you? Deena, you never cease to amaze me either and you are one of my inspirations, i mean how many times have we held it down on a dance floor in this town?) And, I even met some new cool people last night too. (yay to the new folks!)
But, if you weren't there, where were you?
I feel like Daffy Duck in those scenes when he would be competing with Bugs for crowd appreciation, only to get the sound of crickets and no applause. So finally, desperately he pulls his (literally) end all beat all stunt/trick out of the hat and combusts or something. Then as his animated ghost self is rising from the stage he hears what he has longed for... a room full of adulation and a standing ovation. I am no Daffy Duck, nor am I planning some suicidal poetic moment, nor am I saying that I personally want to be the center of the city's attention. I am just saying that I understand how Daffy felt, all charred and covered in the scent of smoke just wanting folks to appreciate.
Portland, you have almost a million people, and I just wanted to see like 200-250. Why hast thou forsaken me? For over a decade I have bent over backwards like a contortionist attempting the difficult task of getting folks from around the country, as well as other points on the globe, to bring themselves here for the benefit of Portlanders. Tried so hard to make this a place people also consider on their tours, rather than just bouncing from Seattle to the Bay. Walidah, myself, and countless other local artists have put our blood sweat and tears into helping make this city more artistically endowed, through our performances as well as by bringing others into the NW to share stages. For the show last night, Walidah and I did the most advertising, most e-mailing, most texting, most flyer distro, most word of mouth with the longest amount of lead time, and still it was not enough!
Portland, I will continue to live here, until I move somewhere else, but I am truly disappointed in you. Yes, I will still perform and teach- but it will be awhile before I attempt to organize another tour for out of town folks here, or even organize a local event (unless it is youth specific with the organizations I work with).
Eugene, I expect you will do better this evening. Seattle, you proved yourself beyond worthy of receiving talent both local and national at Ladies First. But Portland, I can no longer recommend you, as a city, to my artist friends. The next time I will just have a house party concert and invite only the cool people, (like those I mentioned above) and not everyone via several mediums. So then afterwards, those 999,900 people who flaked, only to realize or hear later what they missed, can at the least have the valid excuse of not being invited.
Portland, when all your artists get salty and flee leaving this "sustainable" town with less vibrance and personality, where will you be? You will have your amazing public transportation, but no evening performances of independent hip-hop. You will have your green trees and scenic rivers, but no painters or photographers to show that beauty to the world. You will have your space age looking tram, but no poets. Your unemployment will continue to rise, your children will continue to have the shortest school-year in the country, but what will folks do in their free time if the artists flee and no longer provide affordable ways to spend a day? The rain will still fall, the sun will still rise and set, the buildings downtown will still refuse to match- and what will the city be without its heart?
Because I am a loving artist, I will give this town another chance to prove itself.
Two in fact, so don't let me down! The future of the city depends on it, cause if the good sista is salty and gets past the point of forgiveness, what then? Bad Sista squared? Only smack downs with no hugs and support to make the pain fade faster? Portland, I have put up with you for 14 years, and what have i asked for beyond what I have been given? I asked for health benefits, you denied me. I asked for an income that was livable, no luck with that. I asked for more diverse demographics and you seem hell-bent on pushing brown folks outside of your borders into gresham and beaverton and points further out. I asked for attendance at an event, that is FREE, and yet you don't send me your masses, your tired of whack radio so called "hip-hop" who yearn to be set free.
Don't make me lay down my poetic torch and stop sharing the light of local and national artists with yall. Represent, so I can speak highly of you again. Please don't be that person messing it up for everybody else!
Bring yourself to the following and i will forgive you, yet again:
Fri., Nov. 14th, 2008
Screening of the independent film Machetero
7 p.m.
www.machetero-movie.com
starring Not4Prophet from X-Vandals
Laughing Horse Bookstore
12 NE 10th Ave
Portland
Screening will be followed by Q&A with Not4Prophet and Director Vagabond.
HELLO! We brought you the director AND the lead actor of the film!
Nov. 15th, 2008
Mic Crenshaw's CD Release
8 p.m.
Blue Monk
3341 SW Belmont
Portland
Cost TBA
Featuring: Mic Crenshaw, Hungry Mob, X-Vandals, DJ Gen.Erik, Good Sista/Bad Sista, and more
It's Mic fricken Crenshaw. He's releasing his solo CD, and X-vandals will be supporting it all the way from the east coast! What reason could you possibly have for not coming!? Or atleast telling a friend to come? (If you have an emergency, illness or otherwise valid excuse for not being able to attend, like you live in Baltimore or Connecticut.)
Otherwise,
I expect to see you there!
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