Growing Up Hip Hop

Growing Up Hip Hop 2 hours
When I read about this event on Bree's email, I wasn't sure what to expect. However listening to kahlil almustafa's spoken word was truly inspiring. I left there with chills. He started coming down the aisle and sat in a chair on the stage giving us a little background into his life. He grew up in Jamaica, Queens with his mother, grandmother, and two sisters. His mother passed away when he was 16 of AIDS. One of his most powerful poems was about being in the hospital with her and wanting to touch her and hold her and about how the "silence" of AIDS was too strong between them. It was very powerful.
I loved how he used music videos and other videos to support his story. It was a collection of his best work. He spoke about how his life changed and how he grew up. My favorite poem of his that he recited was called "That's Gay." He said it was inspired by his students who used the phrase often in his presence. The poem was about how people use the phrase "that's gay" to describe anything out of the ordinary or different because they don't want other people to view them as different. I loved the story he used in the poem too because it was something every person could relate too while also being entertaining.
He also recited a poem about the events of 9/11. First said something I did not even know. In February before Iraq was invaded, the biggest protest recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records took place protesting war. That was very interesting to me. His poem however was about how now we have come together in unity for 9/11 but questioning it as well as recognizing the other injustices that have taken place in America.
Before he started, there had been cards collected where the audience wrote down what their vision for the world is. At the end, he recited them. All in all this was a seriously powerful event.