Date: Dec. 7, 2008
Time: 2 hours
To be honest, I had no idea what this event was going to be like and was a little apprehensive about going, but I am so glad that I went!! This was an amazing, unique, and inspiring performance by kahlil almustafa, a hip-hop poet. He grew up in Queens in a middle class home with no father and mother who died of AIDS when he was 16 years old. He has been writing poetry since he was 15 and expresses himself so beautifully through this medium.
kahlil writes about what it was like to grow up as a black man in Queens during the 80s and 90s. What it felt/feels like to walk past an old lady and watch her grip her purse tightly with two hands - he wonders what she is thinking and why she thinks this way. He also writes about watching his mother, who always seemed to make life "magic", die of AIDS and how the "booming silence" and unknowns of this disease came between them. He didn't even know if it was contagious or not because the doctors never told him, so he was afraid to kiss her. kahlil writes a poem for all cartoon characters whose voices came from black people, but were either portrayed as being white or always the less powerful or "stupid" character (like the hyenas in The Lion King).
What amazed me about this man was that there was no anger coming through his words - only confusion, sadness, and hope. It is so wonderful that he is able to express his unhappiness with the racism that still exists today with beautiful, non-violent, non-angry, poetry. He speaks about how he thought at one time that he had to rap about violence, sex, and drugs, but then realized that no, those things meant nothing to him. Instead, he chooses to write about women being strong leaders, overcoming adversity through expression, and fighting for a change.
One of my favorite parts of his performance was when he recited his poem that he wrote for his students (he's a teacher!) called "That's Gay". All of his students were always saying "that's gay" when something was uncool or different, so he decided to write them a poem. He talks about going out to dinner and ordering a salad (not hamburger) and then wanting to use a purple and pink umbrella that he found when it was pouring rain outside and his friend call him "gay". At the end of the poem, kahlil is happy and dry when his friend is soaking wet and has a stomach ache because he ate too much. It is a funny poem, but I can imagine how it speaks to kids. Too many people, especially children, say things are "gay" when they don't really mean homosexual, just "not cool". I would love to have kahlil come into my classroom and recite this poem to my students because I think they could really relate to it and also take a lot away from it.
kahlil is very talented and has a lot of powerful and inspiring things to say. i suggest that you go see him!
2 comments:
I spoke to Emily about this even last night, and all she could tell me was that it was awesome. I'm extremely interested in finding out more about Kahlil Almustafa's work, and would really like to hear him.
From your description, he seems like a powerful speaker with an extremely important message. I find it interesting that you say he is not blaming or angry, just upset and confused. The part about his mother dying of AIDS and him being afraid to kiss her is so upsetting. I also never thought of the voices behind animation. The message that is sent through even cartoons is scary when you think that the black characters are portrayed as stupid, and if the actor voicing for a white character is black, his identity is hidden behind the cartoon.
His take on hip hop is refreshing in contrast to what we usually think of when it comes to rappers. The poem "That's Gay" would definitely hit close to home with a majority of school aged children.
I had wanted to go to this event , but had work when it was going to be going on. But your description was amazing!!! Kahlil sounds like an amazing and inspiring person. I feel like his work would be very beneficial to my class now. I am currently student teaching in a 4/5th grade class in Harlem, and my students are obsessed with rap, and will spit out all the lyrics at any given time. It makes me wonder if these rappers really know who is learning these raps and if they did know would they still say the things they are saying. There is one boy in my class who will say some of the most vulgar lyrics, and I talked to him about it, and asked him if he really understood what he was saying. Some of what he explained to me, he really did not get the true meanings behind the words, but some he did and that worries me. He is so young, but he knows things about women and drugs that are horrifying. I think that if he were introduced to the poetry that Kahlil talked about then maybe he could be inspired by that, and start to learn those lyrics/ poems. I wish that rappers would realize who their audience is, and try to take Kahlil's lead and rap about things that matter and that would positively affect the kids learning it.
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