It was a weird Sunday evening. After hanging out with some friends, I decided to run to the mall to return some shirts I bought the week before. From uptown, I got on 35W south bound. Few miles later I debated whether I should take highway 62 East or stay on 35W to 494 East. I decided to stay on 35W.

Well, as soon as I passed the exit for 62, I knew I’d miscalculated. 35W to 494 is longer than 62 to 77 route, with the likelihood of getting stuck in traffic much higher. Bad move IBé, I scolded myself. I hate miscalculating.

As I pulled into the mall on Lindau Lane, winding my way to the parking ramp, I saw a lot of people walking out of Sears. Forget baseball, I said to myself, shopping is America’s favorite pastime. (more…)

From Minneapolis to Shakopee was no problem. I have been to Valley Fair many times before. But as soon as I got off highway 169 onto 101, the discovery began: Where do I turn next? I went as far as the intersection to Valley Fair: Right to Valley Fair, left….oh shit, where is Canterbury Park!? I must have passed it. I made a U-turn. Drove until back at the ramp to 169. Still no sign for Canterbury Park. Not a macho man, I’m quick to ask for directions. “It’s the first left turn after Valley Fair” I was told, “You can’t miss it”. I hate it when they say that. It makes you think you are stupid when you do in fact miss it. Anyway, I made an illegal U-turn and headed back west. At the light after Valley Fair, I made a left turn as directed. When I didn’t see the park right there across the street, I eased on the gas. But decided to stay put in my place in the line of cars. They must be going to the same place.
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This past Sunday I was at Studiiyo23. Again. Before I elaborate further, let me say, in just about 6 months since opening its doors, this “store” is becoming a cultural icon in Minneapolis. And not even just for Jordan sneaker heads either. Hence the quotations around the word store; because Studiiyo23 is more than a store. All you have to do is pay attention, stop by for few minutes; you would soon realize there is more to this place than the shoes on the rack (as beautiful as they are). Studiiyo23 is fast becoming a hotspot for Twin Cities’ art. Although it has been mainly visual art (though the “stage” has before been christened by the likes of Muja Messiah and I Self Devine) Sunday ushered in the performing arts, the raw undiscovered talent brewing in the cities.

Studiiyo23 Open Mic was a phenomenal success! Let me just put that out there, in case you are like most blog readers, you don’t read past the first line in the second paragraph. (more…)

On Wednesday November 10, I was one of 20 poets to perform at the Twin Cities Spoken Word Sampler, organized by Guante.

Here are the words to the first poem: (more…)

This afternoon, with my 8 year old daughter in tow, I finally saw “Michael Jackson’s This is it”. The film was all that I hoped it would be. And more. It was Michael Jackson at his usual; meaning it was entertainment at its best. In sum, 50 years old, at the door front of his death, Michael still had it. In fact, in some takes during this documentary of a rehearsal, he seemed as fluid as he did ten and twenty years ago. Perhaps a feat due to the fact that the Michael in those scenes was not Michael Jackson. Many people have complained about the use of body doubles in the film, but it hardly bothered me. Maybe because I had Michael in mind, any images I saw on screen that was staged to be him, I received as him wholeheartedly. Adoration is blinding, I know. (more…)

Yesterday, I went to the Opera for the first time. 45 minutes late. At Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis, as I walked toward and past the sea of white heads, I thought I didn’t belong. Why do I let curiosity bring me to situations like these, I scolded myself. But we followed the usher to our seat, and this my latest entry into this American life.
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“Rosa Park sat so Dr. King could walk…Dr. King walked so Obama could run…Obama is running so our children can fly.”

“They didn’t want to give us 40 acres and a mule so dammit we will take 50 states and a white house!”

“They have a sign up sheet for volunteers to help Bush pack his shit and get the fuck out on November 5th. I put us down for the 3-8 shift.” (more…)

May be sometimes while sitting on your couch in your house, the folks at Publishers Clearance House might come knock on your door. But the saying that nothing interesting comes to you at home is really true.

Yesterday before heading off for a performance at Hamline University, I had to meet with a friend quick. He was going to be at Block E downtown, he’d told me, meeting with some Kenyans and Camerooneans. I walked in with my daughter to a group of young professional Africans hanging out at Game Works. Since he told me it was a Kenyan and Cameroonean event, I didn’t look close enough to notice that not all around the tables were from those two countries.

To cut a long story short, apparently this was the very event I’d read about on a blog the night before. A monthly happy hour featuring young professional Africans in the area. I remember reading the piece and asking myself why I did’t know about this event. Because I thought it was such a great idea that I should have come up with it. And since someone stole my idea before I thought it, I thought at least I should have known about it. I’m not on the street like I use to, but hey, I’m not hiding either. I make it my business to know what my people are up to, but I quess my ears are not to the ground low enough.

Anyway, I was going to hit the blogger, but I was in too much of a hurry to do so. I marked it on my mental notebook and decided to follow-up as soon as possible. Well I guess faith had my sooner than later. Needless to say my in-and-out became a sit-and-chat. These were some motivated brothers and sisters doing their part to string the connection between Africans in America (AinA). They were friendly, confident, articulate and beautiful. They had that fire in their eyes. You know, that fire that says “I see you world, and I’m coming to get you!” I was inspired. ANd I was late for my event at Hamline. Sadly, I had to run.

They say in today’s world is not what you know, but who you know. In other words, networking is the new graduate degree. I for one think it’s high time we start building our network. And I’m glad to see the infrastructure in place. You know I had to get on that mailing list. And next time around, as a teenager would say, I’m soooo there!