Speaking on Our Thoughts...

I had said I wasn't going to write no more poems like this
But the battlefield has oozed away from the stilted debates of semantics
beyond the questionable flexibility of primal screaming
The reality of our city, jungle streets and their kastapos
Has become an attack on home, life, family and philosophy, total
It is beyond the question of the advantages of didactic niggerism
The mother fucking dogs are in the street

- Gill Scott Heron, from "Jose Campos Torres"

i'm told that many are called, but few are chosen. over the years, i've come to know this to be true in the field loosely--and lately in some circles, perversely--referred to as "The Artistic Community." Many aspire, but few acquire, and there is a reason behind this; one that prompts me to break an almost decade-long public silence on issues that burn in my heart as important for our city, for our community, and for the world at large. by "us" i mean Artists of African Descent. And yes, by tracing our DNA back through all the strands of humanity's seed, we realize that all of mankind originated in Africa, for all intents and purposes of this discussion, i am going to voice a perspective aimed directly at people we fondly refer to as "African-Americans."

i'm talking to Black Folk right now. Black Folk who aspire to call themselves Artists.

in doing that, i have to be both cautious and positive, simply because of our collective history of lowered self-esteem. American Slavery (the Maafa) left one helluva legacy of psychological slavery on us, the mental chains of which we are yet to shed. we as a people want to do more, we strive for it, some of us even live for it. yet, we have mixed our dreams and desires of centuries-old hope with the modern microwave mindset and the result is what has become what is colloquially referred to as a "hot mess."

we've slipped up in the game, Practitioners.

i choose to use the term "Practitioner" for the sake of this writing, because i believe it is time to change the dialogue, the nomenclature of what we do. it's getting harder and harder to use to the term "Black Artist," because--quite frankly--everybody and their mama considers themselves "Artists" these days. and although i am often wont not to argue with how people define themselves (i fight ferociously for self-determination, rather), in this case, i feel i must speak out to a rising generation of people who, though gifted, perhaps simply have no solid understanding of how to actually build a solid career in the Arts.

so in this essay, this position paper, this Black Paper (for some reason, the normal "White Paper" seemed patently inappropriate), i'm going to answer publicly many of the questions i have been asked in private by eager minds who are serious about becoming Practitioners of The Craft of Creativity, or The Practitioners formerly known as "The Black Artists."

there is a difference.

just because one Sings well, that doesn't make them a singer. if they work at a bank, then they are a banker who likes to sing. because a person does plays in their spare time, that does not make them an actor, it makes them a _______, who enjoys acting. you wouldn't call Kobe Bryant a business man/endorser "who likes to play basketball." people are referred to in this world by their profession. i'm going to be frank here, and i'm not trying to hurt feelings or personally attack anyone, specifically those who are actively working on making their artistic dreams a reality, but this needs to be said: there is a difference between a person who is a Hobbyist (i like to _______ in my spare time) and a Practitioner who does this artistic thing to put food on the table. For the former, if a project falls through, there is a safety net. for the latter, it may mean that a car is getting repossessed a home is lost, or a child may go hungry.

the stakes are higher. often life or death. that makes a difference in the way one approaches their craft psychologically.

that said, i'm going to get down to the foundation of it all, with the understanding that people tend to mis-quote people. i would ask that if you embark upon the task of reading this work, that you do so at a time and place where you can ingest it in its entirety, fighting the negroid-bred desire to "scan" the document, thereby missing valuable information, and ultimately finding something to criticize that may be repeated out of context. don't worry, with this one, you can talk back and tell me what you think, directly.

The Perspective, if Valuable at all

contrary to popular opinion in some local circles, i don't have millions of dollars in the bank--yet (smile). i can still travel through most airports without being stopped, depending on when a given network will air a re-run of something i may have appeared on. i still enjoy a decent amount of privacy living in a town the size of Nashville--all things that people think get tough when one achieves relative levels of success in the field of artistic endeavors. i'm still striving toward reaching the top of my game, which is judged not on financial excess, but having success in my field. in other words, i'm ever thankful to be blessed to make a living doing the things i love to do.

because of that position, i'm often asked for advice on "how to make a living as an artist," because--believe it or not--that's the bare-bones, simple goal most Practitioners live for: the ability to do the things they love most and sustain their lives with that vocation. Singers want to sing; Artists want to paint/draw/sculpt/design; Actors want to act; Writers want to write; Producers want to produce--and do nothing else.

because of economics, however, it's rare that we're able to do that without having to find some other way of making money to actually live on. and therein lies the dilemma, the conundrum, the double-edged blade that swings--seemingly--in two different directions in a budding Artist's mind. to become a Practitioner, one must have serious skills. and by skills, i mean the ability to produce high-quality art when called upon to do so. the kind of art that comes from years of experience and hard work. yet, how can one develop those skills when trapped in the rat-race of just keeping the lights on?

that's the issue chomping at the gut of many of us. i've been there--i still am there on many levels, and i'd be lying to you if i painted it any other way. the answer to the question is a matter of Respect, Dedication & Sacrifice, and Risk. so as i type, i'm going to do my best to share, from my experience, the keys to the individual Artist making a living as a Practitioner, and then contributing to the larger--and needed--Collective Creativity of Nashville. to quote the old spiritual, "Now is a needy time."


Respect for The Craft(s) and The Ancestors

i run into a lot of self-proclaimed "artists" who, frankly, think they are ground-breaking in Nashville. seriously. ignorance is a very dangerous thing for the budding artist, because one often ends up not only struggling to re-invent a well-created wheel, but in the process, making a fool of themselves when they find themselves among people who do know their history. Nashville is a special place, an important artistic place, especially for Black Artists of all genres.

it is incumbent upon artists to love their craft enough to study the history of it, then translate that knowledge into making a solid contribution to the Cultural Continuum. i work hard to live by the Chinese Proverb "No Investigation, No Speech," so i'll speak to three major professional areas of creativity that i've personally had success/experience in and allow the other areas the logic of application by inference.

SPOKEN WORD

a few years ago, in one of my moments of necessary emergence from public verbal repose (i'm a 19 year veteran of talk radio), i made a comment that Poets needed to know about Poetry if they were calling themselves Poets and the same thing applied to Spoken Word Artists. a few people had the nerve to challenge that statement (i note that often, challenges come from back door conversations between people who don't have a leg to stand on, more than direct discussion where dialectical debate can take place). my words got twisted into saying "you have to go to college, etc." false. i'm not saying you have to go get a doctorate in literature to be a Poet, but if you're going to be out there promoting yourself as a Spoken Word Artist/Poet, and you don't know the difference between Free Verse and Metre, or a Sonnet vs. a Villanelle , then you are doing a dis-service to your stated profession. if you are a Spoken Word Artist and you have never heard of The Last Poets, Gill Scott Heron, or even the Beatnik Culture of the 50s and 60s, don't claim the same. you should just say "i'm a cat up here making up my own shit that i think sounds good" and be proud of that and own it.

there is nothing more distressing than hearing, "yeah, i'm a poet and i'm really into developing myself, so i don't read anybody's stuff because i don't want it to influence my creativity and all, you know?" there is a word for that: Lazy. can you imagine visiting a doctor who doesn't read the latest medical journals? or having a contractor build you something who just "freestyles" a structure because he doesn't want to spend time learning the basics of construction or keeping up with modern building techniques?

as a former Spoken Word Artist, who was around during the first wave (yes, i mean before the movie Love Jones gave everyone the notion that they were the next deepest, blackest, smoothest undiscovered voice of a new generation) of Spoken Word in the mid 90's Nashville, i'm often amazed when i hear people come to a microphone and tout themselves and their accomplishments without shouting out the names of people who laid the foundation for the art-form here like brother James ("The Jefferson Street Poet"), The Realist Adoni (whose revolutionary/evolutionary work pre-dated all the current super-black spitters), Keisha Rucker (at the time, when she was in high school hanging with grown folks), Kamilah Aisha Moon (who has since written many poems you see in black hallmark cards you purchase); and who could forget Lynnee Bonner (of Fisk fame, who as an undergrad was one of the first to start mixing in a bass and band with lyrics), and the lovely Kertrina "K-Love" Lewis (Resting In Peace now, after battling cancer and sensually tantalizing the crowd all at the same time).

if those names are new to you, and you live in Nashville, you gotta step it up if you call yourself an artist of The Spoken Word.

THEATRE

i'm going to do something that a lot of "professional theatre people" don't do: give up props to Tyler Perry for doing his thing, his way. he has re-defined and popularized (to debatable psychological ends) black performers on stage and the economic model. and because of his success, there has been spawned a whole new generation of hobbyists who want to "get rich doing plays" (yes, that's a direct quote i have heard). the advent of modern technology and the current economic conditions have created a perfect storm for the degradation of the legacy of African-American Drama. how so?

1. Everyone has a computer and digital camera.

2. Times are hard for businesses and rental facilities.

3. Black folk are creative, funny, but sometimes lacking in esteem

so you put these three things together, and the story goes like this:

X, a pretty funny guy who used to have them in stitches on the back of the band bus in high school, takes the weekend off from his job in computer sales to take his girlfriend to a Tyler Perry play. they go and it's hilarious. he finds himself saying, "hell, i could do that! i'm just as funny!" he then sees people lined up around the arena buying 3 or 4 $25.00 dvds after the show and he calculates how much money he can make and sees dollar signs swirling. he can't wait to get back home and write down some ideas.

he grabs the laptop and figures it out: okay, write a slightly overweight, hard-working female character who is getting hell on the job from a snotty, light-skinned woman with a long weave; give her a best friend who also just happens to be a hairdresser who happens to be gay; give her a shit-talking Uncle who always has a barb, and a boyfriend who has her wash his car, etc. don't forget a postman, or construction worker, or repairman/workingclass-but-looks-like-he-came-out-of-GQ Magazine brothaman who she'll eventually end up with. tie it all together with some Gospel music, and an old woman in a dress, who's really a guy, and a hit is on the horizon.

he calls up a theater, books it from his disposable income account, and calls all his friends who think they are as funny as he is and always wanted to be actors deep down, and they all get together, someone designs some nice fliers, and BANG! theater is born!!

i don't decry entrepreneurship. some of our greatest work has come from people who took the initiative to shine their light upon the world. however, nothing is easy as it seems. what most people don't realize about even Tyler Perry is that he is taking to another level the work of his predecessors like David E. Talbert, Michael Matthews, and one of the ground floor urban producers Shelly Garrett. and that's just the artistically debatable "Urban Scene."

when you start to talk about Legacy, then you start talking the Langston Hughes, the Ossie and Ruby Dees, Lorraine Hansberry, Ed Bullins, Ntozake Shange, The New Federal Theatre, Moses Gunn, Woodie King, Jr., Douglas Turner Ward, The Negro Ensemble Company, Freedom Theatre, Jomandi, the list goes on, but they all have something in common:

a commitment to a high standard of excellence and execution, worthy of the craft of Drama.

if you're going to get involved in this amazing craft, then go all in: every professional Actor i know still takes classes and works with incredible directors that push them to new heights; Playwrights worth their salt put their scripts through vigorous workshops so that they won't just throw anything up on stage because they thought it would be "a good idea;" working Directors apprentice themselves to the great ones, taking something from here and there to help them understand the use of space and positioning, dramatic arc, and the marriage of the technical and the abstract to create a beautiful work of dramatic art. anything short of that is a slap to the Craft, again.

the Nashville Black Theatre Legacy is, too, legendary, dating back to the days of the Majestic Theater in 1906, going forward into the Bijou, where the Tennessee-Based TOBA circuit once ran through the Starr brothers of Vanderbilt who ran the largest stage in Nashville that was a regular stop on the "Chitlin' Circuit." it continues into the legacy of Dr. Thomas E. Poag, who was the first to take student theater around the world to perform for soldiers in WWII (that's World War II young folk), and was the first black man in America to receive a Masters and PhD in Theatre and Communications; the legacy of black professional companies brings to minds names like W. Dury Cox, H. Deveraux Brady, David Bryant, Blues The Father of Jazz, Black Tie Theatre at Looby Center, Black Taffeta and Burlap, and The American Negro Playwright Theatre, all precursors recognized and celebrated--necessarily so--by the staff and board of Amun Ra Theatre, of which i'm proudly affiliated, who is committed to do its small part to contribute to that legacy of excellence.

if any of those names are new to you, you gotta step it up if you call yourself someone in the field of drama.

MUSIC

we live in a Music City (etymology below), which is a benefit and curse. i learned a long time ago, for instance, never to say "i play a few chords" on the guitar, because there are so many straight up pickers in this town, that even the "few chords" guys are virtuosos. i'm a toddler in comparison. people who come here are serious about singing and playing.

the flip side of singing is that, well, basically, everybody can sing. go into any given church on Sunday, and you can pick 10 sisters that can sing circles around popstar X on any given day. so what makes them different? they aren't willing to do what it takes to know and learn the music. sure, i've seen people with great natural talent, who can get in the room and light it up, but when they get on a stage, they freeze because they don't know how to handle a crowd; or they have an opportunity to sing a song and the musicians ask for the key and they don't know the keys for their best tunes. there are basics that you have to wrap your mind around if you're going to be a singer-singer. in the old school, you weren't a Singer unless you could not only know your keys and tempos, but know how to chart your own music, or transpose something on the spot to fit your voice. when you think of an Ella or a Lena, or a Nat or a Marvin, immediately you think of excellence beyond belief. those levels of greatness were achieved through hard work, dedication, and respect for the music. i don't need to mention musicians here because, frankly, you can't fake that. if you're garbage, you won't work no matter how cute 'n sexy you are or who you know.

we can't begin to get the subject of Nashville Music going, because it takes us back into just after the Slavery era, when Queen Victoria's writers first heard the Fisk Jubilee Singers and dubbed Nashville "Music City." yes, we are music city because of black folk's music. shocking, but true. and yes, Jimi Hendrix cut his teeth right down on Jefferson Street playing in all the clubs that were there and around the area from The Era, to the Del Morocco, Steal Away, to The Wigwam and beyond. we even had Hoss Allen sending WLAC halfway around the world with 50,000 watts of power and Night Train, the first R&B television program that laid the path for the success of Soul Train and American Bandstand. all of this here, in Nashville.

if that's news to you, then you gotta step it up if you call yourself a singer or musician in our fair town.

again: the level of success as a Practitioner of a particular area of Art is based on the level of respect one has for the craft of it, which leads to the next part of this Treatise, the part one might say is the meat and potatoes: getting paid, in full.

MAKING A LIVING AS AN ARTIST: WHAT IT REALLY TAKES

"Never use the same washcloth on your face that you use on your ass."
-African-American Folk Wisdom

here is the single-most difficult, bothersome, nagging issue i get confronted with, especially in the position of a Producer. everybody gotta get "paid." never mind the lack of a credible resume; never mind that the Craft is a back-burner hobby that has to be worked around a job schedule; oh, and forget about being able to bring something artistically to the table that is so unique, so invaluable, and that has so much potential for putting a project into the stratosphere that one cannot do without it. never mind all that.

just "show me the money."

that is the growing attitude i have begun to detect in Nashville. the funny thing is, it never comes from people who actually do make a living as Artists; it comes from people who are expecting that the right artistic opportunity is going to free them from their day job if the dollar amount is right.

that, dear aspirant, just ain't gonna happen.

"Salary Commensurate With Experience"

we've seen that phrase on a million job postings when we surf through looking for work, but for some odd reason, people get the notion that another rule exists when it comes to The Arts. Wrong. as a matter of fact, it is a living, breathing, organic rule of thumb. it's why so many people labor long hours in a studio, learning how to work the equipment, singing backup for artists on the road, hanging out with an executive in the boardroom of record label X, being a personal assistant or selling merchandise, hanging lights, getting coffee for the director, stage managing, taking various roles in professional shows, volunteering to do voice work at stations, running box offices, doing graphics, sweeping up, cleaning, studying, learning, singing, dancing, performing, giving their all--for NO PAY.

it's called PAYING DUES.

yes, people still pay dues, and you can't get around it in this industry. and although we all have stories of character-building experiences (i first did drama on the pulpit stage in my church, and sang my first songs in the choir, wrote my first pieces of poetry as Black History Month tributes at school, etc.), none of those matter in the professional world.

walk into a professional, Equity theater and showcase a resume of plays done at Sunday School and see what response you'll get; submit a CD for a record deal that is a burned copy of you singing "Wind Beneath My Wings" in the Karaoke Studio in the Mall and see what happens; put a photocopy of a handwritten script in an Executive's hand and see how quickly it goes into the recycling bin.

we criticize our young people for wanting "something for nothing," but where do we think they get that from? from slippage. societal slippage that has affected and infected the artistic landscape of Nashville.

a few weeks ago, i had to get a retainer wall in my yard repaired. i saw an old, black stonemason doing some amazing work on a wall down the street from me, so i stopped one day and asked him to take a look at my wall and give me an estimate. he said he'd come by later, and he did. in the interim, i thought about how i'm pretty handy with building and construction, and how it would be really cool if i could work with him and pick up some serious, old school masonry skills. it's a lost art for real.

when he arrived, he looked at the wall and gave me a price i thought was a little above my range, but since he was so good at what he did, i realized i was getting a bargain. i took that opportunity to make a proposal. he told me it would cost $350.00 and he could do it in one morning. i countered by asking how much it would be if i worked with him and helped him build.

he said, "double, so $700.00."

of course, i didn't see the logic--after all, i was going to be helping him--until he explained: "Son, i've been doing this all my life and i'm 78 years old. you see that house 2 blocks down? my brother and i built that house for seventy-five dollars when i was 17 years old. that's how long i've been doing this. you want to learn masonry, fine. but you 'helping' me work is only going to slow me down because 1) you don't know what you're doing, 2) because you'll slow me down, it'll take me twice as long so i'll end up doing one job in one day instead of two and lose money, and 3) instead of just fixing the wall, i'll have to teach you in addition, so that's an extra charge for you to acquire a skill i've dedicated my life to."

i saw it all. right then. right there. do you see it?

thinking something is "cool," then trying to cheat the learning process by just "going out there and doing it," would be like me paying the gentlemen who did an amazing job fixing my wall to get a crash course, then coming to your house and asking you to hire me to fix your foundation after only one or two experiences mortaring some rocks together.

would you trust that?

i would hope not. the same things apply in the professional world. great artists, experienced artists, know they will be paid for their experience and what they bring to the table. as a matter of fact, this is how many independent films have big stars. the stars see a script and say "i want to be a part of that--you don't even have to pay me!" in the world of working Practitioners, there's an unstated rule: you bring experience to the table, you take something away.

i've encountered, as of late, a growing number of young aspiring artists who say, "i would love to do ____, but i need to get paid." this is a profession like anything else: you perform the work, you will get the compensation. in this case, the work is a resume of solid, credible, professional work. people earn union cards (equity, sag, iatse, etc.) through work, hence the term "earn." the greatest opportunities i had as a young artist were volunteer ones, and there were more than a few that i actually PAID for to be around and involved with. you sacrifice as necessary for opportunities to grow and learn, and yes, be seen. you can't put a price on that.

there is something vital to be said about the embracing of a calling into the arts. people who are called desire to be chosen, but they are chosen, ultimately by the art itself, and the evidence of that calling is in their approach to the art. it's like any relationship: if you love it, you care enough about it to not let it go out publicly when it's raggedly and unkempt; to make sure that you take any and all opportunities to embrace it and learn more about it; to protect it from spaces and places that will water it down and make it irrelevant.

give it love, people. that's all i'm saying. treat your art like you would like it to treat you. in that spirit, here are some things i've culled from my almost 20 years of doing this Craft. hopefully some of them will be helpful.

Mandates for people who want to be Practitioners/Working Professional Artists:

1. Steep yourself in your Craft. if you want to be a singer, get down into the music and surround yourself. if you're into acting/directing/writing/producing, you should be around people who are successfully doing the doggone thing on a professional level, all the time. who you choose to hang around will have a profound effect on how fast your career will grow. if you hang around people who do it "just for fun," then you'll develop into a "just for fun" kind of artist. if you're around people who make huge things happen, and you get involved, guess what? you'll find what may appear at times to be a Midas touch.

2. Take opportunities that help you grow. once you achieve a certain level of success, stay away from people who will blow smoke up your ass and tell you how great you are. Lebron James wouldn't get anything out of playing with High-Schoolers except a decrease in his speed and agility. easy=backtracking. i learned early on that i wanted to be around people who were much better than me at everything, so i could stretch and be forced to step up. that's one of the best life lessons i've ever learned. pick your artistic friends like you pick your fruit.

3. "Lions do not have to roar." a wonderful African Proverb, and it's true. you know a Lion because of its reputation. anything standing around screaming, "i'm a Lion, look at how great i am, give me my respect," is basically an overweight kitty-cat with delusions of grandeur who read a bad self-help book with the instruction "roar like a lion and you will BE one." not. focus on letting your work speak for you. you indeed know a tree by the fruit it bears. one of my favorite sayings, "Old Men speak of what they have done; Young Men of what they are doing; and Fools of what they hope to do." Lions also hang with other lions, and they discuss lion's work, not telling each other how fearsome they are, and not what's going on with house cats. be about the business of progress and run from people who spend valuable time tearing others down. it's a sure sign of stagnancy.

4. Apprentice yourself. this is vital, because it's tough for Black Folks ego wise. we tend to stay around people long enough to "steal" what we feel we need, then we blank out. that gets you nothing but a bad reputation, and the community of Practicing Artists is extremely small. i've learned from some amazing people whose feet i have scrubbed (and i mean literally) in exchange for bits of wisdom. be wary of people who feel they "got it," but find someone who has the kind of success you would like to have and work for them for an agreed upon period of time. remember that with whoever you choose, all they can teach you is what they know. so look at a mentor figure when screening and say, "is their life a model of where i'd like to be," and let your conscience be your guide.

5. Develop a Thick Skin, and Fast. casting, selection, inclusion, collaboration--all are part of a larger process that, often times, has nothing to do with how gifted we may or may not be. i've seen people get depressed about not being a part of productions, recordings, shows, etc. and i tell them, one door closing is another one opening. you might be too tall, too short, too dark, too light--nothing personal. your play may not move people as much as you think it should; maybe it's the wrong audience and occasion for that selected poem or song; if you learn to get over things quick, notate the learned lessons, and move on, you'll stay focused on self-realization and actualization.

6. Build a Real Team. the old Chicago Bulls come to mind, when they had Rodman. they had all the bases covered, offensively and defensively. i referenced that team because they all didn't have the same personalities. some may have even clashed, but they had a common goal. surround yourself with people who support and believe in your vision, because it matches theirs. listen to one another, and if you reach a point where they keep feeding you how great you are, shake it up. that makes you lazy artistically. but with people who are on the same page and see all sides, you can make amazing things happen.

7. Realize that You have No Competition. i learned a long time ago that your only competition is with your own potential. if you see a person as competition in academia and they make a 90, you're happy when you make a 91, because you feel you "beat" them. but how about, you really only beat yourself out of of that 100. it's the same thing artistically. we each have our own, unique calling in life, that is just for us. if we know that and embrace it, then we don't have disdain in our heart for others who may demonstrate similar paths. i once heard Oprah say to the people who say "i'm going to be the next Oprah," "No, you can't do that. there is only one Oprah, and i got that down pretty good." if you focus on developing your gift, your calling, then you don't have time to worry about what others are doing. subsequently, you'll find your own way to do things. aspiring artists make the mistake of trying to do something "just like _____," and get frustrated when it doesn't work out the same way for them. you're not ______. find you, be you, and be proud. shine.


Mandates For Organizations presenting Black Culture:

1. Create a Mission that is clear and focused and unique to the particular area of the Craft you practice. once you have that, have your team commit to finding new ways to become the absolute best you can be around that mission. take a pledge of excellence that goes organization wide and keep each other from allowing something underdeveloped to be released to the public. spend time planning on how you can best reach your mission, without comparing yourself to other organizations--it takes away focus.

2. Don't Throw Programming Together. there is a notion that Black people just do stuff "at the last minute." that notion is reinforced by one bad experience. realize that, honestly, as ideal as we'd like the world to be, Black folk hardly get second chances. i've been hamstrung by individuals and companies who have done some half-assed stuff for people i'm trying to work with and gotten that "well the last time we did this kind of thing, it didn't work out" response. realize that you make it hard on our reputation if you don't pre-plan and execute with all the greatness that is just an integral part of our culture. we built pyramids, don't forget that.

3. Collaborate, but bring something Major to the table. again, see it as a relationship. if you are employed, have a vision for you life, and enjoy going to the park and playing in nature, why would you hang out with someone who doesn't want to work, has no idea where they are going, and hates the outdoors. makes no sense, huh? the same thing goes with organizations and collaborations. pull together with groups that bring a unique and different product to the table--that's the key to good collaborations. but make sure the relationship is equal. make sure your work has the kind of quality that will draw organizations to you. that's the sign of good work--that highly reputed groups approach you. remember that Show Business is show business. in Business, things fall into two categories: Assets or Liabilities. collaborations where one organization is carrying the load or bringing the most to the table are destined for regret. remember, no one wants to feel the weight of coat-tail riders.

4. Develop your Audience, and don't beat them up. Spend time working on making your artistic experience enjoyable, and give your audience something to look forward to. if you burn them out with spam, junkmail, or things they didn't ask for in marketing, they'll hit "block" or "delete," and you've lost a valuable supporter. always put yourself in the position of the customer and strike the balance between what you do and what the people want.


"If you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the hurt dog will holler."
-Folk Saying

there are some great things happening in this city, and there are some corresponding cat-raggedy things. the response to this email will determine which school people fall into. the ones who needed a boost and encouragement will take what's applicable and take their game(s) to a higher level; the people who are on the grind making their mark will stay on course; and of course, the few among the ranks of the ill-minded will gather together with other like, crippled minds, and devote time to picking apart everything that has been written here, offering a point-counter-point analysis of my personal character and position, not once realizing that all the time they put into consuming various flavors of Haterade could be better spent exploring and improving their own gifts.

for people in all categories, i offer this blog for responses. i stand fearless in the assertions made today and i look forward to having open and honest, positive and productive dialogue on any of the issues that have been addressed. feel free to type a response and i'll be on top of hitting you back. let's talk about it.

this summer, i showed this video clip to my Performing ARTs Academy kids. it may be the single-greatest moment caught in the history of film, from the movie "Stormy Weather." it's the Nicolas Brothers in their 20s, performing their routine with style, grace, stamina, and most importantly, in ONE TAKE. i showed it to show them that this kind of performance was not the exception, it was the STANDARD. the expectation was for greatness. you couldn't step on the stage if you didn't have this kind of commitment to showmanship. watch it and meditate on it...



now, as artists, ask yourself: would i have cut the mustard in these days? if the answer is no, or a pause even to think about it, then we need to all STEP IT UP, because we owe it to the tradition we come from.

it is my hope that this sparks the next evolutionary stage of Art in Nashville, from people of African Descent. we owe it to the giants who came before us to shirk the modern, personality-centric model of achievement and embrace the notion that we stand on the shoulder of truly great Artists, Practitioners of The Craft of Creativity that stand ready to support us in our quest to take a stand for OUR generation, so that our future descendants can have a strong foundation upon which they, too, can thrive.