Bringing My Family With Me (Part Two)

I close the monologue with “I Have A Dream” and then the DJ drops the music.

And we start rocking! I perform Ethics, which is a song I rarely perform unless it is a special occasion. And Speak for the Culture first Anniversary celebration was definitely that special occasion.

Earlier during Keemba on da Drums’ set, she’d asked me to come freestyle. She looked me in the eye and said I am one of her favorite rappers. This was special because Keemba is like family to me. And we’re all family on the Speak for the Culture team, so I always feel able to kickback and release in this environment.

So when my mp3 failed to download, I asked Keemba to perform a drum solo while Pavonne sung. I then go right into Empathy and could feel tectonic plates shift. The temperature of the room shifted. I was standing on stage with two of my Sisters. We are battle-tested and had gone through numerous trials together. Pavonne saw me through the worst break up of my life, and has always been the voice of reason in real life matters. Keemba and I have seen so many people fall off from this journey and we’ve remained solid throughout it all. And here they were with me standing on the stage to turn this performance into a production!

Keemba and Pavonne were midwife and nurse to a catharsis I didn’t know I needed. Pavonne’s voice was the cry and the wail of the new babe birthed from this magic. Keemba’s drum was it’s heartbeat. I was the Doctor and the baby, the artist and the art - released from hard labor to enjoy this beautiful moment created.

Thank you for taking the time to read through this blog post from the Grand Rising Newsletter! This was a post written by Lance Markeith Felton.