A Great Day In Harlem

Did a hip hop walking tour of Harlem. While it may sound rather touristy (ignore the opening picture on the website--it just got a revamp and looks horrendously commercial and cringeworthy, not at all what I experienced), the guide books don't show you where Grandmaster Flash performed or the significance of the some of the places that have sinced evolved into other things. I've been to Harlem but this was something else altogether. The best part is that the legends themselves conduct the tour-- JDL from the Cold Crush Bros, even Kool Herc and Kurtis Blow!

For more, read Jeff Chang's stupendous Can't Stop, Won't Stop. For those still going "Huh?", a quick crash course:

Kool Herc is the godfather of Hip Hop. Here's a great vid of him inventing loops:

Any self-respecting hip hopper has to know the words to Kurtis Blow's The Breaks 

like it came from the good book itself.

Rap ensembles? Before Wu Tang, there was Cold Crush Bros:

JDL

This schoolyard is hallowed graffitti ground, so famous,
 it's been officially acknowledged as a historical landmark.

The tour wasn't just about hip hop. It was so nice to see junkyards now converted into pocket playgrounds for kids. There is a real sense of community in Harlem.


You'll recognise these gates in New Jack City and American Gangster.
In real life, it's prime real estate with the likes of Ruby Dee and Spike all owning property here.


Ray Charles penned a famous song in one of these apartments. 
Guess which song, guess which apartment.

FELA! The Best Musical Evah!

This is THE musical to catch when you're on Broadway. Fela Kuti is brought back to life in such an explosive manner and his music is reverently performed, never contrived. Fela! was an off-Broadway favourite but nearly ended its run prematurely if not for The Roots' ?uestlove who was blown away after watching it and the producing efforts of one Shawn Carter, a certain Mr. Will Smith and his wife, who lobbied for it to go on Broadway. It got a whopping 11 Tony nominations last year with 3 wins. Brooklyn afrobeats group Antibalas arranged and performs the music which explains why this musical has real heart and soul. Sahr Ngaujah who plays Fela is magnetic. Patti LaBelle (!!!) performs as Fela's mother until January next year, so you'd do well to book your tickets now! 


The night I went was spectacularly star-studded. We'd all expected Ms. LaBelle onstage of course, but the gay couple next to me ("You Go, Patti! You Go, Girl! We Love YOU!") and myself included, were stunned when we saw Reverend Al Sharpton take his seat two rows away from us. After which came Patti's ex husband and son (this I got from the aforementioned LaBelle fans). Then, just when we were about to settle down, cheers came from the balcony:-

Mr. and Mrs. Smith in the opera box, yo! We were practically hugging ourselves thinking it couldn't get any better than that when towards the end of the show, no less than SPIKE LEE got up to leave (he had probably gotten in halfway). That totally clinched it. Too bad this pic wasn't clear enough--it was taken on the sly and in fact, I got told off by one of the ushers. Will and Jada were really gracious though, smiling and waving like the Hollywood royalty they are.


Here's a taste of the musical when it showed off Broadway. The New York Times' review was right--you come out of the show wondering why nobody is dancing in the streets--its that infectious. We gave the show a standing ovation that night. 


p/s I smell a movie on the way--with Will and Jada in it and Spike Lee directing; JayZ to provide end theme song :D