TheBanyanTree: Lyrical Order Showcase

[Margaret R. Kramer]

I spend most of my life in a white middle class world with an emphasis on
baby boomer middle age.  I don’t see different lifestyles very often.  I
work out in a suburban fitness center, I work in a suburban office, and I
live at the very edge of the city in a very suburban like neighborhood.

I listen to lots of different music from classical to Norah Jones, but I’m
not fond of rap or hip hop.

My son’s been involved with rap since he got out of high school.  He’s not a
performer, but a producer.  I know he likes bringing different people
together in the hopes of someday “making it.”  He also composes “beats” and
sells them to other artists.  His group of rappers has recorded one CD and
they’ve been working on another for a while now.  His primary role is to
keep his rappers motivated, to get them to show up for rehearsals, to keep
working, even though the dream of earning millions of dollars seems so
unreachable.

Rap or hip hop (and there’s a difference and there’s lots of different kinds
of rap, from gangster rap to east coast rap to west coast rap to cronk to
Chicago rap and on it goes) is like an underground music scene here in the
Twin Cities.  This is predominately a white area, strong with Norwegian,
Swedish, German heritage and the notable music is usually rock and roll or
jazz for the sophisticated with country thrown in for good measure.  But we’
ve had a major influx of Hispanics and SE Asians, and I know over time
musical tastes will change if they haven’t already.

Any time a rap concert is held and a minor incident like a fight happens,
the Twin Cities media blows it up into a race riot.  That’s because white
folks and black folks don’t mix much here and all white people know dark
skinned people carry guns and are just looking for any chance to kill white
people.  That’s why our state passed a gun permit law so white people can
protect themselves those scary dark skins.

So in spite of the fact that rap music is the top selling music in the
United States, mention rap here and you’re considered insane.  Yet I hear it
everywhere.  In commercials, movies, basketball games, and I hear it booming
from a white boy’s car as I wait at a red light.

But clubs are finally realizing rap does have an audience here in the Cities
and are slowly beginning to feature rap artists.  Every few months my son’s
company, Way Unified Records, manages to set up shows at various venues
around town.  All the shows have been on weeknights and I haven’t been able
to go.  I have that darn white middle class job to go to, you know.

Finally, my son had a Friday night show.  And I dreaded going.  I get up so
early and his show starts at 9 pm when I usually go to bed.  How would I
stay awake that long?  What if I hated it?  What if I wanted to leave early?
I couldn’t think of any excuses to get out of it as the day went on.  Susan
called me to check in.  Ray was going to watch the boys while we went to the
show.

Susan and I drove separately just in case I couldn’t stay awake and had to
leave.  St. Paul doesn’t have much of a night life.  The city only wakes up
when the Wild hockey team is playing – a white middle class activity that
happens in the winter.  We found the club and there were two parking places
right together just down the street.

The club was divided into two sections, a bar and a band area.  I was on the
VIP list, which meant I didn’t have to pay the $5 cover.  Asher hugged me
and then brought me around to introduce me to his rappers, his graphics
artist, his DJ, sound man, his co-producer, and other friends.  I sat at the
“mothers’ table” with the other mothers.  The music was so loud I couldn’t
hear anything, but that was OK, because I didn’t have to talk either.

It was dark and smoky, but my brain remembered my younger club days, and I
settled in.  I love to watch people, and because Ray and I rarely go out to
clubs, I found the people activity fascinating.  Most of the people were
black, but I’ve never felt uncomfortable around blacks, and I wasn’t worried
that they were going to shoot me.  Most of the crowd was 20 and 30
somethings, but I saw people my age, too.

The show was supposed to start at 9 pm, but because there weren’t a lot of
people there yet, Asher waited until 10.  The place gradually filled up.
There was a dance floor in front of the stage, but Asher told me people
really don’t dance, they move to the music and wave their arms around.  As
the show began, everyone crowded in front of the stage.

Asher was the MC, a kind of Arsenio Hall type personality.  One of the
mothers told me he looked so natural and comfortable on stage.  Yes, that’s
Asher, he’s always been a showboat.

This was a talent show featuring multiple artists.  The first one up was a
young lady age 13 singing R & B.  Right before break there was a young
rapper of 12 who had the crowd screaming for more.  There was another R & B
singer, a dance group, and finally Asher’s rappers.

He has a team of two females who rapped about their pussies, although I
couldn’t understand one word.  I only knew about this rap because Susan told
me.  But the beat was great and I was standing waving my arms around with
the rest of the crowd.

The show ended with Asher’s entire crew together, including Asher (His rap
name is Willis “A Bomb Ways” – everyone calls him Bomb or Willis).  People
knew the words because they were saying them right along.  The place was hot
and smoky.  I could barely breathe and I think I was one of only two people
not smoking.  I don’t dare risk smoking in a club, because I’d end up
smoking all the time again, plus excess cigarette smoke really bothers me.
I have mixed feelings about the proposed ban on smoking now before our city
council.

The show ended at 12:30 am.  I was wide awake and having fun.  St. Paul
police were outside the door in case any black people started shooting.  But
everyone mixed well together and there were no problems.

My ears were ringing from the loud music, but I have to admit rap or hip hop
was fun.  When Asher was little, he used to watch “Yo MTV Raps” on TV.  I
listened to the music then and got to know some of the artists.  Now these
artists are old-timers, like the Rolling Stones are to me.

There is something special about live performances of any kind of music, I
suppose because we’re witnesses to the creative process as it happens versus
listening to a recording.  As an audience, we’re part of that creative
process, the artist or group is feeding off of our reaction and flowing with
us, regardless of the kind of music being performed.

The showcase was to feature urban music and dance.  And there’s an edge, a
reality, a grit to that urban lifestyle which is missing in my own life.  I’
ve lost the ability to explore, to create, and to take risks.  I like
everything to be safe, secure, and predictable.  My son provided me a way of
getting out of the middle class box for a while.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at earthlink.net

http://www.polarispublications.com
Be a star!

http://www.bpwmn.org
Business and Professional Women of Minnesota

A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun.
Enjoy the trip.
  ~Author Unknown