Rap and Rock-What a Combination

I saw a performance at The Complex last night. The opening act was the Iron Mic Coalition. (www.ironmic.net) Their album is available on www.cdbbay.com, at Tower Records in Memphis, or at the Center for Southern Folklore in Memphis. They are a very talented hip-hop collective in the Memphis area. They were great! They did "B-Boy Stance", which is a great song. They did Jason Harris' song, "Size 13s", and they did a solo song by Atiba aka Duke, who is also in the group MOS. Jason Harris also did a song from his upcoming solo album "Da Hater". I was chilling backstage with them before the show, telling Quinn of Fyte Club and IMC that we were using their song "Angels" in What Goes Around (www.pittstopproductions.com). They were glad to hear it, and we chilled out and had a rhyme freestyle session. I had an uncharacteristic bout of shyness, but Quinn and Duke rocked it. The next act was Plan B. Let's see, what can I say about Plan B. I guess you could call it "crunk" music. Like, the music that's ALWAYS played on Black radio. Yay. Then, after him, Latoya Baker-Smith (Just the Two of Us) and her band Closed Kaption rocked the house. They performed Incubus' "Wish You Were Here", a Nirvana tune, other covers, and three original songs. My favorite of the originals is "Let a Wind Come". Incidentally, if you go to the music section of www.arnitawilliams.com (I see you, girl), you can hear "Let a Wind Come". I was proud of both acts. Seeing my friends rock the stage inspires me to rock in my own way, whether poetry, acting, or maybe hip-hop (gimme a minute, it'll come out). I also ran into my partner J'Malo Torrie (www.innercitysouth.com), who is an activist and a brilliant spoken-word poet. as well as singer/hairdresser Phucha. It was cool to see people and chill. I feel recharged. Gotta get back on the grind and chase the dreams. Be easy, readers.