Sunday, November 2, 2008

Dueling poets on Barack Obama

From the left, Glenis Redmond. From the right, “African Queen.”

5 comments:

Kellybelle said...

Ugh, African Queen! African Queen! SMH. I'm no slam poetry fan because affected cadences and pauses sometime take the place of substance and skill, but I dug the first sister's piece.

But African Queen--excuse me, Ms. Wisdom--wtf?

Ahem (tapping the mike) how's everybody feeling?

Sarah
se ra se ra
you shop
like entitlement
swathing yourself
in Fifth Avenue finery
then denying your purchases
like a cypher
even the Louis Vuitton
for little Piper--
Sarah
se ra se ra
you fall
for pranks Canadian
the spotlight draws you
like the blues drew Ma Rainey
or the hunger for power
Dick Cheney
Sarah
se ra se ra
you are
dumb as a box of hair
in interviews
we see
nothing there
Your experience
as mayor and mama
guarantee
a win for
OBAMA

(everybody snaps)

Thank you, thatnk you. Ashe.

Undercover Black Man said...

^ Cool.

bklyn6 said...

I'm no slam poetry fan because affected cadences and pauses sometime take the place of substance and skill....

Ditto! Gosh, I hate this stuff. Okay, once every blue moon I actually hear something I like. But, often it just reminds me of that James Brown song, "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothin'."

There's a promo for VH1 Soul where the women starts a spoken word-like flow that ends, "Soul music is life." I usually shut that shyte off before she gets that far.

Christopher Robinson said...

When the McCain woman says that "Obama will certainly not be President where I come from, why should he be President of America?", what is that supposed to mean?

Anonymous said...

Hilarious! And, I too, cannot stand slam poetry for the most part! Glad I am not alone!! Phew, now I may develop the courage to admit that I enjoy Mary J.'s music, but her singing skills are still sorely lacking.