I've known Baub Bidon for a while. Now that I think of it, I'm not sure how we met. We're part of a small circle, occasionally crossing paths with others. Some more occasionally than others. About 15 years ago, he was some younger brother of some local print businessman in New Haven, CT. Here begins the circle.
As the years trudged on we all had our own things we did. I would run into Baub and he, always smiling, would ask what I was doing. Always interested in what's going on. He would talk about he was doing stand up. As the years moved along it became acting. Or was that the other way around. It's been a while. At some point he was doing poetry, and unknowingly found a home.
Baub runs Free to Spit, a small poetry forum in New Haven that now attracts a variety of poets fromup and down the upper Atlantic coast, and from other countries. He is often invited to perform as far away as Denver, CO.
Although I started this magazine on sort of momentary inspiration, I had inconsiously decided this some years back, and Baub was always an early pick for an interview. We met a local coffee shop in mid afternoon, I guess we both had to get out of the house. It was to be a short interview about poetry and Free to Spit. We ended up spending the rest of the day. Man… I forgot Baub can talk.
How long were you in the industry? What inspired you?
Since ‘97-’98. 16 years. Actually it going even much further, but as far as my actual inspiration, and how I got into it… along time ago, there was a brother by the name of Kevin Houston, aka Rev Kev. He used to work with a lot of young people and this was back in ah… I was at this program called the Youth At Risk Program in ’89. So I made good friends with Rev Kev. And Rev Kev used to do this type of poetry, somewhat different from, you know the typical… “au thou, blah, blah…Shakespeare”, you know, “and the birds and the bees”.
So he was doing something a little different, but I never knew what that was. I always liked poetry. I never knew what that was. I didn’t really learn to really appreciate or understand what he was feeling… until I got involved… with the poetry scene, and the poetry scene I sorta walked in on. I walked in on it. This brother by the name of Ngoma… Ngoma Hill, that’s my mentor, and before I even go into that, I used to do stand up. Stand up comedy. And doing comedy… the type of comedian I was, because I looked up to brothas like Eddie Murphy, you know, so I used to do impressions. You know, impersonate people.
So I walked into this poetry thing, and I also had like a worldly sense and mentality. Everything that wasn’t normal was kind of funny, out of place, you know what I mean. So I walked into this spot, this brother, he had this… thing that looked like a tree trunk. You know. It looked like a long, skinny log. And he was blowin’. He would blow in it, for a good minute or two. “buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz”. And he would do that for a long time and the whole room would be quiet! Right! And I’m like oh my god. This dude just quiet the whole room, blowin’ in this thing! And when he was done… he had this poem, (imitating Ngoma Hill’s deep voice) ”www.virtualplantation.com” and he had this… such a wonderful poem.
But I was like the comedian type of heart. I left this venue, and… I was mocking him. I was mocking him. ”www.virtualplantation.com” And it went from being like impersonating… this guy… blowin’ in a tree trunk, and reciting a poem. And I was walking down the street, and I was like, “Young black children playing the cotton fields of the city…” which was my words, and his voice! And I was playing around with that, playing around with that. And I kept on sayin’ receptively, receptively, receptively, receptively. By the time that I got home… I had a poem. This was in 1994. And I wrote it down, I was called “Play”. “Young black children playing the cotton fields of the city… Sellin’ that nitty gritty, the people actin’ silly… Poor man comes from the slums, by four hundred and fitty… Upon your money standin’ on a cold corner beggin’ for pennies… Has a name, but is hidden in his own shadow, searchin’ for recognition…”.
So I… I had that poem. And… I worked on that poem. I worked hard, I worked on that poem. And the one time when I finally performed the piece… someone asked me was I reciting Ngoma’s poem. ‘Cause I was doing it with his voice… but it was my poem. You know. And then I had, like mad people asking man, was that Ngoma’s poem. But it was Ngoma’s style. So, technically Ngoma, gave me a voice. Like, through his voice, I found my own. That poem, I totally do it totally different now. I do it with my voice now. Because, you know, I got my own style. And that poem, inspired other poems, inspired other poems, inspired other poems. I think that was in ’94-’95.
So, sometimes you don’t realize you’re inspiring people. You know. He does what he does, because he wants to share, with people, his truths. When we share, certain people, get somethin’ out of it. And I was one of the ones, who got so inspired. Even though, it was through a joke, through jokin’ around, I accidentally became a poet. Because of Ngoma. And I became somethin’ that I love. Because I never saw myself doing poetry man. If you asked me… 30 years ago… I wouldn’t see myself doing poetry full time.
Who are your influences?
My influences are Rev Kev, Ngoma Hill, definitely I consider my mentor. Amiri Baraka… Saul Williams! Actually. Saul Williams… ridiculous man. He might as well be like the godfather of spoken word. As they call it now. I love Nikki Giovanni, she’s one of my favorite poets, but, a lot of my inspiration comes from the local Poets who don’t get the recognition and national attention. Like Sister Isis, Monique Jarvis. Oh god! (snapping his fingers and trying to remember) There’s some dope female poets I am not mentioning right now… Oh! This young lady by the name of K - Love. I actually wrote a poem about her. I bumped into her in New York. A lot of the sistas in the poetry scene inspire me. Like, the really strong ones.
Any particular reason why the women inspire you?
The women inspire me… I was in this organization called Blackout Arts Collective. Well, I still consider myself to be blackout. Blackout Arts Collective is an organization that was created to uplift communities of color and women, through art. It was founded by Bryonn Bain. The women… it’s something about the real poets. You have poets… that do what they think spoken word is supposed to sound like. Or… they want be a slam poet. But they’ll talk about the clichés of poetry. They’ll write poetry with all these clichés in it about free Mumia… free Mandela. You know. And they’ll talk about poverty, and police brutality …throw a little police brutality in there. But a lot of those poems have no soul to ‘em. You know.
So, when I say the real female poets, like… when she strips herself naked… and she peels her skin back… and she… recites herself. You can feel, every little bit of everything. Like these sistas “Climbing PoeTree”, Alixa and Naima. And these sistas, they had this poem I think it’s called “Diamonds”. And They talk about if nature didn’t do her job. Like if the rivers didn’t flow in, and the sun didn’t… just a beautiful poem. So… like… stuff that moves me, that inspires me… say… (spontaneously) I wanna go write. Like, this gave me an idea. An idea for a piece. Because I get inspired by social situations like the whole Trayvon… situation.
What about subject matter as an influence? Are you mostly inspired by people or…
I’m inspired by people.
More than subject matter?
Because their lives are subject matter. Like… if you’re standing at a bus stop. You have that old drug addict… woman. Who is drug addict / mentally impaired / … hustler. You know. You think of the sister, that be holding the dolls downtown, and she’s praising Jesus, and then she’s like… “Can I get a cigarette?” You know, but… they have stories. They have stories man, I talked to her. I talked to this sista. I bumped into her by accident. By accident. It was so funny. I felt like, you know, the spirit of God… energy brought us together. Because I’m walking down Crown St., and I see this woman. And she’d talking to Jesus. She’s like… “Je-sus. Jesus. Whyyy… whyyy every time I ask you for a dollar, you never give it to me. Je-sus.” (chuckle) I’m serious. And I just so happened to have a couple of dollars in my pocket. So whether I gave it to her… or maybe Jesus gave it to her. But, it just so happened that as I was walking up the street. And I was maybe three feet away from her, she’s askin’ Jesus for a dollar. And I go in my pocket and give her a dollar.
But there are two ends to that story. She could have just saw me, and then started to say it out loud so I could hear her sayin’ that. Or two, Jesus probably really did give it to her through me. So… ever since then her and I have been cool. Like every time I see her. She don’t even call me by my name. She’s like… (soft female voice) “Coun-try. Country. How dat girl doing Country? You still seeing that girl Country? She come around? Huh? I’ll bet you see her. You ‘member we used to do…” And her whole… teeth are like gone. So you got to imagine somebody, with barely no teeth. “Country… you know… you know we used to have sumptin’ going too Country. You still remember that? Remember that Country? Let me get a ciga-, Country you got a cigarette and a coffee. Could you get me a coffee? A small coffee no sugar.” (laugh) Yea, so… that’s exactly how she is. Like… if you hear her, you’ll be like, that’s the woman Baub was talkin’ about.
So those are your inspirations. Everyday people?
Yea, everyday people. And I talk, like I meet people like that, and I talk to them because I wanna find out more than what the world sees. Or what their putting out to the world physically. And I don’t talk to them like they got issues. I talk to them like regular people. And they open up. And you be like… God, this one intelligent mother fucker. You’re like Wow!. I didn’t even know. Sometimes they come out and they talk, like they get out of character. And they talk. And you like… Wow. That’s an intelligent person. It’s almost like, after they finish talking to you, they give you that wink. It’s like the spirits winked at you. I could go on.
Tell me about Free 2 Spit.
Well Free 2 Spit, I felt was necessary. ‘Cause I was going out of Connecticut, when you really wanted good poetry. You know. You go to New York, to D.C., go to Philly. Go to Chicago. To find like, really… good strong… poets. Poets that would dig somewhere different. And a lot of the venues, especially in New York, where in the community. They were in the hood. Ngoma used to have Sugar Shack. Sugar Shack was in the hood. One of the places I performed at, Cafe Lago. When I first met this sista by the name of something Jones. Wow, I forgot her name. Well, she used to have a show on Comedy Central. She was doing different characters. I met this other sista by the name of La Bruja, and Mariposa, spanish poet. Great poet. She was on Def Poetry Jam. I met a lot of the greatest poets, out in Cafe Lago. I think it was 137th Street, and Amsterdam, or something like that. It was in the hood. Ya understand what I’m sayin’.
So when you come back to New Haven… and that’s not because it was in the hood or whatever. But that’s what I really admired. It’s like, these venues are poppin’ up, in the people’s communities, in their neighborhoods. But the venues that we had here, we had one venue here. We had one. And I’m talking bout post Blue’s Cafe… Sandra’s. So there wasn’t really anything here. The one venue that we really had after that just stopped. We had the public library. And to tell you the truth that’s another place I started off at. But the public library, when I first went there, was all white poets. Old women and men. Like 50, 60. And their poems was a lot of… “…the birds, and the bees… and the sun…” Ya know. So, the poems were dry. And it wasn’t that we didn’t like those poems. It’s just that… it’s like… those poems were like a disregard, for what was really going on. It was like these poets were just tooting their own horn, and entertaining each other over tea… or coffee. It was like they didn’t care about poverty. That’s how we felt. it’s like the spirits… stuff that you don’t understand what going on, the spirit knows head on, exactly what’s going on. So it’s like, the spirits like… these people don’t care about me. They don’t care about my struggle. They don’t care the fact that, 20 something kids, are being murdered each year in the inner city. Ya know. They’re not talkin’ about that stuff.
So like, our stories are being brushed underneath these flowers. These flowers and these beautiful birds… chirping. That’s why young people… when you talk to them about poetry, they don’t really… “Man I don’t do poetry, I don’t do that stuff, I listen to rap.” “cause rap is pretty much is talking about me. So, when they do come to the poetry venues, and it’s like… “Oh my God! It’s a little different than what I thought. Than what I was taught in school. ”So, we really didn’t have a venue. There’s was the Blues Cafe. And actually I wanted to get that venue. And the guy told me when they first made it the Blues Cafe. I told him I wanted to bring some poetry in there. And he denied me. He was like well, you got to talk to the owner. There’s nothing I can do, da, da, da, da. Then the next thing you know, somebody else ended up getting the venue. And they did a little poetry venue. But he was a professor at Yale. Actually cool dude. Derrick Gilbert aka D-Knowledge. If you remember the movie Higher Learning. Yea. He does the poem…”hi-gher… hi-gher… hi-gher learning”. Yea. D-Knowledge, great dude man. I miss that dude.
So, when D-Knowledge left, that era, was this brotha Bryonn Bain was living here. We had poetry… like potent. Like potent, potent poetry. Like people were digging underneath that freakin’ flower. (laugh) We were digging underneath that hill man. So, you know where the mind was. We were building something. So… so Brion left. Everybody was startin’ to do their own thing. Then, reality was hittin’ some people. i didn’t want poetry to die out in Connecticut. Especially in New Haven.So, I’ve been going around lookin’ at venues. I tried bringing it in the hood, in New Haven. I brought it to this spot called Junes Place, which is on Water Street. It was a bar. We only did one show there. The first Free 2 Spit was in October of 2004. 2014 would make it our 10 anniversary. We moved it from Junes Place to Porky’s. There was some trouble keeping it going there. So Free 2 Spit went on lockdown. We tried to resurface in 2006. In Hartford, at Club Charisma. Dude’s a very hype guy… (low quick male voice) “You know what we’re gonna do right. We’re gonna get your people and get my people. And we’re gonna get a lot of people in here.” Ya know. His thing was like, we’re gonna pack this club! And I’m thinkin’ we’re gonna pack this club. You know. Free 2 Spit is at a club! But they paid us, to bring Free 2 Spit over there.
Was that the first time you were getting paid to do Free 2 Spit?
Yea. What we were charging was, the first 10 poets gets in free. But you know like, poets are free. And then it like $5. But Club Charisma was promoting their female and male revues. They was promoting stuff when they had like djs coming to the club. ya know. They promote it on the radio station, and I’m like, ya’ll not promoting Free 2 Spit. You not promotin’ the poetry. So, one thing backed up to the other, and the venue shut down. I’m like aw man that’s mess up. So I was like I will not invite anybody to another Free 2 Spit, unless I have control. So the inspiration was really to bring something to New Haven.
Is that when you got your current home?
Yea, On Howe Street. So what happened with that. The Peoples Center. Is one of the most realist, places you can ever be. A lot of them are activists. A lot of them fight for political justice. Fight for all kinds of stuff. I see the history with that space. It’s part of the Freedom Trail. Back in the 50’s and 60’s. People who were going down south to protest. It’s also the first integrated basketball and theatre group in New Haven, was there. So, because of the history of the space, because of the people. So they asked me to bring some poetry. We had this thing called First Friday Cafe thing that we did there. So I was like, wow! How come I didn’t think about this?
Free 2 Spit started at the people’s center on November 7th 2008 (3 days after Obama was elected). So what I learned, I don’t give myself credit, really. I give Free 2 Spit credit for Free 2 Spit. ‘Cause Free 2 Spit, taught me a lot. And one thing that it taught me, that it was necessary. Like, the reason we are in the space we are today, is because of the big gap, in our community, between the young generation and the wise generation. So, that’s a platform, for the young and the wise to come together, and speak their truth. Whether it’s through poetry, song, rhyme… whatever. It’s a platform for them. And it’s a community platform.
Was it a struggle to keep it going? Financially, or organizationally?
It’s a struggle. Yes, it’s a struggle because that I knew if I had the budget, I’d be able to do a lot more. But at the same time, the people, make it a struggle. “Cause you have a certain group of people, you do have a lot of cells in the community scene. With crabs in ‘em. You know the crab mentality. Even though they speak social justice, they only support a particular group of people. it’s like they chose who they’re going to support, and who they’re not. And sometimes it’s a conscious effort to the point that it becomes a subconscious effort. Where it like, I don’t support this dude. He’s not important enough to me. He’s not doing anything for me. So if it’s not benefiting them, they’re not going to support it. Especially when these people pose as your friends, when you see them. You think they’re cool with you, but you don’t see them at your joint, but they’ll shot way across town, past your joint, to go to another joint. And vice versa.
Do you think it was the natural desire to be at the bigger venue, or was that even the case?
It had nothing to do with bigger venue. It had to do with what click you were. So in the poetry scene, you have a lot of clickage. Like, okay, your not part of my click. I’ll say what’s up to you when I see you, but, I’m not going to support you. I’ll support you if my click is there. It’s like, they don’t see the bigger picture. A lot of these people, are really about making a name for themselves. They forget the purpose.
To push poetry?
Not even just poetry, but the poetry behind the poetry… itself. It’s like… You can be a great poet. You can be a Langston Hughes, you can be a Paul Lawrence Dunbar, you can be a Sonja Sanchez. What made these poets so great is they really meant what they were sayin’. Like to me, a really great poet, Nina Simone. Nina Simone… her poetry was her… her skin. Her poetry was her… articulating… words at times. Her poetry was the rawness in the stuff she was saying. because she said what she meant and she meant what she said, and that’s what made Nina Simone… that woman is timeless. She will always be relevant in anything. This is someone who can sing something as simple as… “Here comes the sun… little darl-ing”, but it the spirit behind, the poetry behind that.
I think Nina Simone would be one of those people, if she was in Connecticut, she would come to a Free 2 Spit. She would pay her $6. To come to Free 2 Spit. She wouldn’t even come as a celebrity. Just like this brotha Jon Goode. Who actually was in Def Poetry Jam. This brotha was here. Like, Nina Simone sorta reminds me of him a little. Great poet. Great poet Jon Goode, but he pays his $6 to come to Free 2 Spit, in New Haven. But the people I’m talking about, they are not Nina Simone, they are not Sonja Sanchez, they are not Saul Williams, and already they have egos. And the people on that caliber are the most humble there are. We had that in New Haven, at one time. We had like poets, that were just really about the poetry and about the movement. And the movement through poetry and through art.
Any long term plans for Free 2 Spit?
I’m looking to start Free 2 Spit TV.
Tell me about Free 2 Spit TV?
It’s a surprise. It’s will be online, but it’s a surprise. I have a lot of people that I run across, that want to be at Free 2 Spit. And a lot of them don’t live in Connecticut. Or near Connecticut. Some of them are out in like, Germany. I have people hit me up from Germany, from China. I got people as far as like, India, who like my stuff. So, I want to be able to make it available for them as well. There are bigger goals. I’m not trying to be in a box.
Poetry seems at it’s core, a literary discipline. How important is performing live to poets development?
Aw, it very important. I like performing live. When you perform something, it does help your writing. It does help your writing a whole lot. Because your so used to performing, your performing in your head. When I’m writing, I’m performing in my head. Doing it in front of an audience, your just having the opportunity to practice. You know, like I look at it as an opportunity to practice.
But can’t you do that in front of a few friends?
You know what, to me it’s easier to perform in front of a whole room full of people, then sometimes to just perform in front of one or two persons. Before I came to meet you, I had recited one of my pieces to a friend. Because we were talking about hip hop , because I got this joint called “Beat Box”. And I performed it for him, but I didn’t “perform“ it. Like I just recited the words. Because in front a room full of people I think your absorbing… energy. You know in front of one person, you feel like your bringing attention. Like here I am, on this persons porch, in the neighborhood. And all the sudden I’m like… Because the joint “Beat Box”, I usually beat box before I go into the poem. But I came to in shape with the poem. Like… “Like I’ve been beat boxin’ before beats was in boxes. Way back with Pro-Keds, Converse and colored stripes on tube socks, I put the boom in box and created boom boxes…”
You know I… went in with the poem, but I didn’t go in with the performance of the poem. It’s when you lose yourself… I guess maybe when your in front of a whole bunch of people… you disappear… and become the poem. Like I disappear, and become the poem. I guess it’s much safer, because we’re already shy people, like I think I’m kinda shy. But when I perform, and I think that the same thing with Michael Jackson, like, he becomes the artist when he’s on stage, he’s not Michael Jackson. So it’s easier to put on a performance as someone else, verses… or as you art, verses as you just being the person. Believe me man, it’s fun losing yourself in a piece man… just lose yourself.
Like, in acting, there was this book I was reading, I think it was called “The Working Actor”. In the book, they actually use the poet as an example, in order for the actor to understand, how to become a great actor. And then I would hear actors, like a Charles Dutton, and he would talk about playing a character, in a August Wilson play. And how that character was so draining, because you become that character. I never understood that, until I really started performing my poems. You know. There are certain poems that I cannot do. Or I try not to do as much. This one poem called “Ghetto Jazz”. And “Ghetto Jazz”, it talks about gun violence, and stuff in our community. And that poem, is so draining, because I become the characters in it. I become the characters as I recite. Not physically, but spiritually. It’s very draining. And I find myself in tears on stage after I do the poem, or in the middle of the poem, I find myself wiping my eyes. And that’s not something that I usually do. So yea. I think performing is very important. It helps you gain confidence, as a writer. It helps you to know that what you wrote, wasn’t in vain. It helps you to sorta get a feel of what your rhythm is like.
The video “Break the Record” was a well done video. Most low budget videos become pretty boring within the first minute. Your director was able to keep it fresh without any elaborate F/X. Who was the director?
His name was Travis. Travis actually worked with Youth Rights Media, Blackbeard Films, his production. Travis is a genius man. He actually did the edits and everything all in like, less than a week. “Cause I told him the ideas I wanted for the video. And of course I don’t want like, you know, the typical… trying to do something bigger than what you have. That was a good collaboration. Travis is like, he’s an artist. In the sense of being a filmographer. You know how many times I recited that poem. (laugh) It was like, we messed up, messed up on a word. If you look at the video, you’ll notice that there was a line, I say… “Our mobs be rollin’ deep, I mean they’re mob be rollin’ deep” You’ll notice it now. I get right near to the fence, and I put my back to the fence. So I had messed up in that line. You know. We did it so much…
Was the video difficult to film?
No not really. Because it was like, what we going to shoot now? Let’s shoot on top of this building downtown. Ah, lets’s go on top of Ninth Square man, just do this thing. You know what I mean. And I saw the video, I was like wow, this is dope! ‘Cause he did the whole black & white thing. Only thing is like, with the images, but I still thought that was necessary. When I mentioned Malik Jones and everyone of them that I mentioned, to have a photo of them pop up on the screen. That was a great video.
The video “Break the Record” seems to be about injustice. particularly, racial injustice in terms of hostility toward black men. Are you surprised with the recent acquittal of George Zimmerman?
I was disappointed, but I wasn’t surprised. You know, that’s a very tricky question. Because I was surprised. Because in my head, the way it was lookin’, there’s no way in hell, this guy is going to walk out this courthouse. The thing is, Zimmerman, in his head he was a cop. And he was the racist cop, the profiling cop. He was a cowboy / cop / Klu Klux Klan. All in one body. Really, what I think what happened was, he went to try to detain Trayvon. It’s that concept, that America, puts white America, almost like they’re black people overseers. It’s like you put them in that position where, you have more power than they do. That’s what made Zimmerman feel like he had every right to do what he did. He felt like he had that backing. He felt that he was protected. And just killing another black person on the street, America’s not going to be sensitive to that.
“Eye Am Hip hop“ is another well done video of yours. It seems to be about so many different things. Can you break it down for me?
I wanted to talk about Hip hop , and who Hip hop is. You know. I wanted to take away from the clichés of like, I wanted to undress Hip hop , and let you see what Hip hop really is. Like hip hop is bigger than… itself. Like who is Hip hop . Like KRS-One said, rap is something you do, and hip hop is something you live. And in my opinion, Hip hop was the new movement after the Black Panther movement. And when they killed off all of the Black Panthers, and murdered the black movement, the hip hop came out. You know, so they’re talking about social issues. Things that are going on in our community. And people that can relate to that, that’s what their ears are were gravitating to. It’s very complex. I am hip hop … it’s like sayin’ I am poetry. Because hip hop and poetry are one and the same. A lot of people say the stuff that a lot of the rappers are doing, came from the Last Poets. To understand hip hop, ya have to understand poetry. And to understand poetry, you have to understand God. Because God is poetry, and poetry is hip hop, and I am hip hop. So I am one with God, I am one. I mean, I go there, I say it’s bigger than this, it’s bigger than that.
When i first saw the title of “Dance With Me”, I thought you had taken a stab at a light, fun subject. I thought I would hear a fun song with a catchy beat. Of course it immediately sounded sexual, but quickly after that I felt there was something deeper underneath. Tell me about it.
I had a crush. I don’t normally write love poems. ‘Cause I got my heart broken, in high school trying to write a love poem. I wrote it to this girl, it was called “I Think of You”. And I never got the girl. So my heart was broken and it seems like a lot of time I wrote love poems to females. I didn’t really get the girl. Almost like it’s a curse or something. So, when I became a full time poet, writer, I’ve always tried to channel my energy writing about people that I love. Or I’ll use the energy of like my best friend for example. To, write about love, because the truth is I really love my best friend but, it’s a love much deeper than romantic love. So anyway, this particular poem, “Dance with Me”… this girl, that I was crazy about, I kept on thinking about her so much. And I also have this thing against like erotic poems.
Well, I have a friend who did erotic poetry, yet criticized the culture as not very deep about it.
Well, before I actually understood… this sista… broke down erotic poetry for me. She, writes a couple of erotic poems, goes by the name of Adina Stone. And there’s nothing blatant in her poems. So then you have people who are just nasty. And then you have the artists, and that’s erotica. To be able to successfully write an erotic poem, you have to be very creative without actually walking about it right up front. Because there’s not even a storyline, there’s nothing. It’s just I wanna f___ you, I wanna do this to you. I wanna pick you up and… you know. So, every poem afterwards, tries to outdo that poem, and be nastier than the last person that was on stage. So I take that back about me not liking erotica. I just don’t like that nasty poetry.
It seem that the art isn’t explored just because it’s sex, and it’s an easy subject.
Yea. It’s like if it’s nasty, people are going to like it, because everybody likes sex. If you hear Eric Jerome Dickey, when he mentions sex in his novels, he’s very creative with it He puts the art in it. He puts the poetry in it. He puts the passion in it. So that makes it beautiful. So, anyway, you know, I kinda confused erotica with just plain nasty. So, I was trying to stay away from that. And I wanted to write a poem, where the guy… is making love with this person, but it didn’t have to be sexual. I wanted to talk about something innocent. Something that’s innocent is just dancing with the person. It doesn’t have to be any music playing. We’re just out… on the grass… underneath the tree, and we’re enjoying each other. And I’m enjoying her just being beautiful, cause this girl was a beautiful person, and I wanted to write a poem that matched her personality. Beautiful woman, physically and mentally, as a person. Like when I go into the kind of woman that I want to talk to, I always look to see how they treat other people around them. It’s not so much trying to be judgmental about how you carry yourself, but it’s like, how do you treat other people around you, and, what are you like in a conversation. What’s your passion, and she’s such a beautiful loving person.
In any industry, it’s commonly assumed any artist would naturally follow a path with more financial possibilities. Assuming there is more money in hip hop recordings than straight poetry. Is there any reason why you don’t do more rap songs?
Actually, I started off doing art, but also one of the things I started off doing, I wanted to be a rapper. You know, at the time, when rappers actually had skills. I have some product out there.
What do you think about the poetry industry today?
I feel like poetry is becoming like hip hop today. It’s becoming watered down. I said like when I was talking about Blackout Arts Collective, before Def Poetry Jam. It seems like a lot of poets had too much jam. (laugh) So, they’re hooked on jam. (laugh) A poem is being inspired right now. So a lot of poets got hooked on that jam, and it became more about making money. Then you have people that’s in it for the wrong reasons. Some dudes are in it just to meet girls. Like you’ll have a poet go up, and he’ll do a poem, and all the sudden he’s doing a erotic poem. Or he’ll sit there and talk about “Queen” this and “Queen” that. And later on, when you’re with the person he’s talking about bitches. You know what I mean? So, a lot of the poets, to me I feel like aren’t who they used to be. But you have a new generation coming up, but the problem is, it’s that gap, in the community, Like nobody’s passin’ the torch. Like the generations before passed the torch, but we’re not passin’ the torch to the young generation. And then we get upset that, they’re not doing things, the way they’re supposed to be doing things. My friend, Jon Goode, great poet. Awesome poet! The state of poetry today, it’s like now you could hear a poem, and think it’s somebody’s poem, and it might not be theirs. That’s how bad it’s gotten. Like my friend Jon Goode, somebody actually took his poems. And took his bio, and put everything with their name. They had a book on Amazon.com for sale. They had a whole book for sale. Their actually reciting these poems on stage at shows. Had it on YouTube. It was that bad.
Do you think there are good opportunities for poets that aren’t mainstream?
Most true poets are great actors. I’m talking about true poets are great actors. They can act, they could do commercials. John actually, the whole Black in America, at whole CNN special. He was like the voice of that.
Your thoughts on the effect of bootlegging on the industry. Has bootlegging affected you?
50 Cent said it best. 50 Cent even told people, Yo, got get the CD man, bootleg it. I don’t care. You know, just go get it. When people start bootlegging your stuff, your already making a lot of money.
Do you buy pirated material? Often? Your opinion(feeling)?
I don’t bootleg for two reasons. For one, your not getting the quality, you know it’s not good quality. And two, when I matured as an artist, I would say, if your going to bootleg something, then that must mean you don’t really care about the artist. Cause like Alisha Keys, I love Alisha Keys. I would never ever bootleg Alicia, Nas. Like people offer, Yo! I got the new Nas! I’m like Nas didn’t even come out… I got it before it even came out son. But, on the other hand, the people who are buying bootlegs, I don’t really hate on them. ‘Cause there was a situation with Noriega. Noriega came to New Haven, and a friend of mine wanted his autograph. And Noriega was mad cool. “Yea, yea son! I’m a shine it.” So my homeboy pulls out, a bunch of ryhme CDs. And Noriega was like, “Nah, can’t sign nobody else’s stuff”. So he went in his pocket, and he pulled out a bootleg version of Noriega’s CD. Noriega was like “Would you look at this shit”. And he started going off on dude, and going off on me! And then I’m like, you wasn’t sellin’ your stuff out your truck at one time.
You know. But it goes even deeper than that. I’m like dude. You don’t get on him, the dude who purchased it. He purchased it because it was cheaper than $16. And he likes your music, but he can’t afford to buy the $16 CD. All he had was like 4, 5 dollars. Now if you’re walking by a vendor, and the vendor say well I got the new Noriega for $2… by all means! I want the new Noriega. Like to him, I went and I supported, this album. I’m listening to it. If anything a bootleg is still promoting the actual artist. So he listened to it, and the artist, cause that’s really where they make their money, at the concert. So, somebody, be like, gimme a bootleg, of Noriega, and I’m like, yo, this is hot man! Where’d you get… yo! This is the stuff! And I go to a store, and have the money. And I see the official Noriega, and looks better than what the dude was showin’ me. I’m like damn. I’m a get this copy. And I’m a call my boy, I’m like, I got the original copy homie. But they both listen to the same song, it’s just the cover photos different. And I’m going to go to the concert. So Nori done made some money off of this dude bootlegging, his shit! You know what I’m sayin’.
What are your plans for the next two to five years?
Wow… be older. (laugh) Nah, nah, nah. Actually… take Free 2 Spit to the next level. It’s gonna be on a deep level. I’m a take me as an artist, on a huge level. I have put… my vision board that I wanted to be a millionaire… this year. That’s my goal. I feel like this man. You was born in this lifetime, on this earth. So you have every right… to have everything, that you want… in life. And it can happen, and it will happen. I just have to take the steps that I need to take, to get there, but I will be there. And I’m going to do it with humility.
If your career levels off from here, would it be worth it?
Oh! It’s always worth it. Worth it ‘til I die. And I’m always trying to get higher. It’s worth it, up to it works.
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