THE HIDDEN PARTS OF MY SOUL: A SUNDAY WITH ZAP MAMA TO WARM ME UP

You might not realize this from my last few posts but I have not been in the best mood. LOL, yeah I know, whatever. It has been a terrible weekend and I put my business out there for all to see but that is exactly why I started this thing. I woke up on Sunday feeling some serious fuck the world energy. I had turned off my phone the night before so I would not have to hear any more of that damn crackberry beeping with calls, texts, and emails telling me about all the shit I missed. I GET IT; I MISSED THE PARTY OF THE YEAR. For those of you who do not know what happened, that is just how it has to stay because if I go into it again I am going to get pissed, and none of the people responsible are worth the text. I will say this though: sometimes you just have to go it alone.

I woke up around 2:30 PM. Yes, 2:30 PM. I drank some orange juice, ignored my crackberry even more, and thought about why I allow myself to be so angered by others. Then I decided I was not going to let anyone fuck with my Sunday. That was officially the beginning of a good Sunday. I had frozen some bottles of water the night before, emptied one out, and made myself a very nice rum-laced beverage to enjoy throughout the day. I left the house around 3:30 PM. I was not in the mood for anything heavy so I grabbed a honey turkey and Swiss sandwich to take with me to the show. I hit the train and was in the city rather quickly.

As soon as I walked into the SummerStage area, I ran into some great friends I had recently met at my usual Sunday hangout. There is nothing better than entering a venue and being greeted with big smiles and warm hugs filled with sincerity and love. We made our way through the crowd looking for our friends who were already in the know. As we separated to find them, I turned my head and saw an old friend sitting in the sponsor VIP area. A couple of hugs and smiles later, I found myself sitting there with this friend whom I had not seen in over a year but had somehow seen twice in the past two days. The universe has an interesting way of making things happen.

I arrived at around 5:15 PM, too late to catch Angelique Kidjo, but honestly, that was not why I was there. I was there for Zap Mama. At 5:24, the opening band started, and by 5:31 Zap Mama hit the stage as scheduled. Yes, some people actually show up on time. The show was exactly what I needed: a full two-hour set with all my favorites from every album, not just a big promo for their new album “Supermoon.” They mentioned that album only once as they performed my favorite track from it, “1,0.00 ways”, and we sang along to every word as if the album had been out for years rather than just two days. To see these women leap onto the stage as if it were a massive trampoline, move a thousand plus people to sing and chant at the top of their lungs, dance, and wave their hands takes a special kind of performer and soul—and that soul belongs to Marie Daulne. I needed a fix and she gave me just the hit I required.

It amazed me how this place had dramatically changed my mood. It made me realize I am not built for negativity. I need the warmth of positive energy. Some people I know always talk about how you have to flow with whatever happens and not allow things to affect you, as if being indifferent to the world is somehow a good thing. I am sensitive and I love it sometimes, but it is my sensitivity that allows me to truly feel moments like this. I realized music lives deep within me and controls my mood and energy. I remember being in a terrible mood years ago and a DJ putting on Talib Kweli’s “Get By”, and my whole mood changed. The song forced me up on my feet so I could stand on top of the table and feel every word and note of that song just as I did that night I talked about in my “PLEASE SWEAT THESE TECHNIQUES” post a few weeks ago. I came to a great realization last night: Music is my mistress and I am addicted to her loving.

After a three-song encore, I left the park and ran into Sallome, a soul whose warmth could melt ice cream just by being near it. I looked at her, she looked at me, and we both shouted BROOKLYN. We made our way to the train, hoping to make it to the last Soul Summit show in Fort Greene Park. We had both wanted to be part of the “I LOVE BK” documentary currently being filmed all over our borough. We got off the train in Fort Greene, also known as Chocolate Chelsea as my homegirl Sabrina had coined it, and ran into so many friends that by the time we tried to get to the park, everyone was walking out. We ran into some more friends and turned back toward Habana with the crowd to enjoy more rum and tequila laced beverages, good food, great conversations, and some people even watched the movie. I LOVE MY SUNDAYS.

Summer is eternal. Believe in it.

P.S. WOMEN SHOULD NEVER EVER EVER EVER CHEW GUM; THIS IS WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE.