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

You might not know this from my past couple of post, but I haven’t been in the best mood. LOL, yea I know, whatever! It’s been a terrible weekend and I put my business all in the streets, but that’s why I started this thing. So I woke on Sunday on some fuck the world stuff. I had turned off my phone from the night before so I didn’t have to hear any more of that damn crackberry beeping from people calling, texting, and e-mailing to tell me about all the shit I missed. I GET IT; I MISSED THE PARTY OF THE YEAR!!! As for you that don’t know what happened that’s just the way it’s going to have to stay because if I go into it again I’m going to get pissed and none of the people responsible are worth the text. I will however say one thing; sometimes you just have to go it alone.

So I woke up at around 2:30pm, YES 2:30PM. Drank some orange juice, further ignored my crackberry, and thought about why I allow myself to be so angered by others. Then I decided that I wasn’t going to let anyone fuck with my Sunday. That was officially the beginning of a good Sunday. Had frozen some bottles of water from the night before, emptied out a water bottle and made myself a very very nice rum laced beverage for my day out, left my house at about 3:30pm wasn’t in the mood to eat anything heavy so I got a honey turkey and Swiss sandwich to enjoy at the show. Hit the train and was in the city rather quick. As soon as I walked into the SummerStage area I ran into some great friends I had recently made the acquaintance of at my normal Sunday hang. It’s the best feeling to enter a venue and be greeted with big smiles and warm hugs filled with sincerity and love. We made our way through the crowd looking for our friends that were in the know, as we separated to find some of our friends I turned my head and saw another old friend sitting in the sponsor VIP area. A couple of hugs and smiles later I’m sitting in the sponsor VIP area with this friend that I hadn’t seen in over a year, but then saw twice in the past two days. This universe has an interesting way of making things happen.

I had gotten there at approximately 5:15, too late to have seen Angelique Kidjo, but to be honest that’s not what I was here for, I was here for Zap Mama. 5:24 the band started it off, 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 2hr set with all my favorites from everyone of their albums, not just a huge promo show for their new album “Supermoon” which they had only mentioned once as they performed my favorite cut from the album “1,0.00 ways” and we sang along to each word as if the album hadn’t only been out for two days.. To see these women jump up on the stage as if it was a massive trampoline, move a 1000+ people to sing and chant along 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 needed.

It amazed me how this place had dramatically changed my mood, made me realize I’m not built for negativity, I need the warmth of positive energy. Some people I know are always talking about how you have to flow with whatever happens and not allow things to affect you as if being indifferent to the world around you is in anyway a good thing. I am sensitive and I love it (sometimes) but it’s my sensitivity that allows me to truly be able to feel moments like this. I realized music truly lives deep within me and controls my mood and energy, I remember being in a terrible mood over something a few years back and a DJ putting on Talib Kweli’s “Get by” and my whole mood changing, the song forcing me up off my feet to stand on top of the table so I could feel each and every word and note of the song just as I had 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'm addicted to her loving.

After a THREE song encore, I started out the park and ran into Sallome a soul that exudes such warmth it makes ice-cream melt in its presence. I looked at her, she looked at me; "BROOOKLYN!" We made our way to the train to try and make it to the last Soul Summit show in Forte Green park, we had both wanted to get there in time to be part of the “I LOVE BK” documentary that’s currently in production all over that there borough of ours. We got off the train in Fort Greene aka Chocolate Chelsea as my home girl Sabrina had coined it, ran into so many friends that by the time we tried to make it to the park everyone was walking out of it. We ran into some more friends and turned our asses back around and made it back to Habana with the crowd to enjoy some more rum and tequila laced beverages, 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.