There's a question that most practitioners and admirers of Hip-Hop have been asked at one point or another. "So, when did you fall in love with Hip-Hop?" For me, Hip-Hop is recent love interest; a sweet, playful romance that blossomed towards the end of my scholastic endeavors in 2005.

Throughout my life, I've always had an intense attraction to words. As a (younger) kid, I was always nose deep in a book or someone else's business. I love the way words came together (or apart) to make me laugh and cry and get excited. I loved stories. Most music I heard came to me in the form of whatever I caught on the radio in the car or on the bootleg music video channel that broadcast on TV during that time (The Box!). There wasn't really a window for me to be exposed to anything other than the mainstream. The music of mainstream at that time being either sugary or sexual or angry and mostly vapid, I couldn't relate. I knew some of the words... and there were some names that I recognized when they flashed by but none of it held any weight for me. The music didn't even make me want to dance! Hence, my affinity remained true with English words and Latin rhythms. With the saucy merengues & salsas of Saturday afternoons and the beautiful boleros & bachatas Mami played on Sunday mornings.  My heart all belonged to the words that made me daydream & the kinds of music intertwined in my blood line; the ones that never neglected to make me feel... something.

On the subject of the timeline of my symphonic epiphany, a distinct memory presents itself when I think of the very first time I even thought about Hip-Hop. I was in 7th grade, around '99 or '00, and I was sitting in the cafeteria during lunch with a bunch of kids who were in the process of assigning identities. One of the kids at the table took it upon himself to take turns asking everyone around, "Hey, are you a rapper or rocker?" It was a pretty loaded question at the time, since it seemed to determine where you landed in the sphere of social groupings. When my turn came to speak, I replied plainly: "Neither." My peers, all of which had chosen either side up until that point, seemed confused. They waited for me to explain my reasoning but even after I broke down my view, they didn't quite understand. I, in turn, didn't really get exactly what was so perplexing. I just didn't relate to the music. This seemed to be a concept lost on a group of inner city pre-teens who failed to comprehend exactly why anyone would have to "connect" to anything in order to enjoy it.

Little did I know that on August 26, 1998, a little more than a year prior to that conversation in the cafeteria and 2 days before my 11th birthday, Mos Def  & Talib Kweli Are: Black Star, the album that would one day change the entire spectrum of my musical universe, had been released.


Fast forward to tonight, 14 years after release, and I get to experience the entire album performed LIVE. Words can not express how excited I am. Do yourself a favor and come out and witness magic

Where: The Fillmore, Miami Beach
When: Tonight, duh
Who: Mos Def & Talib Kweli as Black Star
How: Buy your tickets, here