It’s been exactly two weeks since I’ve relocated to New York City from Detroit. I must say that I am loving my unofficial welcoming committee. So far since I’ve been here I was invited to Hanifah Walidah’s Rivers of Honey show, Tia Fuller’s set at the New York Winter Jazz Festival, brunch at Rustik Tavern in Brooklyn, and to a viewing party for The Game. I must say that I am a tad bit overwhelmed by the abundance of love that I’ve been shown since I’ve been here. I’m not surprised though being that I’ve kept in touch with a handful of really dope movers and shakers who happen to either be in the same career field as I am, share the same interests, or both.
Immediately when I walked into the door at the Wow Cafe Theatre for the Rivers of Honey show I felt a very warm ambiance. The intimate room was packed with tons of beautiful queer women of color, many of which were very talented. I was very excited to see Hanifah Walidah perform a few songs off of her new project. I had saw a documentary based around the filming of a video of hers a while back on Logo. So it was great to see her perform in person so soon post my arrival in NYC.
I was also very excited after watching a poet/emcee by the name of Dappho the Flow-Er from Washington D.C. Her song “Glow” that she performed instantly made me a fan. As well as a very comedic and cute song “Why Do I Love Her” that she performed with her group member Solsis for their group called SolRose. It was the cutest thing ever and I’m upset that I didn’t record it.
Blue Nefertiti aka Celia of Les Nubians also captured my heart while performing her song “Paris”. I’ll be honest. I was just very excited to hear a live song in French. I was very disappointed that my 5 years of French in grade school did me no justice. I didn’t understand one word but, that didn’t take away from the beauty of the performance. There were many other talented people that performed that night but, this post is already long enough and I’d like to talk about the other wonderful experiences that I’ve had so far.
First off, prior to attending the NY Winter Jazz Festival I had no idea who Tia Fuller was besides the fact that she is the saxophone player in Beyonce’s all female band. Surprisingly being the feminist that I am Tia is the only female saxophone player that I’m familiar with. Being even more honest the only saxophone players whose music I am familiar with are Boney James and Everett Harp. So I’m more than grateful that I had a chance to become more familiar with Tia’s music. I must say that the experience was phenomenal. I have literally never seen a woman play a saxophone the way that Tia Fuller does. I have video that I’ll post later.
Moving away from the two shows that I attended I can’t forget to mention Brunch at Rustik Tavern in Brooklyn. The food was delicious. I ordered shrimp and grits and they were the most savory cheese grits I’ve ever consumed. I will definitely try to recreate the dish at home sometime soon. In addition to the great food I can’t forget about the great accomplished women that I dined and conversed with for four hours. So big shoutout to Tasty Keish for inviting me. Also, another big shout out to my good friend Bella who came down from Philadelphia and accompanied me.
Last but,not least I am very excited about attending this viewing party for The Gametomorrow. Last weekend I made my girlfriend sit through almost a 6 hour marathon on BET so that I could play catch up. So I’m more than ready to see how BET has chosen to continue the lives of Melanie, Derwin, Tasha, Malik, Kelly, and Jason.
I don’t want to make this post any longer than what it already is so I’ll stop here. I promise to blog more frequently and keep my fellow tumblr friends updated on how I feel about my new place of residence.
