How I Turn My Pain into Paint...
- R.E.A.C.H. Team
- Apr 14
- 4 min read
It’s National Poetry Month and I’m so thankful that I found poetry as a means to communicate my thoughts and feelings, first to myself, and then to others. Poetry helps me put what’s going on in my heart and in my head into words. It paints pictures of my emotions. If I didn’t have poetry I know I would have a lot tougher time navigating the stresses and struggles of my life. I’m thankful I found poetry. Or maybe I could say, I’m thankful poetry found me. So where did it find me? In my front yard when I was in fourth grade. Only I didn’t know it as poetry. Cause what found me that day was Hip Hop.
I remember I was playing in my front yard when I saw a group of guys walking down the street toward the recreation center near my house. I guess you could say I saw them, but more importantly, I heard them. They were carrying a huge boombox, and the music blasting from it was something I had never heard before. It made my heart race. It made my hair stand up. I was blown away! So I followed them. I didn’t mean to. I just couldn’t stop listening. I trailed behind them down the street, all the way to the rec center. They posted up on the basketball court, still blasting the music. A few more guys came over and started hanging out, laughing and joking. But I didn’t care about any of that. All I wanted to do was keep listening. The bass. The scratching. The rapping. I’d never heard anything like it before. And I knew. Somehow, I knew I would never be the same! I kept my distance, ten or fifteen feet away, because I didn’t want them to know I was spying. But I soaked it all in that day.
A couple weeks later, my neighbor’s grandson was visiting for the weekend. He was my age, and we always played together when he came over. We were in the backyard when I started telling him about the music I’d heard, the beat, the rhythm, the lyrics, the feeling. I tried to describe it as best as I could, but I was stumbling over the few lines I remembered. Without even blinking, he jumped in and finished them. “Five minutes of funk, this ain't no junk! So pull your bottom off the tree trunk! Ladies real pretty from city to city! And now we’re gettin' down to the nitty-gritty!”
I froze! I was stunned! He knew the whole song! Not only did he know what I was talking about, he knew all the words. I couldn’t believe it! I ran into the house and grabbed my mom’s tape recorder, one of those old rectangular ones that looked like a shoebox. I found a cassette, popped it in, and sprinted back outside. I didn’t care what was already on the tape, I was about to make history!
I asked him to sing the whole song while I recorded it, and he did. He performed it a cappella. The whole thing! At least, I think it was the whole thing. He could’ve made up half the lines and told me it was the full version, and I wouldn’t have known the difference. And that was my very first Hip Hop tape ever! A bootleg, a cappella, cover version of Five Minutes of Funk by Whodini. And I wore that tape out! I played it over and over and over again. I didn’t know how I’d ever get my hands on more music like that, but for now, I had my own copy. My own version. And that was enough.
Hip Hop changed my life. I wanted to walk, talk, dress, eat, drink, and breathe Hip Hop. The moment I experienced Hip Hop music for the first time, it altered the trajectory of my life. And a lot of people assume Hip Hop and rapping are one in the same. They are not. Rapping is just one aspect or element of Hip Hop. It also happens to be the one most exploited for corporate gains. Hip Hop has 5 elements: Djing, Graffiti, Breaking, MCing, and Knowledge Seeking. I wanted to and continue to embrace and embody Hip Hop because it is a source of identity and a source of strength for me. Hip Hop also gives a place for my thoughts and feelings to have a softer landing.
And that’s important. Whether its music, art, exercise, gardening, prayer, meditation, hiking, or journaling…our thoughts and feelings need a place to land softly. We’ve created a resource that can be used to help you and folks you care about create a plan for how to manage your emotions and navigate crisis moments. Please download and share it as you see fit.
And here's a quick video of me performing one of my favorite poetry pieces called From This Moment On. Watch and enjoy! And if you like it, please share it.
As always, thank you for the work you do,
but most importantly for the person you are.
Also don't forget to share this to your socials!
