THINKING OF KENYA
(written by Thrill of Repeat Offenders)
- Thrill with the kids in Kenya
“Back on the scene / crispy and clean” (peace to Black Sheep and Dres who put on a powerful performance at the Chameleon a few years back.)
Fresh off the plane from the African breezes of Kenya and continuin’ to represent PA hip hop on that continent, here’s the 411 on RO’s latest volunteer work in that developing country:
In preparin’, I made sure to pack The Roots’ new How I Got Over lp, as it’s a gem, and I had the pleasure of sharin’ it wit my man Kelly during our five and a half hour bus ride from Kisii to Nairobi. It’s such a gift to hear the Illadelph massive crew returnin’ to their jazzy ways and live drum sound that remind me of some of Organix. (Hmm, I wonder if this steady Jimmy Fallon gig was an opportunity for them to have a more structured recording schedule, compile some consistently mighty stuff, and develop a clear, concise album, as this is perhaps their strongest release since The Tipping Point.) I also blessed Kelly wit a listen of the much slept on Tanya Morgan album Brooklynati (another flawless release from the former okayplayer bloggers who I believe to be the current leaders of the underground sound), J.Period and Nneka’s The Madness Onye-Ala mixtape (a must pack for me on a trip to Africa, and yet further evidence that J.Period should be recognized and heralded as one of the best mixtape DJ’s), and 99’s Rawkus release Soundbombing II (quality hip hop from over a decade ago with cuts that still resonate, have impact, and are relevant today! Rawkus was ahead of its time.)
In sharing a copy of On Purpose with Oliver and his wife at my first home stay, upon unwrapping the cd and poppin’ it into his stereo, he proceeded to play the first few seconds of each track before skipping on to the next one. (Whoa, that ain’t right!) As an artist, you never like hearing that people skip through your stuff, and this is the first time I’ve ever had anyone do it to one of our albums in my presence. I’m relieved to note that he eventually played the entire cd from the beginning, and I thanked him for listening. I also passed copies of OP to Kelly (he especially liked “Work In Progress,” which I explained was simply SL bein’ SL), Cassie, and Luke (cheers, mate!)
After spending the weekend in Kisii at Pastor Robert’s, playing football with the local youth, and feeding and praying with the street children there, the next four days were spent feeding and counseling the street children in Nairobi, painting and preparing meals for the children at an orphanage in Kikuyu, and assisting Lucy in her work with the at-risk children of Gathiga. The entire stay was eye opening and rewarding, and if I didn’t have a deep perspective of true poverty from the RO trip to Haiti five years ago, I am clear about it now.
I cried on two different flights on the way home, just thinkin’ about the fight it took to get to Nairobi, the struggles I observed and experienced while there, and the continued battle on the way back to the U.S. “And if you can’t respect that, your whole perspective…” (peace to Hov).
But what got me through while I prepared and traveled there, during my stay, and through my journey back to Lancaster, PA? Aside from the pages of John Howard Griffin’s 1960 classic Black Like Me, it was hip hop and hip hop alone. In addition to family and spirituality, this musical form has brought me so much. There is no choice but to share and give it back.
Peace to RO listeners worldwide and to cats that understand the struggle.
– Thrill
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