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Step into the compelling world of spoken word with "Black Ice EXPOSES Truth Behind Spoken Word's Power!" on Sway In The Morning. This exclusive interview delves into the life and career of Black Ice, a pioneering artist with accolades like Tony, Peabody, and Emmy awards. As the first spoken word artist signed to Def Jam, Black Ice shares his unique journey, revealing the challenges and triumphs within the spoken word scene. Discover how his powerful poetry transcends genres, influencing hip-hop and social change. In this candid conversation, Black Ice opens up about his project "War for Love" and reflects on personal experiences that shaped his art.
Don't miss this insightful and groundbreaking dialogue on Sway’s Universe. Subscribe for more exclusive interviews and stay connected with the pulse of hip-hop and cultural evolution.
#spokenwordartist #spokenwordtypebeat #poetryaboutanxiety #blacklivesmatter #slampoetry
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
01:34 - Black Ice Success Journey
05:17 - Black Ice Spoken Word Legacy
07:37 - Black Ice Early Rapper Poet
11:59 - Nuyorican Poets Cafe
12:37 - Def Poetry Jam Highlights
19:41 - Wild Horses vs Thoroughbreds
22:02 - Ugly Side of Love Explained
25:41 - War for Love Discussion
30:12 - Roland’s Heart Story
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0:00
ladies and gentlemen yeah you are in the presence of
0:05
greatness when it comes to this field that this man has thoroughly mastered I talked about it earlier M Tony Award
0:15
winner that's cuz that's a hard one to get that's a hard one to get Tony Award
0:20
winner I started with that cuz everybody can't say that the percentages go down
0:26
immediately peab body Award winner wow the percentages go down they don't win
0:33
peab bodies an Emy award winning spoken word
0:38
artist he's a Pioneer at this he's the blueprint at this he's the bar at this
0:45
citizens he is that liaison between spoken word hip hop and all other genres of music citizens he's also a awesome
0:53
father who has beautiful children beautiful who been running around our studio all year
1:01
what is that he was here before me damn that's crazy we interviewed his
1:06
kids before him he sent the kids for front though but listen he got a new
1:12
project called War for love um produced by our good friend the one and only the
1:17
anr Room Master rich nice rich nice is in the building you hear rich nice track
1:23
masters you hear rich nice disturbing the peace you hear rich nice the anr
1:29
room now rich is on the camera all right I want to welcome him to the show give it up for the legendary black ice is
1:35
here man black black black ice black ice black ice black ice black ice black ice
1:43
finally black ice manc what's going on man congratulations oh man I'm thankful
1:48
man when you hear your resume how does that make you being a spoken word artist isn't like being a rapper or anything
1:55
else right right to me it's harder because it it seemed like it's it's harder to market right it's harder to
2:02
get to the masses it feels like where where rap became a commodity easily
2:07
marketed and sold so you got a lot of great spoken word artists who are legendary in their genre but people may
2:14
not know them in other genres right right what has your journey been like oh
2:19
my Journey's been pretty unique right like cuz I was the I was the only poet
2:25
signed the Death Jam at a time uh when you know even the the the the big cat at
2:32
the time told me you know we wouldn't have signed you we would we wouldn't have signed you who was that leor we
2:37
wouldn't have signed you we don't we don't sign new artists we fan fires isn't that right Kevin that's what
2:44
he said yeah that's what he said and then Kevin ly at that time right right and then he uh but but he came every
2:49
time he saw me uh like the first time Leo saw me I was at Martin Luther King
2:54
High School Uptown and J Rule was supposed to be there at the time when J
3:00
Ru was J Ru he was huge and it was like a like a um an attendance concert one of
3:07
the best the school with the best attendants get the concert attendance yeah and then he pulled out at the last minute pause uh you ain't got a
3:16
pause I'm so old so no don't worry you a got to pause use your
3:23
[Laughter] words from Harlem don't do that so uh
3:30
so gyu uh you know uh uh came he he wasn't uh he canel he canceled that's
3:37
thanks he a poet being politically correct a spoken word artist a spoken
3:44
word artist being politic canell either but canel he cancelled and so then they
3:49
called me up uhhuh like a pinch hitter and so when we get I get to the school
3:55
and I just got signed and it was like Russell leor I think uh Tina Davis was there and wow uh and so they they get up
4:03
on you know it's a thousand kids in the audience do you know what a thousand high school kids is unforgiving yeah
4:10
right and so they got up on the mic they was like we know you know we know y'all was looking forward to seeing j r like J
4:17
R oh my gosh and then and then they was like well unfortunately he won't be a
4:24
but we had death Jam's new artist they was like and he's a poet
4:33
then the little baby boos come from list you hear the one right you hear the one boy out there nobody want to hear that
4:39
that was GE you know the one that get called out of the auditorium I got him nobody want to hear that [ __ ] damn GE
4:46
and then I got up there and I and I do I did what I do and then they had to rush me out of the like they had to kind of
4:53
pull me out of the school wow so like we uh you overwhelmed you overwhelmed them
4:58
one yeah just I did I did poetry you know talked to them the way I talked to the way I talk to my audiences and
5:05
standing no and and then I was signing autographs like they they absolutely knew who I was so w you know give thanks
5:12
man it's yo man get that a round of applause this is black I first spoken word artist to ever be signed to Death
5:18
Jam and that year was uh that was [ __ ] 01 okay was great
5:25
set was he could have landed 01 okay and so we 23 years later the PO the the poem
5:31
you did that day what was it about uh the poem I did that day was imagine okay you know which was about uh
5:40
just the the disparity and the difference between Suburban you know Suburban uh schooling and public
5:47
schooling you know I wrote I wrote imagine kind of after that the the the
5:53
revision of the No Child No Child Left Behind Act and we knew that the Suburban No Child Left Behind Act was different
5:59
from from the inner city No Child Left Behind uhhuh and so uh you know the poem
6:04
was was about that imagine if you know imagine if we had education we had the
6:10
education that them cats have out there in the sticks you know instead of having to frame ourselves as the video vixen or
6:16
you know the neighborhood Hustler so okay I love that because you know that same person that told you we would never
6:22
sign you has been on record saying that you know and I'm paraphrasing you know
6:27
I'm not being specific that you know record companies record companies do tend to Fan the fame of flames no matter
6:35
how much a detriment those Flames can be to the community absolutely because that's what sells right right right but
6:41
you came in that same Community says something positive uplifting and and that stuck to their hearts where you got
6:47
to stand and know and had to be rushed out do you believe that's the only thing that can sell no not at all yeah but I
6:54
also don't like I'm I I don't feel like I come from you know I come from from a community where I'm a boys club kid yeah
7:02
so my community on on top of my dad my uncles and my grandfather which is a very rare wealth coming from where I'm
7:08
coming from to have your pop my uncles and my Grandpop but I also I'm a boys club kid okay so I learned pecking order
7:15
and I learned uh to lead with love and I know that a lot of times these young people they just want to know that
7:22
somebody see them you know and so that's what I do when I get around young folk I let them know I see them you let them
7:28
know you see them yeah you leave with love you you came up in Philly absolutely give it up for Philadelphia
7:35
y' it's Black Ice now I was just listening to a track with pety crack on
7:40
it you know uh freeway is on it who else on that track uh uh graph gra Bleak
7:48
Bleak and it just I think that's it it just got me to think about just Philly and his legacy of MC's you know and DJs
7:55
From The Tap money days marvelous Marv days you know yeah Cash Money Fresco and
8:01
all of these different people that out shout out to Miz shout out to Miz Miz Cash Money Jeff DJ to tough Cosmic cam
8:10
of course uh uh but now we go back like we talking about the uh Mountain
8:15
Brothers uh Mountain Brothers uh DJ rocking hood you know I'm 52 so I can I can go there you know and uh I could go
8:22
there too yeah I mean I know I know we not spring chicken speak for yourself all right um
8:30
he said speak for speak for yourself I know you got to talk for me I got
8:35
it how many ciphers were you in back then like who were some of the MC's that
8:41
you got into ciphers with well during when I when I reemerged
8:48
artistically uh on stage yeah because I'm I've been an artist all my life uhuh and then at 16 I had a record out 1988 I
8:56
was Chad money you know okay it was acronym uhhuh cool hustling ass dude
9:02
but but I was 16 years old it wasn't a small feat so we used to open up for tough crew Crown
9:08
rulers uh and uh we opened up for stetas Sonic and Public Enemy one at one point
9:14
you know we did we did after midnight back in the day we play after midnight we was on ladyb when she was on 99 we
9:21
was on 9 jams that was when hip hop power9 yeah and that was when hip-hop
9:27
was only being played on Friday night between like six and 10 you know you had
9:32
Mimi on Das and you had Lady B on 99 when she came from wh so you know when I
9:38
when I reemerged as uh reemerged artistically on stage it was cuz I was a barber for years and that was my show
9:45
you know that was my my artistic expression and then when I got back up it was like the it was the 90s scene
9:51
right so I was were the roots out by this time absolutely of course like I remember doing the wetlands black ly
9:58
when it first started uh and thought you know was like all
10:04
right Mar cuz I wasn't black ice then I was like everything but black brother Lamar like and they and he's like all
10:10
right Mar I'm get ready Ry and then you up next after me and so then thought
10:15
went on proceeded to rhyme for about 18 minutes okay you know like straight you keep getting set up huh you know and but
10:23
then he set it up sweet because after he was done that cuz I like what the [ __ ] am I G to do now and then after he when
10:28
he was done he made them stop the music he said hey man my brother y'all got to listen to what he say you know so he
10:34
gave me a perfect setup so in the '90s The Poets were alongside the MC's were
10:41
alongside the and there were a lot of uh underground MC's Chief Kami chief
10:46
kamachi chief kamachi Grand agent uh these were the cats who I was who I was
10:52
kind of ciphering with at that point you so you didn't did so you so you ain't never battled have you ever battled I
10:58
know you you slamed but have you ever battled no I never slammed you never slammed either no I never I was never in
11:03
the because it's my truth yeah my truth ain't up for competition [ __ ] okay heard that right
11:10
there man right for those who don't know what slamming is can you break that down slam poetry is is is uh competition
11:17
poetry and there all these rules you know and their criteria and and and uh for
11:23
me yeah for me like we in Philly we we weren't like we didn't do Acappella poetry in in Philly we always had cool
11:29
DJ Marv or Rich Medina or Quest spinning spinning break beats and acid jazz so we
11:36
learned we learned we got our chops up vibing our poetry to to music bands okay
11:42
so I I wasn't in the AC capella poetry at all you know until I came to new Ean
11:47
and I was like oh [ __ ] y'all do this with no music this is crazy you know and um so slam poetry is just the
11:53
competition of it you know and it's cool because it's it brings the youth out uh and it's a real big youth movement New
11:59
orican Soul you talking about the the cafe right Cafe people I used to go
12:05
there all the time yeah yeah absolutely Miguel Pinero my man you know now uh my my sis La bruha runs it and you know
12:13
obviously uh lemon you know lemon Anderson Anderson Flo Flo naha their
12:20
Main Stays down there so yeah it's a we our Vibe is always been uh you know
12:25
poetry is the the Jazz of language yes you know the Jazz of Lang Mak so much
12:30
sense wow the Jazz of language that's good death poetry Jam how how important
12:37
was that platform to poetry into to your career
12:42
man Stan laan and Russell well it was it was created by Bruce George Danny
12:48
Simmons and Deborah pointer and they took it to Russ And Russ thought it
12:56
was uh a he's like it's for of weirdo [ __ ] snaps and raps Russell Simmons
13:01
said that yeah Russell like it's for the widows you know like it ain't hip hop that's what he would say I could see that back then yeah and then uh the
13:09
final pitch to HBO which was at Malik yoba's old spot Soul Cafe oh yeah uh the
13:15
final pitch I was winning a I I actually got into a it's a crazy story so I went
13:20
out I auditioned I moved to New York I auditioned for the I went out for the triy outs for death poetry and I got a
13:27
standing ovation from everybody else auditioning uh the judges the people
13:32
that was working there the whole nine and then I didn't get picked for nothing else like I didn't go to the semifinals
13:38
or cuz it was like a tier competition and at the time I thought oh
13:43
man he just trying to [ __ ] me over but it wasn't that spiritually that night after I won after I got all that
13:48
Applause I jumped on the Greyhound and went back to Philly and went to the tables with my man I was still in the streets ah so you know God ain't going
13:55
to let you tether the fence yeah you know what I'm saying so I knew in hindsight later on like oh that's why I
14:02
didn't get on because I wasn't using my powers for good I was still dipping into
14:07
that other thing and so months later I was I was cutting hair at level's barber
14:13
shop over in Brooklyn and Danny Simmons had a competition going on at Soul Cafe it was
14:19
a eight-week competition I thought I'm G get in this competition and I won the I won the second week the third week the fourth
14:26
week the fifth week cuz you could keep entering uhuh and then Danny stepped to me and said hey you know I don't I don't
14:32
want you to compete no more but I do I want you to open up for Jessica care more Jessica carore give her a big round
14:39
of applause Detroit for Jessica carore and Steve Coleman and uh um uh his brother named
14:49
teraji from Jersey like these are old school poets right and it was the final pitch to HBO and so I I yeah I jumped up
14:58
there and kind of lit loose I let it go it was a hell of a moment I went outside
15:04
I went outside to catch some air and when I turned around Russell was out there like hey let me give you my number
15:11
and uh and that's where that's where how my career you know the trajectory changed at that point at that point and
15:16
so death poetry came along and I met Stan and see those guys like Stan and Russell were so were very uh courageous
15:24
because they knew that they were going against the grain they knew that poets were going to say some things was going to piss people off we were
15:31
going to say some things that would get us labeled um
15:36
and and they did it anyway you know and it was like that first season like Amir
15:43
Baraka imamu got up there and he did you know um who blew up America and most
15:48
people don't know that that that was the one poem that got banned from the show like they banned it from the show
15:55
from death poetry yeah like the whoever okay the whoever the powers that be it got it got taken
16:02
off of the DVD and you never saw it again on HBO when they rerun that episode they didn't re they didn't they
16:08
didn't do that so that's the power of the words you know what I'm saying my man Amir suan Su Hamad they got put on
16:15
uh you know and myself that I think theirs was different than mine but they got they got put on uh we all got put on
16:20
the new fly list some so the government put you on a no fly list were y'all
16:25
labeled as radical um uh possible domestic terrorist wow because of your
16:31
poetry because of what we say yeah yeah absolutely and and it for me it didn't
16:37
stop me from f it didn't stop me from flying but every time I would go to the
16:42
airport issue they would say uh oh I'm sorry sir your name came up red flagged and we're going to have to ask you to by
16:49
the FBI I'm like uh could you keep it right keep it there you know and I would go into the other room they go through
16:55
my bags and you know pass the blame off the different people but that's what it was basically I felt like it was a a
17:02
badge of honor my pop was Black Panther Party you know my pop was was a revolutionary my mom was revolutionary
17:08
so for me to grow up in the hood and then have the Feds Watching Me because of what's coming out my mouth yeah hey
17:15
I'm doing my job you're doing your job get a man a round of applause black ice is here and then you went on the same
17:20
person that thought it was weird went on to hire you to voice all his books do the audio books Russell Simmons right so
17:28
funny yeah cuz what what because what he said uh was in according to like uh
17:34
magazines he's like when I saw black ice I knew that the that the hood was ready for poetry okay but that's Russell like
17:40
the hood poetry is the hood yeah you know what I'm saying like the hood was ready for poetry but poetry is the hood
17:47
poetry is the hood you know I'm saying poetry is the is the raw truth about it you know there is no sensationalizing it
17:53
there is no you know bedazzling it you know we are the raw truth of what of
17:58
what life is what of what what's happening with life you know do you feel like there's a limit to Hip Hop then in terms of how
18:06
raw that artists can get with the truth via expressing it in Hip Hop versus
18:11
expressing it through spoken word no not at all I mean you have you
18:17
have MC's you have MC's you know like de la you have MC's like Yasin and Talib
18:23
qual and and Heather at her your daughter her like we've always had these MC's that that that were absolutely
18:30
about telling the truth of what Society you know what I'm saying giving a true reflection of what Society is so and I
18:36
don't think we are missing that now Kendrick uh J Cole these young brothers are are doing the same thing abely I
18:43
think that uh poetry you know obviously we get a uh you have to listen you know you
18:52
have to listen because that's the even when we make music when when Rich and I started with the album we we we knew
18:58
that we wanted the words first war for love is the name of the album War for love y'all knew y'all keep going y'all
19:03
wanted the words yeah we wanted the words first because the you know so I don't I don't think that what poets have
19:10
I always draw the analogy of race horses right a race horse and a wild horse Okay MC's are like thorough breads right they
19:17
start at the top of a they start at the beginning of a track and they got to get around that track at a certain Pace you
19:22
know what I'm saying so they can get to the Finish Line a poet is like a wild Arabian we just we just Gallop when we
19:29
want to we slow down when we want to all directions right we don't have a we create the Cadence we create the Rhythm
19:36
because it's usually us and nothing else it's our voice and nothing else so black not better rabbit yeah they're not
19:44
chasing the rabit war for love is the name of the project I want to talk about one or two pieces on the mik M you want
19:50
to jump in real quick it's all right you can you can take that one hold on we got Dave on the
19:56
line from New York Dave what up Dave Dave hey good morning everybody great
20:02
Dave we got black ice on here what's happening I to I don't know if the brother remember but um I was
20:09
incarcerated in when your career was going in with the um spoken word and
20:14
they was trying to reach out to you and a couple of people to come inside um it
20:20
was black what was it it was you um rain maker the people from Matt McCoy
20:27
familiar with them yeah maker and the funny thing about it your
20:33
name came up and just like you were saying they was like oh this guy nah n no and we was trying to fight and that
20:40
was the same week we had air Baraka we had Sapphire that came in and that did
20:46
um the the movie Precious she wrote the book push that became precious and and so but the power of spoken word is
20:54
serious because because of spoken word we had people all away from California
21:00
coming in and was like wait a minute what's going on in easn Correction Facility because we W the pin American
21:06
award like four of us in a row right on and people used to people used to say
21:11
that oh these guys are prison poets and we like n we're not prison poets we're poets who happen to be in prison right
21:19
yes we we've had we've had a lot of um we we've collaborated with a lot of people Reggie Gaines came in with Molly
21:26
F the Elder that's that's the big bro yes exactly he came in so we had a lot
21:32
of um connectivity but we tried to reach out to you and they was not having it but we did get orir and a lot of
21:38
brothers in and I appreciate your work brother oh I appreciate you brother good man that's a great call you know he got
21:43
a new project too it's called War for love can he get it now he can get it now on all stream it's out on all streaming
21:50
platforms we're going to put out we're putting out a limited edition vinyl uh probably in about a month okay uh real
21:56
special box set so you know but it's all available all platforms uh it's pretty good too it's amazing it's a great
22:02
project Mike you want to jump in yeah I have a question if we could about the demestic terrorism because at that time
22:08
period we weren't using the word domestic terrorism the way that it's more mainstream now and it still is a
22:14
challenge to classify someone as domestic terrorist because a lot of Americans can't see Americans as being domestic terrorists I'm just curious
22:20
what language like what type of words were you saying and what were you talking about I'm interested in the
22:25
comparativeness of what you were saying back then versus what is currently being said now to what we deem as a domestic
22:31
terrorist specifically it it it fell on me when
22:36
after I did the ugly show the fir the original ugly show which was about uh the nation's slow response to Hurricane
22:44
Katrina and uh and I don't think I I when I go back and I listen to the poem or I recite the poem to myself I didn't
22:50
think that there was anything uh damning you know I didn't
22:55
like call you know I didn't call out any name or what anything like that but uh
23:01
uh I guess they were at that point air you know they they turned on to us so now they're watching us with a eye
23:07
they're watching death poetry with a eye to make sure that nobody is crossing the line of what they felt like was
23:14
inappropriate language so but in the in the poem itself I didn't I didn't think that I said anything can you say some of
23:20
it what you say it was like it's it's a hard pillar swallow when the laws you follow are enforced on land your
23:26
ancestors were wrongfully mounted on and the Very principles this country's founded on can't be counted on in time
23:31
of Crisis and confusion what an illusion they've pulled off on us misused and lost our trust too many times but ain't
23:37
too many Rhymes been written about this so I'm pissed because some OD reason we feel like it's better that Les is said it but for God's sakes [ __ ] they left
23:44
us for dead dying and there's no denying them fathers crying with their family sidewalk written what was so cleverly
23:50
hid is now in plain vision for all to see we want y'all to see how this country does its poor and downtrodden
23:56
this is an instance that must not be forgotten it's for keep long after the media sweeps political name calling and
24:01
Ling cinematography sensitize the ey so we don't cry no more we see people dying in despair we don't care we just change
24:08
the station we live in a nation where the poor have nothing but time to spend so we left waiting tailgate and
24:13
floodwood is outside the Super Dome home no more shown no more love than some of them third world countries we take over
24:19
this the real rape over and this ain't young boy frustrated emotion this is grown man rationale hard toit my
24:24
national don't give a [ __ ] about its own but the evidence is clear we can stack it up Kanye made a statement ice here to
24:29
back it up is true we live in a beautiful world but ugly Souls push the buttons the gluttons of society top
24:35
priority making sure the rich folk stay Rich folk pitch folk type thinking New Orleans been sinking this ain't a new
24:41
issue the ninth ward been the tissue that the City wipes it ass with like in the past with the first flood way before
24:47
Bush contracted Halbert and restore back the order they use dead black bodies to try and hold back the water such
24:53
disorder in a country that burns so much money I'm telling you youn you learn so much money when you just open up a book
24:58
and look inside that's where they hide the evidence these [ __ ] up presidents and their constituents pit you against your own kind here [ __ ] up your mind
25:05
here yeah they got opportunities and jobs for the poor it's called prison life and warfare [ __ ] that's your share
25:10
of the American Pie but you got to lie steal and cheat to get it step on somebody's feet to get it not toes have
25:15
been swollen for so long they do us so wrong but we just stand there and take it nature rips the mask off so now they
25:22
can't fake it we stand here but naked [ __ ] this is your nation's poor but you still turn around and ask us for our
25:27
kids for war and in battalions from the Bayou that don't know what they over there Fighting For What the [ __ ] can you possibly say to them when they learn
25:34
their parents died casualties of the war on poverty waiting for help outside a [ __ ] Stadium black
25:43
eyes I'm going to go to this album real quick thank you for sharing that too I heard about three reasons why you got a
25:50
phone call yeah but uh we we going to talk later about that later all right but he you
25:57
you hearing policians saying way more damaging things this right 100% but see
26:03
the politicians can't talk to the people that's the whole thing you know you can a lot of times a politician just a
26:08
pundit head talking head they can't talk to the people you know when you can talk to the people this is why cats were
26:14
scared of Pac you know what I'm saying this is why cats were scared of Chuck you know this why cats were scared of
26:20
x-clan because they were some they got to the people when you when you speak that people language you know cat don't
26:26
like that black black Isis here and I I I I'll be remissed this is great too by the way War for love is album Rich ni
26:33
our very own it's an executive producer on it we started off with the track oxom lament featuring coko of SWV yeah
26:42
beautiful song man that thing knock yeah that's rich made that thing yeah Rich
26:48
made that thing knock Rich made that knock okay Rich got the mixing there uh I like when you talk about love in your
26:54
poetry right on yeah man nobody ever says that to me really I love it everybody always wants the
27:00
Niger [ __ ] Niger [ __ ] that's my thing that's how I got there we got to use that as a sound bite
27:10
right on my chains [ __ ] [ __ ] but it's it's a perspective like what we don't hear in
27:17
our in our in our creative processes a lot we don't hear this man's voice this
27:23
you know what I mean this man's perspective on love you know to me you standup guy you're a standup man you got
27:30
beautiful kids you support your family you do all of these things so when I hear you talk about love it's not
27:36
cheapened it's not frivolous no no no it it also comes from a lot
27:42
of lessons right a lot of fuckups okay a lot of
27:47
heartbreak uh and trying to grow and be better right like so um actually oakum
27:55
lament uh that that poem that poem at the end of that song with coko singing
28:03
when when Rich played the song for me I felt like that was my ex-wife talking to
28:08
me wow right I felt like so so your response was kind of like my my respon
28:16
and you know because I I I you know I was I I I got I had to get tired of my
28:21
own [ __ ] last year was the year of me being tired of my own [ __ ] my [ __ ] catching up to me I like that
28:27
and and uh and so uh my ex she you know our foundation
28:35
I Cornerstone our our beginning on some [ __ ] and it came back to came it
28:42
came back up and so you know hell have no fury like a woman's scorn yeah and
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you you you don't have any say so over how somebody responds to your
28:53
actions and so her response was a wrath yeah
28:58
and and I accept that because it was my fault it was absolutely my fault did you tell her that at some point uh try to
29:06
okay tried to uh and but she and then she released her you know she Unleashed her wrath on me and still no blame cuz
29:15
again it was Corner stoned in my [ __ ] okay so I am at fault period Point Blank but every action has a
29:21
reaction so I'll suffer your wrath but now here's my response to that and
29:28
that's what this and that's what that poem was gez my gosh man this this a crazy how deep that poem is and y'all
29:34
hit it behind a nice beat and I'm dancing to it rich nice that's amazing you have another um poem and I want to
29:42
end end the conversation with this cuz I know we have to go um but this is a
29:47
powerful album you're not going to be able to listen to it once you're not going to hear the same thing twice um
29:54
it's very creative you and Rich really put your your your your foot in this one shout out to Rich nice rich nice give it
29:59
up for rich nice make sure y'all submit for gramys you know so yeah we're already for your
30:05
consideration okay so if y'all get a Grammy if I don't get a shout out we'll talk about that later all right um
30:12
Roland's heart ah this this is how I want to uh
30:17
conclude the conversation if you could tell us about this song and and what inspired it and then I want us to play
30:26
it wo yeah that's where we going that's where we at brother uh so
30:34
Roland uh was my younger brother uh
30:40
September September 11th 2021 a couple months after our father passed my pop
30:47
passed June 27th then the last thing I told my pop after we took him off the machine and he was breathing on his own
30:54
uh in his ear I I I told him that I had I I had my little brother was rolling
31:00
and uh and um you know was his my pot's funeral was hilarious it was beautiful
31:06
but hilarious cuz my little brother made it hilarious as uh somebody with a drug problem would make things okay you know
31:13
all right yeah and okay so he had addictions yeah yeah he had he had a little Vice and and um 9/11 happened and
31:21
I had a show that day uh and my my brother called me and it
31:29
was the first time we had talked since my father's funeral and he video called
31:34
me and he's like what's up big bro cuz he was you know he was like he's a very
31:40
animated cat and uh he what's up big bro and I said what's up man I miss you man
31:46
he's like yeah let's get together and uh and he I could see he was high so I asked him you know once you hook up with
31:52
me at my show later on and he was like all right big bro are you gonna pick up the phone because you know I call
31:58
sometimes and you don't pick up the phone and I said I promise you bro I'm going pick up the phone I got sound check at 5:30 if I don't hit you by 6:00
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call me at six o'clock on the dot he called me I wasn't doing nothing um I didn't have any reason to
32:13
not pick up the phone I just selfishly didn't and he called me maybe three or four times
32:21
after that and I didn't pick up the phone you know and usually you know get high was
32:28
his go-to but that day big bro was his go-to mhm and I wasn't impeccable with
32:33
my word and so around I think I was closing the show around 10:30 they found
32:40
his body down Kensington Beach at 10:35
32:46
so uh I'm not responsible or guilty for his
32:52
actions but I'm guilty for not keeping my word mhm and I've
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watched I've met people who didn't know me from Adam who
33:05
run up to me and tell me how I changed their life I I've had people run up to me and say man I was get ready to commit
33:10
suicide and it was something in the energy of your voice that gave me life I've had cats to tell me that I had the
33:16
energy to get them whatever energy came through me gave them the inspiration to
33:22
get off of whatever they was on so I know what I do I know what the energy
33:28
that comes through me can do that day it was my responsibility to stop to
33:36
give my brother a diff to let him see a different side and give him that spark and where other people probably say oh
33:42
you can't control nobody's actions said no you can't but I know my power and I know that it was my
33:49
responsibility that day yeah to turn my brother's life and I didn't and so that
33:56
has been that that piece Roland's heart was actually not a poem it was just a
34:03
journal entry and I was I was so riddled with guilt that I was just trying to get
34:09
it off of me and I wrote it and I wrote it and I wrote it and then so when we're in the
34:14
studio I'm flipping through my book looking for poems
34:19
and and it was I saw it I was like oh [ __ ] and I told Rich put the put the
34:25
Alfred Hitchcock joint on that's what we called the track and I went into the booth and I think I might have we only
34:32
we only recorded it once one time because actually he said the poem
34:37
in the room the first half and I said in the booth don't say no more right and he went in the booth and I press record and
34:45
he laid it and when I was done I was like yeah no I don't I was like no I didn't I was like I I I don't know if we
34:52
should do that and Rich was like yo and Sydney Mills was like shout out to Sydney Mills he they was both like
34:58
you you got to do that one like you have this has to be on the record because it
35:05
was the rawest moment uh and yeah man and uh it's be
35:11
impeccable with your word you know like I like I said I I've learned a lot of lessons man and I'm I'm I'm I'm
35:18
accountable first yeah so I love the compliments but you know I'm all right
35:24
Dad okay you know I'm I'm I'm becoming a better Dad I'm becoming a a better lover
35:30
M you know I'm becoming a better man you know I still got work to do
35:36
uh and uh yeah rolling heart man I appreciate you brother thank you
35:42
for sharing that apprciate thank you for sharing your truth right I appreciate it man give it up for black I and you going
35:48
to be all right you kids love you man I tell them I know you they get excited
35:54
yeah and and we all got work to do we all got work to that not at all man you
35:59
have been a total gift gift to the spoken word art form to
36:04
our community not just because of the way you choose to express it's the words you have expressed consistently over the
36:11
years you've been a standup guy you somebody we could look up to in the way regardless of your flaws or whatever
36:17
your you think your shortcomings are would you project out it's golden give
36:22
thanks so maybe those flaws and all those things you have contributed to the success of what you project out and and
36:30
when we hear that we are empowered you know we are informed and we are entertained and so
36:37
thank you give it up for black ice man for sharing your truth man the album is called War for love for love you can get
36:44
that album right now
#Acting & Theater
#Poetry
#Human Rights & Liberties