“There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it and wants to have it, simply because it is pain…”
Walking on stage at my first London gig felt so natural. The small audience melted into faces of intrigue surprise and bewilderment. Poets Unity was based near the city of London in a once predominately black areas of town Brixton. Synonymous for the riots nearly three decades prior, before gentrification had taken it grip on the surrounding areas. The town was now a gleaming middle class icon, putting the neighboring conurbation to shame.
Standing with my head bowed and eyes fixated on the ground, I built up the character lifted my head which was to deliver my message. Africa…. I began and whittled out the verses I had rehearsed that very evening. A chatter of agreement came over the audience and just as I started … I bowed. The character discarded the night moved on.
