WordSound: THIS AIN'T NO PUNK-ASSED POETRY!!!" is, in a phrase, funk/soul spoken word. After a single listen you will know it is so much more. An intense mix of poet Khari B.’s energetic spoken word and lush live instrumentation, this is definitely something different yet attention grabbing. Khari B.’s poetry, though dealing predominately with the Black experience in the Diaspora, avoids being preachy, anti-anyone or overly redundant. It is intense, sometimes EXTREMELY intense but remains fun. It’s kinetic, energetic, alive with colors, layers, and most of all, substance. In an age of corporate, multinational, industry-controlled Zeroxed music largely limited to materialism, misogyny and the mindless minions that follow, this is the antithesis, the answer and a welcome relief from the overdone, over-sampled, emptiness that is overplayed across the nation.
Chicago-based band, House of Twang, led by composer/producer Bemaji Tillman, accompany Khari B. on the album adding a magnificent musical element to the poetry in such a way that the music grabs you before you even realize it's there. Recorded over a single summer, the House of Twang, made up of a mix of multi-instrumentalists, played for and with major artists across the country. At the same time, they held down Chicago's "Spoken-Word Cafe" as a house band for a weekly session "Saturday Night Soul Espresso" hosted by Discopoet Khari B. that attracted many known talents and major names that would later go on 2 national notoriety for two years before the venue was shuttered.
For the album the personnel included Bemaji Tillman on lead guitar (& sometime keys, drums and bass) who also co-produced and arranged all of the music on the piece. There was Kevin Smith on drums, Jeff Harris on bass, Mario Abney on trumpet, Reggie Johnson on keys with guest spots by renown woodwindist Mwata Bowden on baritone sax and background vocals by AfroSoul songstress, Ugochi Nwaogwugwu and a very melodious Misty.
This album was by no stretch an average undertaking, particularly at the time that it was released (2002). There was no singular category or label for it. With few exceptions, like that of Gil Scott-Heron and Oscar Brown Jr. (who interestingly enough both also had Chicago roots), there wasn't even much of a precedent for a spoken-word music album such as this. However, it was Khari B.'s musical background (raised by musicians and trained from childhood on alto sax) and Bemaji's fearless openness to experimentation that somehow made these things meld seamlessly together. Rather than stereotypical background music that would repetitively play behind poets at the time, Bemaji allowed the music to move as if it were any other soul composition that included a vocalist. Khari B.'s vocals became more of a part of the musical flow than something spoken on top of it and through it all the ensemble played as if they were in front of a live audience, simply having fun. Expectantly, it comes through in the final product.
Ultimately, this is a listenable album made to inspire, alarm and uplift the listener. Originally envisioned as an energizing music project to be played during a car ride or inside a set of headphones on public transportation on the way to work, it is notably absent of any "club-bangers," an omission that Khari B. would change in future projects. However, it is made to be a work to remain in rotation for years. Though a few of the pieces date themselves, the majority of the work is timeless and able to be enjoyed generationally. Cleverly eschewing spoken word stereotypes, the title says it all, "this ain't no punk-assed poetry."
Thank you for reading. Thank you for listening. Thank you for supporting the work.
Discopoetry Arts & Edutainment Collective
Read more...