Ghetto or goldmine; the choice is yours. - Bernard Powell

I started to write a passage on connecting my Bed-Stuy Art House open mic experience to how outside entities shop for extraordinaire colored folk in the ghettos with extraordinaire capabilities. It was too heavy, I’m scattered brained at the moment with everything going on I’m finding time to minimize and limit my ambivert traits . Sucks cuz there’s so much inside I’m struggling to keep up with, alongside putting it all out. Moderation. Patience. It’ll get done. It’s not that ATTIE’s message is falling on deaf ears, it just won’t change anything overnight. Change isn’t something a 2 term election can fix. Consistency brings change. The only constant we share peacefully amongst one another is time and we still somehow struggle to share that with one another. At least in a comfortable, honest, mature manner anyway. There’s no discrimination behind making the best of something,(time) if you’re not ready to break your cycle, or you haven’t found your cycle yet; doesn’t matter. Be consistent in something that’s right for not just you, but humanity instead.

Brooklyn raised me. Brooklyn is also, the Mecca. Not only did the Mecca have an influence on my upbringing, but so did the systems. Public school, college, work force, within these various institutions we are held to a multitude of standards. Starting with public school. Some of the roughest grounds a first generation child can experience on their own at an early age are within the walls of the school system. We spent more time in these institutes than living our own lives after a certain point. We’re taught to be competitive against one another, out smart each other, and battle day in and day out whether behind the walls of these institutes, or outside in any streets of any hood, throughout the world for that matter. It’s draining.

Excuse any dramatics if there may seem, I’m telling this story from the only perspective I know. A black man’s perspective. Friend’s, colleagues, peers, throughout my years, the amount of blatant, yet silent ‘prejudice’ I’ve experienced is pretty comical. So much to a point it’s made up part of who I am today. You have to have this ability to see the world for what it truly is, a dark comedy. Growing up, I was told I have the disadvantage of being born black, where the odds are stacked against you. I was teaching myself otherwise. Being black wasn’t the disadvantage, it just so happened to be the only advantage I needed in the grand scheme of things. Being born a black man was the only thing free granted to me in this lifetime, just like time, the only thing free granted to any of us. It’s what you do with the time, and this black skin while you can. It was the only ammo I needed to move through the world.

The person I am today is a build up of all these experiences. The good, the bad, the fair yet unjust exchanges amongst society, as well as the ugly truths I’ve experienced about myself to bring this vision to life.

Fortunately enough for Brooklyn, there’s an ongoing pocket of gems. throughout the streets, where legends once resided. From Biggie, Jay, Mos, to the streets where these legends once roamed, if these walls could talk, they’d tell the greatest stories. Generations of this had to take place prior as well as the years to come, which brings us to the present time, and what the Bed-Stuy Art House cultivates on a regular basis.

When Shaun (founder of the art house), hit me and asked if I would be a part of their first open mic night, I didn’t hesitate to pull up. I came through on the Citi bike, spit my peace in a room full of young gunnas, and skated. A lot of talent that night. I actually caught most of the acts, and the talent is real af here, to no surprise.

Gen Z is coming, full force. I’m not even mad at it.

If 2020 wasn’t the wild enough of an experience for you, hang tight! It’s about to get wilder. We’re taught to either sling crack or have a wicked jump shot. Athletes, musicians, and throughout entertainment industries, there’s only the select few who make it to the pedestal of no return, but it all starts from somewhere. If it was easy we’d all be flying PJs. Shit, If it were that easy, I’d be sending this from the PJ right now. The reality is, that PJ has a pretty price tag, and the only PJ i know right now stands for, ‘projects’. There may seem as though there’s a form of mastery here, but the truth is, I haven’t accomplished much yet. It’s not over until a greater force has spoken. I’m merely doing the best I can to stay afloat…you know the motto..

I’m currently preparing for a solo showcase some time later this month over at Lip’s Cafe, in Flatbush, Brooklyn. It’s been a long time coming but I’m finally getting ready to tell the tale of how it this I am turning my goals into a goal mine.

Be sure to follow The Bed-Stuy Art House. Lots of big tings ah gwan over there!

Much love to you, Brooklyn.

These are the times, & times are hard…

The Ghetto is a Goldmine

@theattieproject