Hi All,
I had the privilege to have a few brief encounters over the years with the great poet, educator and activist Nikki Giovanni. She passed away last December. If you're interested there are many videos on YouTube about her.
“Mothers” passage sung by Joliz going into the break, Copyright © 1972 by Nikki Giovanni.
So, this is our latest called
Nikki.
I saw Nikki Giovanni outside the A train
She was reading a book by Baldwin and whispering the quotes
She had that Harlem quiet
The kind that makes you feel loud, even if you haven’t said a word all day
She looked up at me once
Like she already knew the next ten things I would say
And of course none of that mattered
She wrote poems like switchblades
And carved song verses on subway tiles
With truth tucked in the chorus
Love poems for the revolution and letters to the dead
All written in lipstick and ink
Some folks talk about hope
She talked about survival
Anyone knows there's a difference
“I see the moon
The moon sees me
God bless the moon
And god bless me”
I asked her once, I said Nikki, do you still believe in change
She half smiled and said, “Man, I believe in kids, I believe in rage,
I believe in writing it down so they don’t forget our names.”
“You either speak up or get buried under someone else's story.”
Then she walked into that bookstore on 125th like it was a church
In a way I guess it was a church
I ran into her much later at a reading downtown
Tiny room, bad mic, nobody listening but the ghosts
She read a line about her grandmother’s hands
The room went quiet like it finally remembered what hands are for
The words, not angry, not loud, but like a bullet that only hits the guilty
Truth is a loaded pistol
But Nikki
She’s in the cracks
She’s in the ink smudge
The subway echo
The line you wake up hearing but don’t remember writing
Nikki
She’s still walking this city
Just quiet enough to make the truth sound loud
BIAB Tracks:
2877: Bass, Acoustic, Americana 060
3394: Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm 070
3160: Guitar, Baritone, Electric, Rhythm 060
0841: Guitar, Electric, Gritty, Rhythm 065
0688: Organ, B3, Background 065
2058: MIDI SuperTracks, Strings, Rhythm 085
RealDrums: AmericanaRoots16th
Other Notes:
Bob Mic: Logitech Blue Yeti
Bob Vocals: Logic Pro
Joliz Mic: Audio Technica AT2020USB+
Joliz Vocals: GarageBand
Waves Vocal Rider - All Vocals
Pre-Production: Track Editing GarageBand & Logic Pro
Izotope Nectar 3 Elements for Vocals
Izotope Plasma for Instrument Tracks Processing
Final Track Mix & Master: Logic Pro
As always - thanks for listening!
Bob
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