Y'all, I know I said this was about theatre, and believe me, it is, but today, my sister called me from Johannesburg, South Africa. She was at a Lala Hathaway concert. Yes, the Princess of Soul herself. There is no voice as buttery, rich and smooth as hers. She is her father's child! While my sister was stretching her Blackberry above her 5'3" frame and in front of her so I could share in this musical experience with her, all I could think was, "This is what real art makes us do!" Real art will make you stretch through the crowd to share it with those who are far away. Real art can give you goose bumps alll the way from South Africa to New Jersey. Real art made me shout down the aisles in the Shop Rite today. I didn't care!
There was also a beautiful mental picture I had of this artist, sister, black woman, dread-locked, going to South Africa and singing for a sea of people who look like her. She said it was her first time there. What it must have felt like to perform on that stage, a distant cousin to the continent, and have THAT family embrace you. Art heals our generational wounds, comforts our collective cry and reminds us that from our past, we have the capacity to create some of the sweetest melodies, stories, movements and pictures! Art from the displaced that reaches all the way back home! YES! I'm loving what I do today! Tomorrow Sistah says Rahsaan Paterson and Lala will be in concert. Ooo, I am getting international concerts for free!
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