saw mos def, alicia keys, and my other peeps

ok. they're not my peeps, but I did see them at an occasion I find myself most lucky to have been able to attend. The DEF Poetry Jam 2005. got tickets for the HBO taping of this show as a birthday treat for my friend Tricky but he knows as well as I do that these tix were just as much a treat for me as they were for him.
so, we took thursday off and made our way downtown to stand in line for an hour and a half in the freezing cold. wasn't too bad though; got to talk to one of the bouncers who had the most interesting life story... came here as a kid from Cuba, enjoyed a still strict school system, was a cop for 11 years, quit when his partner and he were shot in the head during an undercover operation, became a high-school teacher, now teaches junior high and works as a bouncer, has 3 kids; ... he told us a lot of stories from his time as a cop and as a teacher. the one I remember most is the one of this guy he used to look up to when he was in school himself. he used to enviously watch him through the window, hanging out in his fancy clothes talking to the girls while he himself was stuck in class. oh, how much he wanted to be him.
10 years later. one of his first arrests. the skinny man with the sunken eyes he puts handcuffs on for drugs-dealing looks very familiar. he looks up his file. it is no other than the fancy, class-cutting guy he remembered from his school-days.

although my toes were frozen little stubs I was happy with anticipation. bouncer-man had told us about the even colder wait the night before and how Alicia Keys herself had come out to sing to the crowd. so I waited in great anticipation, hoping she'd have mercy on this crowd, too and come out to sing. ... but I guess, it wasn't cold enough...

once they finally let us in, the room was almost full (it was the Supper Club on 47th Street). ushers hecticly seated people according to some system I didn't get.
"anywhere but the stage", I told Tricky.
"you two!" one of the head-ushers called "on the stage!"
shit, now I'm going to be all self-conscious [about the fat-belly-exposing-boob-misaligning-shirt I had unhappily chosen due to laundry day], I thought.
so, I kept my coat on for most of the show. ... now I realize, this must have looked strange and probably must have drawn more attention than if I had taken it off. Oh, well, ... so I'm going to look stupid on HBO...whaaatever.

either way, I had a fantastic time! Almost all of the poets were excellent. the creme de la creme, so to say. Mos Def was/is a cutiiiie-pie, although he probably wouldn't want to be called that. I guess, no man really wants to be called that.
this is why I resisted my very strong urge to shout out how cute he was, or tell him about the CUTENESS of his dimples, when I strategically moved him around the stage to get enough light for my picture of him (after the show).
what I like about his is that he is just so totally himself... so relaxed, ...and come to think about it...exactly the things I sometimes want to slap Dario for. ...like when he wears his cap crooked (in a really ghetto/highschool kinda way). ;) I guess, it's all ok, as long as the person isn't affiliated with me... otherwise I just don't get myself.
Another example is 50cent. Love him. Like his music and his whole style but would never go out with someone like that, of course. Dario isn't even allowed to wear a bandana around me. ;)

so, .. that's my recount of my wonderful DEF poetry jam experience.
Alicia Keys was there, too, by the way. She did a piece of her new book, which I didn't know she wrote. no singing, though, and that's what I really love. Her voice is magic.

ok. I should be working.
oh, but first I'm going to attach a picture ... the one I took of Mos Def. :)