You would think it would be so easy to write about oneself. I would actually prefer if someone would write “about me” for me.
Where to start . . . well, the first thing you should know is that I love to perform. I love it like I love feeling the warm sun on my face sitting by the lake. It makes me feel alive!
The lake . . . lake Michigan that is! I was born and raised in the South Suburbs of Chicago. I went to college at the University of Illinois at Chicago and majored in Accounting. Upon graduation, I bought a small studio condo in Bronzeville and will always consider Bronzeville my true place of birth! I lived there about nine years before moving to Amsterdam, Netherlands.
My mother is the primary influence for my love of performing. Funny because she is the same person who is least keen on the idea of pursuing my artistry full-time. It’s only because she loves me! She has a wonderful singing voice and was always singing in church and performing these negro sermons by James Weldon Johnson. Like mother, like daughter (except my singing voice has yet to blossom) . . . I started performing these at church and then started taking readings I received via email. One day, out of a need to perform but not having any material, I started writing. It was a mini miracle for me.
The coolest place I have ever performed was on the Red Line of the CTA (Chicago’s Subway/Metro System) in Chicago with Doctor Groove. I was nervous as all get out, but I did my thing and received a $20 blessing! That was a lot back in 1999!
I soon took six months to perform full-time as a Christian poet, but when my faith and beliefs changed – so did my poetry. There was such a link between my faith and performing that I couldn’t imagine doing poetry anymore.
A few years later . . . I picked it back up a little. Then, I move to Amsterdam and thought, “Ok, time to put poetry on pause.”
To my surprise, after two and half years of living in Amsterdam . . . my poetry found me again!
I honestly feel like the passion to perform “found me” and I humbled and grateful to be able to share this gift with the world!
