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 "next up is cornel west... "
I know some of y'all is groaning. A public intellectual at a gathering of kings and queens of black consciousness with an emphasis on music, poetry and theatre? What???"
I took a seat in the fist row. I have heard Cornell West a couple of times before and have never been that impressed. I admit he knows some shit, and he seems to be sincere, as sincere as a university professor can be about conditions in the hood. And, yes, I had heard that he had a rap album coming out and I am old enough to know that everything and everyone can change. Plus, the atmosphere was pretty heavy up in the auditorium, so I figured West had to bring some or get igged big time. And wonder of wonders, Cornel West rose to the occasion.
This was the absolute besI I have ever heard him speak or heard of him speaking. He talked about the three C's that are holding us back: 1. Conformity--too much going along with the status quo. 2. Complacency--getting a little bit, a lil' job, a lil' title, a lil' car, house, or whatever and becoming complacent about waging struggle. and, 3. Cowardice--that's self explanatory. except the way my man hooked all that up it was pretty clear to me that he was doing a class-based self-critique of his own peer group. I'd have to go back to Amilcar Cabral's class suicide thesis to give a sharper popular-oriented analysis. And all of this was delivered with the flare of rhinehard from the invisible man, the hustler, the preacher, the street figure and sacred voice who was both of the people and standing at a critical distance outside the people delivering his diagnosis.
You know, Cornel look like he could have starred in a Richard Pryor movie. got that lean angular lanky sort-of-handsome, could be a ball player, definitely a playa, ladies man, head-of-the-class without having to study, sharp as a tack but no nerd look about himself. Not to mention that gap in his teeth (don't tell me you ain't noticed -- it's a black thang). and the way he uses his hands, hunches his shoulders. all the other times i have seen him I have just thought college-educated/country-preacher--especially the way he leads on his long vowels, his "ooohhs" and "ahhhs". This time I witnessed the urban street poet.
And then my man starts pontificating on the essentialness of "funk." Alright, I'm through. We got a professor talking about, all that intellectual stuff is cool but you got to have some funk because funk is basic and proves that you are really feeling it and shows us where you really coming from. Funk. A public intellectual talking about the need for funk. Did you hear me? Funk.
At this point, I'm rolling with the rest of the crowd, my wary side momentarily in suspension but I'm still not 100% sure that Cornel is not just doing this because he is here, you know, appealing to the masses 'cause it's mostly masses in the house. Then my man says he is going to do one of the numbers from his new cd. You know among West Africans, a chief who can't dance is a mighty sad individual. Well, I was not prepared to hear no make believe funk from a college inte... what the funk is this? My man dropped some hip hop-flavored r&b, and started rolling his hips and sucking his lip, moaning and groaning and winding up his waist, and though he will never be no major league rapper, it was nothing to be ashame of. Cornel West got down. Shut my mouth.
You know I rushed out after the show and bought his cd. If you are somewhere where it is being sold, you better get. Consider yourself told: Cornell West, The cd. Turns out his younger brother is behind the production. I believe (if I understood correctly) Mr. West hails from Sacramento, California. And I can tell by his moves that dancing is not something he learned one or two days ago out of some book. Well alright, Cornel West.
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