Monk Scroll

I was thinking about colonialism and the ramifications it's had on the people of my continent. Some centuries ago a bunch of Europeans decided to leave their home nations to come and claim & discover a land that already had native inhabitants. So they claimed territories and drew up borders, it is now called 'The Scramble for Africa'. This mineral-rich land that was occupied by what they regarded as "savages" was just sitting there ready for the taking. So they came under the guise of good intentions as advocates of a higher, more righteous power. Yes, I'm referring to the missionaries too. They came as emissaries and nested themselves comfortably among a completely unaware people. A people that were about to have their entire futures torn away from them. This is not a history lesson and I could care less for the specifics but let's recap. The Europeans came and took as they pleased. They took lives, minerals, and resources alike. These resources w...

I had a think about my people the other day. It was after I had finished reading a book that was centered around calling Black people inferior to their counterparts due to the fact that we, in essence, lack the monetary riches to prove that we are true equals with other races. A "consumer race" he called us.  We won't unpack the fact that the author somehow convinced himself that the only way an entire race of people could be considered "intelligent" is through the willful oppression of other races. We'll leave that and what it says about him to another day. I like to finish things I start so I kept reading, all the way to the end, with a bitter taste in my mouth. This isn't a think piece on the innumerable ways in which black people have been wronged throughout history but rather these are the thoughts of a young African about African people.  I thought about just how much African history has been lost as a direct result of western interference. I think...

The beginning is usually the same. Starts as an idea, conversation, suggestion, or question. The idea comes to life almost immediately upon contact. Breathing intensifies, worsened by your attempts at controlling it. The body just knows that the opportunity to fulfill its inherent biological and evolutionary imperative has presented itself. The mind no longer needs your permission and proceeds to prepare you for what's about to happen. Men have a faster metabolic rate and as a result, produce more heat than women. When you are aroused the difference becomes obvious. Cells and bodily functions don't respond to voice commands but they do respond to physical stimuli and heat plays a vital role, the female body reacts instinctively. "Feel my heat, feel my desire, feel the burning passion my body is so eager to unleash on you". Hold them close and try to close all the spaces that may develop between the two of you as a result of the curvature our bodies have. Begin the mer...

I read somewhere that the human brain tries to find order and symmetry in everything. That's why we see faces in inanimate objects, why we love art or music because the idea of a perfect sequence is just incredibly appealing to the brain. I don't always believe the things I read or hear but this I had to believe. My obsession with music started sometime in high school. I used to walk home some of the time and it was a 2-and-a-half-hour walk, maybe longer if I took a break or slowed my pace. During many of those walks my only companion was a small speakerphone that probably had less than 50 songs on it. I didn't always have my headphones so sometimes Id' just play the songs out loud and didn't care about the blank stares of confusion as I walked by people. Technology got better and I was able to access and keep more and more of my favorite songs. From mp3 players, iPod nano's and later smartphones. I spent a long time collecting my favorite songs because when I p...

So, I was out in the club (a pub really) and it was right around the time I came up with " The People In The Bar ". Well it was actually at the very same time. Both thoughts were running through my imagination concurrently.  I stood there with one hand on my friend's shoulder for balance cause I was jumping very excitedly, the reason was Sheck Wes's Mo Bamba had just come on so naturally, it was time to rage or at the very least make it very apparent that I really enjoyed having this song play anytime I am out with my friends. So here I am singing, shouting along to this song, head tilted up to the ceiling and my eyes squinted slightly because I had a slight buzz going.  My mouth kept shouting and my legs kept jumping but my mind wondered very briefly, I was looking at this antique pressed ceiling and how it looked very similar to the one I had in my childhood home. I thought about how old the building must have been, how long it's been a bar, and how differe...