Mel Cooke, Freelance WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
THE ROOTZ Lounge went outside and larger for its final show of 2004, capping off six months of poetry and live music with the best of the performers who have appeared on the 'Spoken' series.
The tarmac outside ICOWAL Texaco, at the intersection of Mountain View Avenue and Old Hope Road, was once again transformed into a comfortable outdoor lounge, as the event was moved from its accustomed indoor setting.
With black and chrome bar stools and matching tables, as well as cozy couches, the fair-sized audience had choices of seating, though many opted to stand and enjoy the proceedings, which started with the Royal African Soldiers late on Christmas Eve and ended a few minutes into Christmas Day 2004 with Italee, the sole female on the line-up.
SQUAD OF THREE
The Soldiers presented themselves as lone scouts at first, coming up individually then forming a squad of three to deliver in combination. Ginsu looked at the other side of the military equation with Blood and Glory, a cynical treatment of a summer soldier grown on video games who found the reality of Iraq 'bloodily' different.
While Ginsu worked without music, Neto Meeks utilised a bouncy track to do Cruisin' Up The Waltham, ending with a salute and repeated "the struggle continues". He declared he would "never be a keeper of Babylon laws", before making way for the third Soldier, Takura, who honoured the Black woman and then embodied himself as "Ras Takura/the king of all ages".
The three combined to rousing response to end.
Militancy gave way to humorous intimacy with Duane Francis, the Sniper Poet, who was spot on in the season, saying "I used to sing a carol/but carol get married/to a soldier at that/- and me hear seh soldier boot kick hot". With the audience firmly in his corner, Francis ended with Too Many Guns In The Street, observing that "somebody need to turn down the heat".
Patrick Davis presented himself as "a victim of the system" before looking at the Lotto. There were shouts of approval as the poet looked at Cash Pot ("Den yu have one call Cash Pot/we have de pot an' dem have de cash") and Lucky Five.
Announcing the dynamism of the Rootz Lounge, the regular host Sage brought on singer Israel Voice, who ignited the audience with lyrics, delivery and stage movement. Steppa continued the poetic vibration with If I Had a Gun, which was appreciated. He delved into the relationships of older men and young girls to good effect, the audience roaring as he said "tell me yu number/mek me see yu TRN, voters ID and birth paper".
He ended with Whe De Music Gone Iyah.
TREMENDOUS DISPLAY
Lynch and Sage of LSX (minus third member X for the night) put down a tremendous display of dub, one of the highlights of which was Lynch running through the alphabet to list the 26 souls that he found on a trip up into the mountains.
The two combined for Poem Pon Paper, before making way for the night's penultimate performers, Jah Children, who combined the guitar and exquisite voice of Shemai with the poetry of Joel Ellis, the extreme lyrical dexterity of Hunter and the gravelly intensity of Pampy Judah.
Italee brought the Best of the Rootz Lounge to an end with poetry from her Sex and Spirituality (S&S) series, as well as older material. She ended her performance and the night with a searing look at the crucifix, declaring that "religion play a big role in the destruction of the Black man".
