Sometimes you go to a show and you’re like Meehhhhhhhh.
And then sometimes you go to a show and it blows your mind so much that you leave thinking that nothing in your life should ever be the same again. That what you saw affected you so much that you feel the need to change something about your life.
I can’t quite articulate how deeply I was touched by the PERFORMANCE that Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def). A hip hop concert isn’t exactly the place one expects to experience a tender moment. Yet it’s in those moments so ridiculously true that you can’t help but to be touched in a profound manner. Music that has achieved these moments within me is what I’ve always felt a pull towards.
It was impossible to be in the audience and not feel this authentic experience that Yassin was creating (sharing).
He seemed so free up there on stage, dancing to his favorite top 40 (and obscure) tunes between songs. He’d stop the DJ and tell him to go back to a beat and then just dance. He was no Gregory Hines, but he had the confidence of a Gregory Hines, never feeling awkward or self-conscious about any of it. The brother was free. And he wants everyone to understand how to get to that point mentally. He makes no bones about relaying that message to anyone who will listen
(If you doubt his sincerity just listen to the song,” Niggas in Poorest”).
He performed on this night as if this was the best place to be, as if we were an audience in the Apollo Theater. It was beautiful to see someone enjoying themselves so much up on stage. And he was very sweet and appreciative and I left the venue feeling like this show was exactly what I need to see, and that Mos Def was definitely someone I needed to learn more about. Needless to say, I’m learning a lot.
The more I learn the more I feel like he’s a genius, and that he may possibly be one of the most soulful cats you will ever see live in concert.
Nuclear Polio Vaccination 
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