Wrote an article about hip-hop in Japan for Tokyo Weekender (July issue). Pick up a copy here. Its not online yet, but I’ll let you know when it gets up. Thank you to the cats that took the time to talk to me. I interviewed a lot of heads for this piece, but unfortunately everybody couldn’t be included. My original idea was about Tokyo’s foreign pillars of hip-hop, but after interviewing various figures, my focus shifted. No matter the subject, …
Category: Writing
My four-year-old daughter, Kantra, also known as Lil’ Miss Thang aka Busy B, just started school again. She finished her first year of preschool and had spring break. At home with me, I had to adjust to her newfound maturity. At school, she socialized with her classmates who at first, shunned her away, but to Kantra, rejection fueled her persistence, as if to say, “No, you don’t understand, we’re going to play.” And they did. And they do. She’s almost …
Weeks ago I got an email from Sarah Vinnett. After reading my article, she wrote to me about her family and some of the trials that they overcame. It definitely gave me a heads-up. Thank you Sarah for being so open. Appreciate you allowing me to publicly share your story. My name is Sarah, or in Japanese 聖良. I’m half Creole (my Father is from New Orleans) and half Japanese (my Mother is from Japan, specifically the Kansai area). …
Sorry for the long pause of posts. My daughter, Kantra was out of school and I’m working on some things that always get buried under writing assignments. Last month Huffpost published my personal article, “I’m Raising A Biracial Daughter In Japan, Where She’s Surrounded By Blackface.” I know I should’ve written a reaction to its reaction(s), but I had to counter the vertigo of retweets and likes. The world’s response was head-spinning. I had a TV reporter contact me about doing …
Last year my daughter, Kantra forced me to pick up my crown. For many nights, on my knees, helping my four-year-old get dressed for bed, at eye level she’d tell me, “I’m a Princess. Mommie is Mommie Queeen and you’re Daddy King.” We could be in a grocery store aisle and out of her pocket she pulls rocks, rose pedals, acorns, and handfuls of sand. She got a bike for Christmas and a remote control car. In the last few …
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