IBWALA

By DeLois Jacobs 

IBWALA's Sunday literary salon at Lucy Florence Gallery in Leimert Park Village featured live performance highlights of the group's latest effort, a CD entitled "The N Word," which even inspired an impromptu reading of a work in progress.  Afterwards, an animated Q&A revealed divirgent opinion about the meaning of the word, i.e., is it a condition or a behavior? Judge for yourself. Scroll below to find out more about the CD or click here to purchase your copy now!.

An invitation to writers and artists to be guests on a cable access family friendly show Literary Speak airs on PCAC Channel 56; show times are Tuesdays at 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and provides a forum for readers, writers and artists to connect and promote the love of reading, writing, literacy and the arts. LS has a viewership of about 40,000 in the Pasadena-Altadena
area in addition to an online audience. Writers and artists can reach this wide audience via the 30-minute program which tapes once per month, on a Saturday,
either between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m or 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Interested persons may contact producer C Debra Thomas at wisdom@onetelling.com or One Telling
Publications, P.O. Box 1202, South Pasadena,
CA 91031.

     This is an exciting outgrowth project from
IBWALA's Sunday Salon Series. The CD is a compilation of spoken word artistry, interspersed with music and dialogue that occurred at the Sunday Salon back in December 2006 on the certain popularly used racial epithet. The CD addresses the issue through a number of spoken word pieces and original music interspersed with actual comments from the Salon itself. 

     In a recent edition of Black Expressions VP Earl Wooten talked about crafting our Hot New CD:
     It was a great honor for me to utilize my recording studio to pull together the N-Word CD. It was a great project, as I got to work with some exceptionally bright and talented members of IBWALA.  It is rich because it is authentic. I believe that I have selected musical ideas that complement the tone and style of each spoken artist’s work, starting with Donald Bakeer’s : The "N Word” publication which basically decries the ghetto life that continues to breathe life into and give wings to the N-word.  His work is paired with a heavy rap beat, hard and lacking in melodic structure. I chose it because I feel it emphasizes the lack of song and melody that pervades the life of people who live in the world painted by Bakeer.

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   Conversely, for the poetry of Ron Covington and
Kathleen Shaw, I chose music that has a strong sense of groove and rhythm, music that might make you want to dance or at least pat your feet. Kathleen’s work is soulful and rich and Ron’s insightful and playful.

     C. Jerome Woods delivers a powerful piece entitled “Ask and Answered” which reaches deep to the roots of our African ancestry. Supporting Jerome is the African tribal beat of drums, which begin with hands on the congas in a fast roll and eventually explodes at the ending climax of the piece. Wayne’s comments from the Sunday Salon about Richard Pryor’s illuminating moment to decide to stop using the N-word is followed by both him and his wife Donna delivering a whimsical piece which is introduced like a magical recitation.
     Excell Hunter’s work is rich with imagery, much of
which is dark and sullen. Accompanying him throughout his oration is a piece which I wrote and recorded with violinist Chris Grice who is also a member of IBWALA, a clarinetist, oboist, and bass violinist. The music is complex and dissonant at times, punctuating the dissonance of Excel’s depiction of the African- American experience.
     The CD is rounded off with a final piece by Donald
Bakeer which gives a warning to the listener about
using N-word.  For me, pulling together the commentary  from the Salon, working with and recording the artists, and creating music to marry to each artists work was a joy. I hope you will enjoy listening to the finished product as much as I enjoyed crafting it together for you.

click here to order a copy now!