June Beshea
CBGB
The Ramones hated each other
Gave black eyes to match their shirts
Fists a clinched promise,
low top shoes, left ankles exposed to any member who was looking for a swift kick.
I heard that at one point they all went on stage with broken noses
I heard that at one point Joey Ramone went on stage with a fractured arm, a cut under his eye and 3 dislocated fingers
because and I quote
“ FUCK IT. Those fuckers won’t get me off stage that easily.”
They modeled this grit after a band called Death.
some Detroit kids who knew more about steel strumming than General Motors and Ford combined
and they were the archetypes of Bad Brains
blackest band to ever touch a stage
but you could look all this up,
easy to hit the search button these days.
Harder to find a black kid in your mosh pit
But it ain’t hard to find a black kid in a mosh pit.
Distinctions are made between the twang of guitar strings,
We are not absent just not at your spot.
Make better music, be less racist and we might show up.
might give your eyes the sight of Afro-Punk.
Doc Martens
a buzz cut.
purple hair that wakes black womyn voodoo
maybe dreads like D.H. Peligro
A sleeve full of tattoos
Don't know if it counts as war paint
But I always felt like I was suiting up.
My friends taunting me as we head out to shows telling me that I’m white so it’s ok, if i’m into this shit.
As if the melanin had not swallowed my skin into the earthen foundation
something like a clay rebirth
baptism, a chance to leave my mark
I chose to leave a dark one. A rough one, coal deep
with strums liken to Hendrix, with vibrato akin to Little Richard.
We rich with rocks sir.
hang them from our necks, adorn our wrists; line the very bone within our gums so there is no mistake as to our origin
That might be what you used to on your screen.
You acknowledge the now, i’m sure. Let the ‘boys’ have rap.
call it a talentless endeavor
POP QUIZ:
In 1986 Run DMC does a cover of ‘Walk This Way’ by Aerosmith, an instant hit because
A. It is the melding of two cultures worlds apart or because
B. Rap came from Rock came from Soul came from Blues came from Jazz came from Black came from Black came from Black.
Maybe it was second nature. Maybe it ain’t nothing but a side-step from hip-hop to rock.
better yet, that was reclamation
How does it feel to acknowledge who built the house that you live in
Who sang you to sleep. A nanny
A mammy, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, made rock&roll
woman who was so metal,
So iron
That they cast her black
I have to admit your words caught me off guard
—A quick fist connects to cheek bone
—blood is in my throat
Didn't know I could be whipped—rocked that hard
Head reeling and all I could think was
'Wanna know why that punk band of yours wears black?
Take a quick look at where it’s coming from
Take a good look at what they are imitating
Chuck Berry Or James Brown or Slash
Instead I bit the pick that draws the rifts
Gave a grimace, swallowed my blood and sang you a chorus
from the song that is rock and roll
From every black kid who is told they can't listen to rock,
And has to chew their words like gravel
But learns to spit them back at you like ash
You’re welcome
The Ramones hated each other
Gave black eyes to match their shirts
Fists a clinched promise,
low top shoes, left ankles exposed to any member who was looking for a swift kick.
I heard that at one point they all went on stage with broken noses
I heard that at one point Joey Ramone went on stage with a fractured arm, a cut under his eye and 3 dislocated fingers
because and I quote
“ FUCK IT. Those fuckers won’t get me off stage that easily.”
They modeled this grit after a band called Death.
some Detroit kids who knew more about steel strumming than General Motors and Ford combined
and they were the archetypes of Bad Brains
blackest band to ever touch a stage
but you could look all this up,
easy to hit the search button these days.
Harder to find a black kid in your mosh pit
But it ain’t hard to find a black kid in a mosh pit.
Distinctions are made between the twang of guitar strings,
We are not absent just not at your spot.
Make better music, be less racist and we might show up.
might give your eyes the sight of Afro-Punk.
Doc Martens
a buzz cut.
purple hair that wakes black womyn voodoo
maybe dreads like D.H. Peligro
A sleeve full of tattoos
Don't know if it counts as war paint
But I always felt like I was suiting up.
My friends taunting me as we head out to shows telling me that I’m white so it’s ok, if i’m into this shit.
As if the melanin had not swallowed my skin into the earthen foundation
something like a clay rebirth
baptism, a chance to leave my mark
I chose to leave a dark one. A rough one, coal deep
with strums liken to Hendrix, with vibrato akin to Little Richard.
We rich with rocks sir.
hang them from our necks, adorn our wrists; line the very bone within our gums so there is no mistake as to our origin
That might be what you used to on your screen.
You acknowledge the now, i’m sure. Let the ‘boys’ have rap.
call it a talentless endeavor
POP QUIZ:
In 1986 Run DMC does a cover of ‘Walk This Way’ by Aerosmith, an instant hit because
A. It is the melding of two cultures worlds apart or because
B. Rap came from Rock came from Soul came from Blues came from Jazz came from Black came from Black came from Black.
Maybe it was second nature. Maybe it ain’t nothing but a side-step from hip-hop to rock.
better yet, that was reclamation
How does it feel to acknowledge who built the house that you live in
Who sang you to sleep. A nanny
A mammy, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, made rock&roll
woman who was so metal,
So iron
That they cast her black
I have to admit your words caught me off guard
—A quick fist connects to cheek bone
—blood is in my throat
Didn't know I could be whipped—rocked that hard
Head reeling and all I could think was
'Wanna know why that punk band of yours wears black?
Take a quick look at where it’s coming from
Take a good look at what they are imitating
Chuck Berry Or James Brown or Slash
Instead I bit the pick that draws the rifts
Gave a grimace, swallowed my blood and sang you a chorus
from the song that is rock and roll
From every black kid who is told they can't listen to rock,
And has to chew their words like gravel
But learns to spit them back at you like ash
You’re welcome
To Be Dothraki
teacher writes a diagram on the board and talks about how
there is animality and humanity
there is savage and society
there is dark and light
I ask him to rephrase
There is black and white
I ask him to rephrase
He insists there is no other way to say it.
There is no dichotomy that can explain the animal vs the human
besides black vs white
as if the human is not also an animal.
as if white people ain’t come from blackness
My family tells me to get a higher degree,
and that will separate the poor in me from the rich.
I ask them to rephrase
that will separate the animal in me from the human
I ask them to rephrase
that the degree will make me more society and less savage
I ask them to rephrase
the page will mean something more with some stamps on it.
As if my writing will mean more, if there is a little more white in it.
A little more space for the other
I ask them to rephrase.
teacher writes a diagram on the board and talks about how
there is animality and humanity
there is savage and society
there is dark and light
I ask him to rephrase
There is black and white
I ask him to rephrase
He insists there is no other way to say it.
There is no dichotomy that can explain the animal vs the human
besides black vs white
as if the human is not also an animal.
as if white people ain’t come from blackness
My family tells me to get a higher degree,
and that will separate the poor in me from the rich.
I ask them to rephrase
that will separate the animal in me from the human
I ask them to rephrase
that the degree will make me more society and less savage
I ask them to rephrase
the page will mean something more with some stamps on it.
As if my writing will mean more, if there is a little more white in it.
A little more space for the other
I ask them to rephrase.
June Beshea was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. An ATLien to her core; she is a lover of hip-hop, The Varsity and Waffle House. She is currently attending UNC where she competes heavily in the slam poetry community. Follow her on twitter: @Jaekay_deion