Why I Write by Robin Black (Slam Piece)

Tha Killa

Tha Killa wrote:

Rob Black is a close colleague of mine in the spoken word community and he wrote a poem back in 2008 that Tupacfan's thread reminded me of, so I figured I'd share it with you guys a little bit because his poem answered that question much better than what I could have said. This poem was one of the most electrifying pieces I have ever seen performed live and he did it in the Finals of the San Francisco Slam. It was so incredible that I ended up teaching a writing workshop and used this as the foundation for one of the workshops. Notice how he goes from being the kid in the poetry slam feeling the pressure of being judged to actually viewing himself through the eyes OF a judge. That kind of switch is rare in poetry slams and it's one of the things that makes this such a dope piece.. Another thing about Rob, that's pretty unique about his style is that he doesn't memorize his poems so he performs his poems with it RIGHT in front of him. A lot of poets feel that NOT memorizing their piece will get them docked points or that the paper would make it harder to connect with the audience and the judges. Rob kinda blew those misconceptions outta the water. I'm not able to find video of him doing this poem that night, but I was able to find a vid of him performing another piece. I hope you all enjoy.... I'll relay any feedback to him next time we have a gig together..

"Why do you write?"

I do it for that feelin

"What feelin?"

If my dreams don’t come true
Then reality must be false
A MILLION YEARS LATER....

I do it to find my meanin
The reason behind
The rhyme scheme I dream in
I do it cuz I’m not sure
Why Robin Black’s story is bein told and not yours
I do it cuz that’s enough motivation in itself to step up
I don’t do it to FOLLOW my dreams
I do it to catch up
I do it cuz my hands still shake at every show
For the props and handshakes after every show
I do it to see the faces
On the ones that say it can’t be done
I pick up the pen
And pour my heart out like Gatorade
On a Superbowl Champion

Til my hands break and I can’t write
And when my voice cracks
I’ll pass it to you in a glass pipe

I do it for the students you kept callin gangbangers
Until they became gangbangers
Now everyday they look into the mirror at the same strangers
I do it for the broken kids society gave up on
Kicked em outta class
They never came back
You never had the patience
Now they breakin up grams on job applications
Expectin em not to talk trash when you feed em garbage
Heart broken depressed
Post traumatic stress they engulfed in
They poets but don’t know it
Youngsters on the block keep rocks in there pockets like Virginia Wolfe did
They put in work for the dollas
Jus’ to roll up the purple in dollas
Jus’ to roll up in purple Impalas
Feelin’ like they worlds Godless
I jus’ gotta spit verbal stigmata

I wonder
With hands together my eyes to the skies if I’m jus’ lookin to nonsense
And all that’s lookin back at me is every dream that I couldn’t accomplsh

Searchin’ for role models
But it’s hard
When the dudes that slang hash
Got the same cash as James Kass

My pain stashed
It burns my stomach
I lay awake
Everything I bottled up been bottled up for so long
The labels faded away

I open one....music plays

Listened to Jay-Z when Big Poppa wasn’t there
Listened to Jay-Z when my poppa wasn’t there
I do it cuz poppa was a playa
Smooth operator
So in the time I was neglected
I perfected lines of the times
I was left with a 2pac tape or
Printer paper with no lines
Must be why my styles unconfined
Must be why my smiles undefined
A child facin isolation
Faceless silence
Takin’ the time
To put line breaks in rhymes

I do it for him
Young eyes fillin with tears
They said “you wack you couldn’t rap in a million years…”
I do it for the lil me
I’m the grown up version of his lil dreams

Used to tell him it’s gon be alright man
He starts writin
The mirrors he practiced in lookin back at him like DAAAMN
He asks "what’s potential?"
Seems
Like it was all a dream
You’d swear the words MILLION YEARS LATER...
Just flashed across the screen
Cuz now I’m old enough to answer
Lil’ man what’s potential
Potential’s YOU standin where I’M standin
Cuz of a note book and a pencil

What YOU know about it?

How could you judge expression?
Wait what do I know?
Lemme take another method
And try to see it from a judges perspective:

”How much is Youth Speaks payin me?
What did that kid just say to me?
Hey if he pulls this off will the crowd react crazily??

I keep my inner child alive so I can think creatively
Basically

I do it for you
And before I put the mic down

I do it for that feelin

The feelin I’m feelin right now.....

Tha Killa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD9ipXxlcZQ

Not THIS poem, but one of the few vids I could find of his.

Tupacfan

This ? right here is just verbally insane!

I'm speechless as hell!

Man, thanks for sharing this with us Killa! it's defintely uplifting to WTE! I love it.... I"m mad jealous you got to witness this live! smh..

Every line was dope, every rhyme he didn't choke in that video too..

It's ill, i got nothing to say but DAM DAM DAM...

Prop's to him for this jawn....and thanks for blessing us with his material.. respect... I can't even point out a favorite line because it was like up to par all the way around.. One of thee best pieces I've read in a long ass time thats for sure....

raven31

Wow is all I can think of that was great keep the good work up