So.....

Seeing as how Timothy "Prolific" Jones is my manager, I can't call it stealing if I post his blog verbatim, especially considering it's about me! Honestly, I could spend 30 minutes or more writing about my own experience, but Pro did such a good job, I'm actually at a lost for words. Here's what I will say;

1. Thanks to Burrowsink for providing me the opportunity to do what I do

2. Thanks to everyone who came out, shared my birthday cake, drank, danced, cheered, and celebrated with me, especially my mom.

3. Thanks to Prolific for his friendship, innovative management and direction.

4. Thanks to my grandmother. Had you not giving me the strength to do what I did on 11/27/2009, I may have completely tanked on my performance. RIP and you already know you're with me in my thoughts EVERYDAY.

Enjoy the read and the video.

-Soon

SoSoon - The Underclass (Live @ Super Heroes & Rockstars)

Photo by Charles Valencia for Valencia Image

"On his 26th birthday, Black Friday 2008, SoSoon released his My Environment//Blowing Money double single at an epic release event in his native borough of Queens, NY. On Black Friday 2009, the eve of his 27th birthday, SoSoon performed at Super Heroes & Rockstars at Public Assembly in Brooklyn. It was a night of transformation. Charles Valencia, who shot Soon's press photos & designed the cover for "Who's Bad?", was in the front row along with Jennifer Barlone, who filmed the clip mentioned in this post. Other clips filmed by Valencia Image are available on their Youtube site. 

During his set, Soon opened with "Who's Bad?", performed "My Environment" acapella, and closed with "The Underclass". The video clip actually captures a great deal of the energy that was in that room during his finale. Sometimes, when an emcee clutches a microphone during a set, he can breathe life to a reality. James accomplished such a feat on the eve of his 27th birthday. I am honored to manage him as an artist, and above all else, proud to call him my friend and brother. 

"The Underclass" always has hit very close to home. The song pays tribute to the workers that keep New York, the "never-sleeping city", awake. It is an anthem sung for and about working class Americans. Actually, it is for Middle-Class Americans too, who are only a few (larger) pay checks away from poverty. It resonates with me due to my family history. My mother's family is one of the oldest African-American families from Port Washington, NY. If you are familiar with F. Scott Fitzgerald's magnum opus, The Great Gatsby, you may know Port as the "West Egg". You can read a little about us on the Port Washington Public Library's African-American Heritage website. The link I provided is to an interview with my Great-Aunt Marjorie. She, like many of the Black women in her family & community, cared for the children of the wealthy as a nanny.

Many generations later, I find myself in Corporate America employed as a hotel Housekeeping Manager. How that came about is a story for another day. Due to my family history, upbringing, and activist background, I have a very special relationship with my staff. Every day, I work with 50 women whose 8 hour shifts are the most beautiful poems I have ever seen lived. Every moment is a sacrifice of pride, each guest room The Holiest of Holies; each housekeeping cart an altar. There is something sacred about what these women give. "The Underclass" speaks to them. It speaks to the MTA employees, bartenders, cab drivers, waitstaff, sanitation workers, bodega clerks, cashiers. It speaks to those who work 2 jobs to feed their families and pay their bills.

If Nas' "New York State of Mind" was the anthem for the gritty realities of project life, and Jay-Z & Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind" is the current anthem for the endless possibilities of NYC, "The Underclass" is the reality that exists between both extremes. Of all of the songs that I have heard James write and record - trust me, I have heard MANY - this song is the epitome of his stage name. "The Underclass" is the Sound Of Something Out Of Nothing. It is a voice for those we insist be silent.

Enjoy the clip. This is only the beginning."