So, yesterday I had the cutest kindergarten girl at an assembly in a private school ask me during the Q&A portion “Did you grow up poor?” and I had a 7th grader at a suburban public school tell me she thought Queen Latifah’s “U.N.I.T.Y.” video was intimidating because the “gang of people” in the streets. […]
September 25, 2014
First of all, my brother my young brother pull your pants up. i want to make this clear. no, I’m not your father, your pastor, probably not your teacher no, I am not Don Lemon. I am your brother forget slacking in ’92 we were mack daddying and daddy mackin’ with all our clothes ass […]
September 15, 2014
We are a week away from my interactive performance and songwriting session called “Say It Loud” at Bloombars and I am excited about all the great art we will make as a community! For those of you 1819 L Street NW with me, my name is Bomani Armah and I am an artist and edu-tainer based in the DC Metropolitan […]
September 1, 2014
“Hey Daddy”, my 8 year old asked from the back seat, “what’s weed?” I don’t know when I expected to have this conversation. Being realistic with myself I knew that I knew more, and had more curiosity about things in the adult world, than grown ups ever gave me credit for. This question from Olu […]
August 21, 2014
Social media has been great for the black community in the last couple of years. People are under the false impression that the killings of unarmed black men has been on the rise but, if you check the statistics, it has happened consistently throughout our history. What has changed is that now social media means […]
August 20, 2014
Sankofa Video and Books Cafe entrance looks like an island oasis. Trees and grass cascade from the front door down a series of short steps and an expansive patio, with stone walk ways meandering through the grass and bright umbrellas shielding its patrons at tables that invite you to come take a load off, drink […]
August 15, 2014
Thank you guys for always supporting the music that supports you! This is my new single, I’d love to shoot a video for it before the end of this year. This features Charles Stewart on drums, David White on bass, Mark D. Hatcher on Guitar, and yours truly on keys and percussion. Please take a […]
July 9, 2014
“The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language, so you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly, so you have scientists […]
November 8, 2013
I’ve been dealing a lot with misogyny this week. Something I want to write more about because of how heavily it weakens the men and children who are surrounded by it. I thought I’d start with posting this poem I wrote for SLAM THEATRE 2.0: The Miseducation, a play that ran for the Intersections Festival […]
October 24, 2013
I read this tonight, flaws and all, at the Fighting Cancer with Poetry Event. I was gonna lie, but i just wrote this today. this topic deserved a poem, and this event was the impetus for it. thanks for reading. This is a letter to the front line. A telegram to the trenches in […]
October 14, 2013
In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue. It’s amazing the things people discover by accident. Discovering that my sons where learning the poem that began with those lines was the end of my children’s public education. You see, I don’t pay attention to Columbus Day. Other than wishing there was a hell for […]
August 26, 2013
The first thing I was told I need to do to start homeschooling is to “unschool”. To get out of the idea that lessons and learning have to be in a sterile environment with rote memorization of facts. This seems to be the most fun thing about homeschooling so far, and it’s interesting finding ways […]
August 5, 2013
“What are you doing Bomani? I’m a groupie!” She was West African chocolate. She was raw and un-cut. Sweet as watermelon with sugar on top, but would bite you back when you tasted her. It’s why I fell in love with her. I fell way too far, too quickly in love with her. She saw […]
July 15, 2013
I’ve spent my adult life working with young black men, from all economic and social backgrounds, arming them with the rules I have learned to navigate the bi-polar United States that we live in. This world is a complicated matrix of social constructs and unjust laws, a matrix my peers and our elders thought we […]
June 24, 2013
scroll down to see music videos and live performances from navon smith. listen and read along! http://notarapper.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/bomani-indie-navon-smith.mp3 Bomani Armah: How’s everybody doing? This is Bomani Armah, broadcasting live from the Even Place. Today we are doing The Indie, my show dedicated to independent art, independent business, independent thought. So, it was only a matter of […]
June 21, 2013
I wrote this in 2008 on an old blog, and just wanted it here so I could continue my campaign to ban the asinine “n-word”. Shout out to my favorite current comedian Louis CK. He has a bit on the same subject. I wrote mine first though. This is your official invitation to join my […]
June 10, 2013
(scroll down to see a performance and music video from Omekongo) Introduction: Welcome to the even place. My name is Bomani Armah. We are taping my show today called ‘The Indie’. We’re talking about independent thought, independent business, independent art—got one of my favorite independent people sitting here next to me, Mr. Omekongo Dibinga. Say […]
June 10, 2013
I love the metro train. The train loves me back. Worn out carpets with chewing gum polka dots. The Saturday morning train ride is the best. It’s nice and quiet; mostly tourists getting a jump on the National Mall, or the poor guy who can’t believe his manager scheduled him on the weekend. They are […]
June 6, 2013
Join Bomani Armah with Mr. KeepOnMoving, Two Deep, E Baby and Rebecca Dupas for a special concert of the best in spoken word poetry. Tickets are only $10. Bomani Armah As he so aptly puts it, “I’m not a rapper, I’m a poet with a hip-hop style.” Bomani Armah is an artist, producer and “edutainer” […]
May 6, 2013
Thankyou for your patience as we work out the kinks with “The Indie: Independent Art, Independent Business, Independent Thought”, my new radio show airing on the Paradise Radio Network, CBS Radio and http://www.alvinjones.com and notarapper.icom. This interview is just in time to lead into the celebration of Malcolm X’s Birthday! Feel free to read a […]
May 3, 2013
So, I’m here with my family and co-conspirators putting together this years Malcolm X Birthday Celebration, and we realized why this is such an important event for us. There should be more opportunities in our community to reflect on our shared legacy of struggle against oppression, celebrate our abilities and potential as a people, and […]
April 16, 2013
[Description] Join us for this Birthday Party with live music and food at the historic Sankofa Video and Books Cafe on Georgia Avenue. Celebrate the birthday of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz aka Malcolm X. There will be a free event outdoors (Arts Under the Stars, and Crescent Moon Nights style) featuring performances and presentations from Bomani […]
October 2, 2014
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