In celebration of National Black History Month, the Office of Student Activities presented spoken word artist Beny Blaq, who performed his poetry on Thursday, Feb. 7 to a full house at the Residential Learning Community (RLC) Clubhouse.
Along with sharing his poetry, Blaq detailed his life and described how his experiences influenced many of the issues discussed in his poetry.
According to Blaq, who calls Brooklyn, NY his hometown, he came from a “rough background,” and has since overcome many obstacles, including his parents’ divorce and being sent to military school for high school. Blaq graduated from college and has also served in the military as a soldier touring Iraq. Reflecting on his rocky start, he emphasized the importance of not giving up on troubled youth.
Topics raised in Blaq’s poetry varied from poverty and war to the Don Imus controversy and “crap music,” referring to popular rap. He expressed concern with what he considers American apathy towards these issues.
With a poem based on a real-life encounter with a homeless man, Blaq encouraged the audience to be more aware of mental illness as a cause of homelessness.
“It’s not always a fault of their own,” said Blaq, confronting the notion that homelessness is strictly attributed to laziness or drug abuse.
Claudia Cisneros, a business administration major, said, “[His performance] was awesome. He really motivated me about the homeless. It’s a truth, but we don’t recognize it sometimes.”
Blaq also related his experience as a soldier in the Iraqi war and how his reality differed from the media’s portrayal.
“These people [citizens of Iraq] are real people; they’re dying. We hear 800 Iraqis died, and we’re like, ‘Okay, Britney?'” he said.
Additionally, Blaq talked about the effect the entertainment industry has on the African-American community.
“My poem on Don Imus caused some heat, but I really don’t care,” he said.
The controversy surrounding his poem arose from his conviction that African-Americans, specifically celebrity rap artists, should take responsibility for the image they convey before criticizing negative opinions, though he by no means condones racism.
On a light-hearted note, Blaq touched a subject typically associated with poetry: love. With Valentine’s Day and romance in mind, he directed special attention to the largely female audience. He noted that most of the few men in the audience were accompanying their significant others.
“Poetry is like a hidden secret. If I was a single man, I would think, ‘Hmmm, poetry reading? That’s where all the women are at!'” he said.
Overall, Blaq’s performance was well-received by the audience.
“It was good; his poetry was true, and you can relate to it,” said Clovershea McGill, a fitness and sports major, adding that she is now a fan of spoken word poetry.
“I loved it! He was awesome,” said Joyce Ochoa, a computer engineer.
Ochoa, also a member of Campus Activity Board (CAB), had previously seen Blaq perform at the Association for Promotion of Campus Activities (APCA) National Conference and was impressed. Based on his performance, CAB chose Blaq to perform.
About the campus, Blaq said, “I love it. There’s wildlife-deer and warthogs; that’s special.”
Towards the end of his performance, Blaq sold copies of his album, posed for pictures, and asked every member of the audience to sign his backpack so that he could take his encounters with him and always remember them.
Blaq offered this advice to aspiring writers: “Study your craft. Know its origin and where it came from, and work hard at it.”
More on Beny Blaq can be found on MySpace Music at http://www.myspace.com/benyblaq.