Okay, I was born and raised in what I term Sou Caribamerica. It was a place where you were certain to find collards next to a bed of pigeon peas and rice underneath some fried conch. You could be sure any time you had a craving for it, you could roll up on somebody making some souse. Moreover, it wasn't a roll of luncheon meat, it was a brew of the very finest of pig parts seasoned with some lime juice, some crushed red pepper, simmering to a thick, satisfying stew. There was never a hunt for some snapper or grouper steamed to perfection and swimming over a bowl of grits. Churrasco with chimichurri, looking colorful, laid on the side of a healthy helping of paella was common place. I knew the taste of plantains before I had ever had my first hot dog.
Miami was, and still is, its own little world. You could get there and get lost in the mix of Latin, Caribbean, Eastern European and Southern influences. The weather is always right for someone to have a festival to showcase their culture; Goombay, Calle Ocho, Martin Luther King Day, Art Deco, Food & Wine. You name it, Miami's got it!
Personally, my upbringing was pretty characteristic of those in my 'hood. My family was a mix of the Bahamas and good old Georgia. I paid more attention to the Bahamian side only because my great-grandparents, with their thick Bahamian accents, lived right around the corner. Visits to their home yielded an interesting dichotomy of what it meant to be American. Cousins frequently came over from Nassau to shop. They'd load down their rented cars with everything from clothes to meats. Over a two day period they'd stock up, capitalizing on our country's never-ending need to have a sale. Those were good times; chilling with a cup of conch salad and some lemonade, finding the right mango to slice up and cover with vinegar and pepper, waiting for the Peanut Man to come around.
However, that's all most people think Miami is! Any time I mention the place I grew up people automatically think about beaches and palm trees. "I hear it's absolutely beautiful there!" My response, "it can be." Miami, like any place else, has its horrors. We've had our share of race riots, tourists' killings, execution style murders, gangland shoot outs and domestic murder/suicides. People can't fathom that in a "paradise" like Miami an uncle that shot his wife in a heated argument, three cousins died at the brutal hands of deranged lovers/husbands and former classmates died in shoot-outs with police. In all its glamour, Miami's underbelly is just as grimy as the rest. You can make a wrong turn there and end up in a body bag.
This is nothing that any Miamian is proud of. We just know the truth. It hasn't been til the last few years that you could even hear about the grime in our rap. We fought hard for that right. In a genre where cappin' fools had become the norm, all we had been known for was Bass and Luke. Nobody was checking for anything hard coming out of "the bottom". We ain't bragging but hell we want people to know that we ain't soft. All Miamians ain't trotting to the beach with the damn top down every other day. There are plenty of Miamians who have never seen the beach any closer than a drive by on their way to a crappy job. We ain't all trippin' to Bal Harbor for a day of exclusive shops and spas. We can't all swim either. Close your mouth, we aren't shocked about it.
When I was younger, I romanticized cities like LA and New York. I came to realize that if I had grown up there, I would have had a record deal in my teens. I would have been down with the right cliques and made the right connections to go straight to the top! As a Miami girl, I met Luke once, in my early years of recognizing I wanted to sing. I just could not bring myself to be a part of what he represented at the time. I have always been conscious of my image. I never wanted anyone to think that they were going to get me to be or do anything that I was not down with. So, the Luke image wasn't one I wanted the connotations of. I just knew, though, had I grown up in LA or New York I would have had other routes. Don't misunderstand me. I can appreciate that Luke put us back on the map in those days. However, I was more on the Betty Wright tip and I just wish that had been an option then.
I guess what I am saying in this entry is that with all the options I had growing up in the city I adore, I had so few options. My people listened to all types of music but when it came down to it none of it gave us the credence in the rest of the country. I was once told by a record exec that no one would buy my music being an R&B artist out of Miami. Miami R&B had no true relevance at the time. I look around now and I think, he could have been right. I mean, who's the hard hitting crooners and R&B divas coming from the MIA these days? We stepped up our rap game, sure, but if you want a crooner from "the bottom" you're looking at a Latin music star. Let's just be honest. I don't even reside in the MIA anymore!
Miami is my dream, though. I would love to live there, in the paradise that everyone thinks it is. However, I have found, like a great deal of my peers, that sometimes you have to leave home to come back again. We all deeply love and rep our city. We even get "jiggy wit it" when we here that retarded ass Will Smith joint. We just don't live under the illusion. We appreciate knowing we can go home again but we gotta make our billions out here in the States. Sou Caribamerica is where we're gonna take permanent vacation, though. Star Island, Watson Island, Fisher Island here we come baby!! And when we come, we're bringing some more options!!
Miami was, and still is, its own little world. You could get there and get lost in the mix of Latin, Caribbean, Eastern European and Southern influences. The weather is always right for someone to have a festival to showcase their culture; Goombay, Calle Ocho, Martin Luther King Day, Art Deco, Food & Wine. You name it, Miami's got it!
Personally, my upbringing was pretty characteristic of those in my 'hood. My family was a mix of the Bahamas and good old Georgia. I paid more attention to the Bahamian side only because my great-grandparents, with their thick Bahamian accents, lived right around the corner. Visits to their home yielded an interesting dichotomy of what it meant to be American. Cousins frequently came over from Nassau to shop. They'd load down their rented cars with everything from clothes to meats. Over a two day period they'd stock up, capitalizing on our country's never-ending need to have a sale. Those were good times; chilling with a cup of conch salad and some lemonade, finding the right mango to slice up and cover with vinegar and pepper, waiting for the Peanut Man to come around.
However, that's all most people think Miami is! Any time I mention the place I grew up people automatically think about beaches and palm trees. "I hear it's absolutely beautiful there!" My response, "it can be." Miami, like any place else, has its horrors. We've had our share of race riots, tourists' killings, execution style murders, gangland shoot outs and domestic murder/suicides. People can't fathom that in a "paradise" like Miami an uncle that shot his wife in a heated argument, three cousins died at the brutal hands of deranged lovers/husbands and former classmates died in shoot-outs with police. In all its glamour, Miami's underbelly is just as grimy as the rest. You can make a wrong turn there and end up in a body bag.
This is nothing that any Miamian is proud of. We just know the truth. It hasn't been til the last few years that you could even hear about the grime in our rap. We fought hard for that right. In a genre where cappin' fools had become the norm, all we had been known for was Bass and Luke. Nobody was checking for anything hard coming out of "the bottom". We ain't bragging but hell we want people to know that we ain't soft. All Miamians ain't trotting to the beach with the damn top down every other day. There are plenty of Miamians who have never seen the beach any closer than a drive by on their way to a crappy job. We ain't all trippin' to Bal Harbor for a day of exclusive shops and spas. We can't all swim either. Close your mouth, we aren't shocked about it.
When I was younger, I romanticized cities like LA and New York. I came to realize that if I had grown up there, I would have had a record deal in my teens. I would have been down with the right cliques and made the right connections to go straight to the top! As a Miami girl, I met Luke once, in my early years of recognizing I wanted to sing. I just could not bring myself to be a part of what he represented at the time. I have always been conscious of my image. I never wanted anyone to think that they were going to get me to be or do anything that I was not down with. So, the Luke image wasn't one I wanted the connotations of. I just knew, though, had I grown up in LA or New York I would have had other routes. Don't misunderstand me. I can appreciate that Luke put us back on the map in those days. However, I was more on the Betty Wright tip and I just wish that had been an option then.
I guess what I am saying in this entry is that with all the options I had growing up in the city I adore, I had so few options. My people listened to all types of music but when it came down to it none of it gave us the credence in the rest of the country. I was once told by a record exec that no one would buy my music being an R&B artist out of Miami. Miami R&B had no true relevance at the time. I look around now and I think, he could have been right. I mean, who's the hard hitting crooners and R&B divas coming from the MIA these days? We stepped up our rap game, sure, but if you want a crooner from "the bottom" you're looking at a Latin music star. Let's just be honest. I don't even reside in the MIA anymore!
Miami is my dream, though. I would love to live there, in the paradise that everyone thinks it is. However, I have found, like a great deal of my peers, that sometimes you have to leave home to come back again. We all deeply love and rep our city. We even get "jiggy wit it" when we here that retarded ass Will Smith joint. We just don't live under the illusion. We appreciate knowing we can go home again but we gotta make our billions out here in the States. Sou Caribamerica is where we're gonna take permanent vacation, though. Star Island, Watson Island, Fisher Island here we come baby!! And when we come, we're bringing some more options!!
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