Posted on Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Wearing a vest decorated with a ribcage and flexing his biceps, Diallo rapped about being the best, as rappers are wont to do, but then paired it with lyrics like “Al salaam-aleikum/I don’t eat bacon/I am not Jamaican.” As if that was not ludicrous enough, the hype act became downright derogatory as Diallo and KiDTRONiK pulled women up onto the stage to perform their single “Big Girl Skinny Girl.” For an audience who came to see Williams — an artist whose book of poetry S/HE was a fragile, fierce and honest exploration of the relationship between him and the mother of his daughter, who refers to the powers he sees in the universe as “goddess” and promotes art as a vessel for independence and liberation — having some stereotypically objectifying bullshit club grind open up for him was downright insulting.
Carl Atiya Swanson hits the corporate nail on the head with his review of the Saul Williams/Afropunk show at the Varsity last Sunday. Talk about the most amazing/disappointing show of the year. Local acts Dearling Physique and No Bird Sing tore it up and gave the audience inspiring, energetic, thoughtful performances…wish I could say the same about Saul Williams and his touring companions.
