Ghetto Blues: Summertimes and Sugar Sandwiches

The DJ's threw jams in the park on the block. Rainbow coquitos and skelzie tops. Since the concrete is hot, get a wrench for the hydrant. Get a bucket, it's the next best thing to the pool. The lil' shorties jumpin' double-dutch, the music in the air. Catch-n-kiss, you tried to catch the one that had the curly hair. Freeze tag, put your foot in. We're about to get a game... The piragua man is comin' so you call your mother's name. Either that or Mr. Softee, get a dollar if you could. Just the everyday activities when livin' in the hood. 7:30, be inside before the lights come on. Leave the park, beat the dark, feet leavin' sneaker marks. If the elevators broken, you gotta walk to your floor. Say, "peace out" to your homies before you walk in the door. Wash your hands before dinner, "Don't you go in them pots!" That's what your mother says but all the while, you're all in the pots. Fried Chicken, white rice, a few slices of bread. It might be all we have but please make sure the Kool-Aid is red. Gotta get your homework done to watch your show on the tube. Bedtime, you wash your body then you jump in the bed. Say your prayers before you do it...show you're grateful to God. Close your eyes and dream about the things that bring you relief. Gunshots and sirens are the lullaby that rocks you to sleep. Good Night.

Truly Yours,

Mitch Hennessy

The Emcee In Me...Music Saved My Life.

The year was 1983...Springtime. The year I met my first love... In one swoop, my life would never be the same. The colors of the world were now brighter...the air was now crisper...my spirit was awakened. This indescribable feeling was Hip Hop. Not just Hip Hop but music period. The gift that God infused me with had started it's evolution. At first, it was just a caterpillar crawlin' thru life seekin' inspiration. It had finally found it. Kurtis Blow, Run-DMC, Fat Boys and so many others were modern day street poets to me. To say that they influenced me would be an understatement. But influence me, they did...so much so that I, "ruined a perfectly good name"(my mother's words, not mine). M.C. Denny Dee was my new name...anytime that I put a pen or pencil to paper, it was like I was leaving the entire world behind...The only place I felt strong...safe...wealthy...like I belonged...free. Unfortunately, no matter where I went while writing, I had to come back to reality. As I grew, so did my music. The caterpillar was now a chrysalis. When I was young and stupid, so was my music. When I matured, so did my music. When I look back, I see how God was preparing me for my purpose. Music wasn't just something I do, it was who I was. As much a part of me as my breathing or my tears. The chrysalis had hatched and out came a B-Boy Butterfly...Writing kept me out of trouble...it was all I wanted to do. At home...in school during my classes. The teacher would be up there givin' a lesson and all I could hear were break beats in my head. While some of my friends were out robbin' people, jackin' cars and/or sellin' crack, I was writing verses, songs...the spirit of "organized noise" consumed me the way a black hole would. My first love became my only love...girls came and went but my music stood true. Even when I decided that I wanted to do this to make a living, the love was always there. Sorry to say though, that love is no longer as strong as it once was...the colors of the world look grey and dismal and the air is flat. Now when I write, there's a nu purpose behind it...Purity...Justice. And if I can achieve my purpose, it may start to feel the way it did in 1983...Maybe...just maybe.

Truly Yours,

Mitch L. Hennessy

Too Hip To Be A Square

"To be hip is to be update and relevant"-KRS ONE "Hip Hop Lives"





Update and relevant these days means overexaggerated tales of being Pablo Escobar or John Gotti's second coming. Either that or coming up with a new dance craze whose buzz lasts all of 15 seconds lookin' like a modern day jig all the while(but that's a different story for a different time). Make the choice to rhyme about geo-politics, spirituality, how about leading a regular life and they want to throw you in a box(no pun intended, but then again...). When it comes to my music, I'm not afraid to be myself. And since when did it become hip to lie on your persona? I guess around the same time it became lame to be educated. It's funny...I've known cats who were supposed to be the thuggest of the thugs turn tail and run when the heat was on and str8 and narrow 9-to-5ers who would and will drop you where you stand. Up is down, day is night, what the hell is goin' on!? It's time for a new way of thinking, no matter who wants it...I won't spit about ignorance just to get to paid. Thinking outside of the box(pun intended fa'sho)is hip; by that statement alone I'm too hip to be a square. Peace & Freedom.







Truly yours,
Mitch Hennessy