• Video 1

As I sit down to write this piece, in a plush 5 star hotel with a birds eye view

of downtown Toronto Canada, I can not help but to think about how BLESSED I

personally am as well as how much we’ve grown collectively as a organization.

It was approximately 6 years ago when I first met Hassan “G.I.A.N.T” Yasin in

Marcus Garvey park on 123rd st & 5th Ave in Harlem World USA.

My Aunt, Frances Lucas was having her annual Martin Luther King Jr Life

celebration – which she has been doing for the last 25 plus years – for the MLK

Jr foundation of which she is the founder and president.

As a front line soldier in the civil rights

movement and a former college room mate of Corretta Scott King, Aunt Fran has

always been extremely instrumental in my personal growth and development since

childhood.

“You need to come out to the park to enjoy the festivities, bring your son -

he’ll enjoy it”

she said before hanging up the phone.

“This chick be bugg’n” I thought to myself as I started getting prepared for my

day.  “She always want me to do what she wants me to do”.

Aunt Fran and I were at war she felt I was squandering my intellectual

potential, thus wasting my life, while I thought she didn’t truly understand who

I was and what I was striving to accomplish.

In hindsight, which is always 20/20, Aunt Frances was on point – as usual, I WAS

tripping, hugging the block, running the streets chasing delusional dreams with

dudes who couldn’t care less about me.

Around 12 pm Elohking, my eldest son, began crying uncontrollably, no matter

what I tried to console him, he would NOT stop crying.

Finally, after exhausting all options, a light bulb went off in my head “take

him outside”

it flashed TAKE HIM OUTSIDE NOW!

Using my intuition as a compass I packed Elohking’s travel bag put him in the

stroller and headed out to explore the concrete jungle.

The humidity of that NYC summer day was stifling and soon my clothes began to

stick to my skin as thin layers of sweat quickly transformed into a natural

glue.

Instinctively, I headed to the park, seeking refuge from the sun, under the

leaves of the tall trees, more so than anything else.

Upon entering the park, sounds of a community impromptu band bombarded my ear

drums.

A group of about 30 people danced and sang to smorgasboard of indigenous sounds.

The music seemed strangely familiar yet exquisitely exotic but definitely FUNKY,

so funky in fact that, Elohking started dancing furiously to the delight of his

elders who approvingly cheered him on.

After 10 minutes and various tempo changes, smiles were shared, high fives were

given and hugs exchanged – Elohking & I walked around the corner. I saw Aunt

Fran at the foot of stage but before I could greet her my eyes locked onto the

people in front of her.

To my surprise, I witnessed a group of people doing things with their bodies

that I had only visioned in my dreams.

A short but muscular man, wearing a army hat, t shirt and sweats had the

microphone & he was explaining the exercises the others were doing. I know now

that man was GIANT aka Hassan Yasin and the people doing the movements were his

crew called the BARTENDAZ.

Part 2 nxt week