Five months later, I found the remains of this night in a scrap notebook and decided that enough time had passed between then and now for me to gain some other sense of where Hakim's aspirations lay/lie. It turned out that on the night of the performance, The Verb was preparing to fly to Johannesburg as part of the 2012 African Contemporary Arts Consortium. The local chapter, organized by VSA North 4th Arts' executive director (Marjorie Nesset), brings artists from the continent to Albuquerque, in conjunction with the African Contemporary Arts Consortium.
In a travel blog entitled Birth of a Generation, Hakim described his mindset the day before leaving for South Africa.
"... I was at the seat of the South African Supreme Court and Constitution promulgated by President Nelson Mandela in 1996 (Constitution Hill and Old Fort). Later, that selfsame day, I was at the site where the Treason Trials began against Nelson Mandela and 156 members of the African National Congress (Drill Hall). The most significant part about being in both of these places of significance [sic] was that I was there with youth in both instances. Needless to say, I did not get to Danse l'Afrique danse on Friday ... nor for the rest of my stay in South Africa."
After reading the article I considered the idea that avoiding the ceremony and festivities altogether—wandering off in uncharted territory to find a unique story, was exactly the type of action I would take if given the opportunity. I started to respect The Verb, somewhat, and even felt regretful about a slight I had overheard and laughed at pre-Desert Fish.
"There ain't no verb in laureate!"
Reading further into Hakim's journeys and analysis of the Hillbrow district I once again found myself conflicted on how I felt about our esteemed ambassador. Personally, I would have drawn attention to the dire situations of countries like Liberia and Sudan.
But since Hakim invited himself to write the blog, and more than likely wasn't fitting the bill for the excursion, the highly publicized social unrest of areas like South Africa would have to do for a begetting topic:
"Long before Hillbrow became the continent's poster child for crime, overpopulation, and urban decay, the historic Hillbrow Theater (formerly the Andre Hugenot Theatre) was part of a full city block, multi-use, multi-floor compound that included the 99-year old Lutheran church on the opposite end of the block [sic]."
Overlooking all the redundancy and idiosyncratic reflection, in the end the blog and his actions were not only redeemable of his performance in Albuquerque, but generally commendable, as Hakim shed authoritative light on the lack of proper funding for arts programs in the squalor of Johannesburg.
"Annually, the students create and stage plays for the Project's seven year-old Inner City High Schools Drama Festival. Last year, Gerard sent a group of students to represent the Hillbrow Theater Project in Iran."
"According to Gerard, all of this happens with little to no support from the schools. The schools generally lack an institutionalized arts curriculum or an arts budget. Some schools pay the Project to supplement their lack of arts curriculum, others do not, but the students choose to show up and create anyway. Some of the funding the Hillbrow Theater Project receives comes from their connection to the Lutheran Church. This year the church asked them to take a break from their typical programming about teen sex, HIV/AIDS, poverty, and the other issues that the youth choose to write about. So Gerard obliged, and this spring the Hillbrow Theater Project put on the Passion of Christ ... with a young black woman starring a [sic] Jesus herself."
Hmmm. "The students choose to show up and create anyway."
I guess all in all, that's my biggest problem with Hakim Bellamy. The one time I see him perform on something other than Youtube, as part of something bigger and not a headliner, he couldn't be bothered to fully show for the music. And I can forgive him the error, taking into consideration everything that he's "seen". But as far as attending any further Waylaid shows i.e. The Beat, The Feet and The Verb, well;
you wouldn't happen to know when the next time the Skatalites are coming to town, do you?
...
Nevermind. I'll Google it.
Frankie Metro is the Chief Rocknrolla at Unlikely Stories: Episode IV. He often collaborates with Lindsey Thomas, Unlikely Stories: Episode IV's Habitual Line Stepper.
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