brotherly love?

I'm not gonna front. When I first moved to Philly, I was shook. Too many black folks. Call me what you wanna call me. I'm bein real. I was shook. The soul of this city startled me. Every time I stepped outside, my heart raced. it was like an adventure, a beautifully dangerous adventure. It's hard to describe, but it was a thrilling high. The city is so alive.

I've come to love this city I now call home. Upon arrival, I was in love, sprung like a 16 year old after her first kiss. I knew nothing about it other than that I loved it. These last few months, my love has matured because along with the beauty, I've been introduced to the beast. The spirit of this city is kickin, some nights walkin down the block, I swear I could almost put my finger on it's pulse. it's like it's always on the brink... brimming with emotion.. like a whistle of a tea kettle steaming... or a mothers coffee mug overflowing with her tears. It's always on the verge of overflowing... like someone forgot to turn off the damn faucet!

Man, Philly is an emotional ass city.... shiiit... let me be blunt: Philly is pissed. the fuck. off. 406 homicides in 2006! 406 lives were snuffed out in 365 days. 406. some of these streets look like straight up war zones and i wonder when Oprah will come save Point Breeze or Strawberry Mansions (how come all the roughest neighborhoods have such pretty names?). This years homicide rate is already higher than it was this time last year. On some real shit, at times, it feels like the wild, wild west out here. Most of the victims are young black men... most of the shooters are young... black... men. there goes that victim/offender conundrum again...

Through it all, I love this city. I mean, it's not NYC... not by a long shot. And I haven't quite found my niche yet. But I feel at home... at least for now...open mic at Dowling Palace, the Hip Hop Gathering at the Rotunda, Belmont Plateau... varying degrees of chocolate as far as the eye can see. Oh and the murals.. the bold, expressive, outraged murals... Yea. I'll stick around here for a while. At least until Brooklyn starts screamin my name a little louder.