My father is one coolass dude, man...
Over 50, and still so incredibly relevant without ever really trying too hard; this man has no use for things like pretense, or the vanity of contrived dialogue. He is just as raw, street, and sophisticated as he ever was. I don't doubt that some may even hate him for his "isms" and unapologetic ways, but the fact remains that many more love him for his unique brand of views, and his "straight like that" approach, which hardly leaves anything to the imagination, on most nights.
Tonight, for the most part, is a different story though. You see, tonight he's chillin', a lil' under the weather, and just takin' his boys out to watch another latin innovator test his new material on a small group of lab rats, such as ourselves, in a tiny theater on Barrow Street, in the always interesting West Village. Yes, my dad is an innovator, much like John Leguizamo, who after a 2 minute dance intro to some Godfather of Soul ish, insists that he will NOT ALLOW any recording devices of ANY KIND during his show.
Damn, I can't front, I was tempted to capture a segment and post it to my twitter feed. (sigh)
My Pops, like most individuals who trailblaze, didn't realize that he was writing history back in his day, but the plain truth is that he helped to create what we now know as Hip-Hop. Told you he was an innovator! Yeah, I know. Sounds crazy, right? But he is actually one of the pioneering DJ's who rocked the parks in the early 70's, drawing crowds to this new way of presenting music. Watching Leguizamo dance a fool to James Brown's "Sex Machine", takes me back to places where I literally watched live looping of break beats morph and evolve into rockin', then uprocking, then breakdance, and then eventually, into that BOOM BAP that I love so much, and later went on to explore myself.
Mr. Leguizamo is as dope as ever, and appears to be in top form, and so ready for his next Broadway Takeover, but I find myself rather stunned and captivated by the way he fearlessly shows his heart to this small test audience. He takes us from all-out laughter to pin-drop reflection in a millisecond; all on purpose, and at the precise moment of his choosing. My dad, brother, and I, were essentially invited guests into Leguizamo's living room for an hour or so last night, and there was thankfully NO HOLLYWOOD in the building. No B.S., just authenticity, which happens to be one of my favorite things on Earth. As an artist, I know what it is to respect the craft, and another artist's material, so you'll NEVER get any spoilers from me, but JL's entire show treated us to another insider look at his professional life, and as always, some personal/family drama thrown in for good measure. He is indeed an innovator, a fearless LATIN innovator, with no qualms about telling it like it is. Just like my pops.
Yeah my dad is cool, still shining his shoes, and slick talkin' with the best of the young crowd, still fitting in amongst the youthful throngs of West 4th and Ave of The Americas, still walking out in front of his clan, showing who's boss, and still being my Superhero, for just letting me chill with him on nights like this...
Shout to Jason Segel (lead in Forgetting Sarah Marshall) who was right there among us outside of the Barrow Street Theater, just chillin'. No entourage, No fancy entrances, despite having a pretty amazing run of big movies lately, and one more about to drop.
Another cool MoFo in the midst of some very cool Mofos. yea us... lol
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