iiL never forget the day Vagina Jenkins came into my life. That's right...Vagina.
Vagina is a beautiful woman whom iiSaw shining like a beacon in the audience at the Sistas 4 Assata tribute in December. As iiLooked out from the stage, iiWas captivated by the sheer grace of the woman.
After iiCame off stage she offered complements on my performance and introduced herself as Vagina as she walked out the door. Thanks to some savvy tagging, we connected via the Facebook and iiFound out that she also happened to be named Creative Loafing's "Atlanta's Best Burlesque Dancer" in 2009.
iiBet some of yall didn't even know they still had burlesque dancers anymore, but they do! And this one is haute!!!
Truth be told, iiDidn't know the world still honed the fine art of burlesque, and iiMyself was curious to find out what the modern day burlesque show had to behold.
iiAttended Her "non-specific holiday show" later that month with a friend. Funny enough, Vag had saved me a seat in the "hot butch" section like she promised...(for real, there was a sign and everything. ;)
So as iiTook my seat in the hot butch section, iiCould not have been less prepared to experience this liberating expression of human sexuality. The fine art of burlesque is perfectly preserved in her hands...and hips...believe me.
Vagina introduced me to West Coast Artist, Skim. Funny enough my brother, Zayd Malik had seen Skim in concert when he went out to LA...the world is way too small!
Fortunately for those of us who love music (iiM pretty sure that's you cuz you're here), Skim Skima is making her way to the 'A' and Vagina asked me a funny question, which is, "Where do you work in ATL?". As in how does one artist in atlanta get on-stage in this saturated city...
Here's our conversation...
Vag Jenkins February 24 at 11:59am Reply
Hey Nefertiti, meet SKIM
SKIM meet Nefertiti
everybody meet Eric aka Zano Bathroom...he's weird,Nef
My friend SKIM is visiting Atlanta from 3/4 til 3/14 ish. She's an emcee with a flavor similar to yours Nefertiti, the sort of thing that's lyrically complex, can be performed over backing tracks or live with a guitar. She can be both high energy and chill and is always entertaining and kind of has this way of relating to pretty much every audience she meets.
Anyway, I say all that to say this...
where do emcees work in this town?
I told her I would help her find like an open mic or something to hustle CDs at, but I'm coming up short.
I've got some feelers out with spoken word folk like Theresa Davis, Queen Sheba , Karen G...and even hit up Lakara Foster, but I got nuthin'
where do emcees WORK in this town? Eric, don't say "in food service."
anyways, you guys know soemthing I don't know?
exes and ohs,
-Vag "every word I say should be a hip hop quotable" Jenkins
Nefertiti Akinyela Jenkins-Jones February 24 at 8:20pm
Yoooo! My brother got me Skim's CD from LA and it's in Heavy Rotation on the iTunes! Thanks for the introduction, Vag.....
Re: the original question...It's hard to say exactly where MC's 'work' in this town.
iiGot a lot of my shows from searching for Open-Mic's online (starting with craigslist).
I found a lot of them this way, and I just kept on going and meeting the owners and promoters.
I was inviting people (my supporters) to my shows. Even if they didn't come, other promoters and owners saw iiWas serious and iiWas dependable to show up, and they began to ask me to do their shows.
There are plenty of open mics going on in this town. A lot of them shady, but we still go in and control the situation and do what we must do. They have the audiences. or the venues or whatever else we need from them, so be sure to use them as much as or more than they use you (my personal advice from experience).
My suggestion is to search for those open-mics that fit the music. If you send me a message, iiCan probably tell you about a couple that iiUsed to do that may or may not be functioning anymore, but the promoter might still be into the 'scene'.
How long are you going to be in town for? I say try them all out. Atlanta may seem big and intimidating, but the music scene is a really tight, incestuous, small world.
Try them all out, and when you get on stage and do what you have to do, the people are bound to be interested. When promoters know that you are serious and you are going to show up and show out, they are willing to invite you back for features or whatnot and/or introduce you to others who might put you where you want to be.
There's no formula. There's also no shortage of open-mics in this town, so hit em all up. See which ones fit and keep at them ones. Craigslist also has a lot of sources that are just looking for artists to perform at their event. Check those out too. Those could be your strongest connections.
Your CD's dope. The music is dope. I don't think you will have any problems getting on stage.
I don't know of any shows that are coming up specifically. I haven't been performing lately, but definitely by choice. As iiSaid there is a plethora of open-mics, it's just a matter of which ones will appreciate your music.
I know it's hard as an artist who doesn't quite do 'hip-hop' or it's not quite 'acoustic' or 'r&b', but we just gotta get out there and frame it for the people so they know what to reference it to and then take our people to a corner and do our own thang for them, ya dig?
Ok...so, after this long as message, that iiM almost sure iiShould repost as a blog, hit me up. iiM getting ready to start booking shows in the area, so maybe we could trade stages or go through together, iiM sure people who love my music would love yours as well, much as Vag seems to dig both.
God Bless ya and keep making good music. Hope to link up with ya soon.
Thanks again, Vag. You da best! and everything you say should definitely be a hip-hop quotable.
-nef
The many joys of Vagina...