BLACK BOTTOM COLLECTIVE Detroit Showcase:Hip Hop Poetry

Artist: Black Bottom Collective

Title: People Mover

Label: Black Bottom Collective

Release Date: 2005

Condition: New, sealed.

I've been into Black Bottom Collective for a few years.  Think Roots meets spoken word/positivity/black empowerment. Group leader/MC Khary Kimani Turner is a nationally known poet who has won poetry slam competitions and had several books of poetry published. I called Khary to talk to him about our idea to showcase the best Detroit area bands-he invited us to Black Bottom Collective's next show.  The Cousins Vinyl team came, picked a table near the front, ordered a round and waited for the show to start.  Out comes Khary, smiling, radiating almost, a strong postive presence about him.  He introduces the "warm up band", two African American women who come on stage and blow us away with a poetry slam type performance.  After the applause, Khari comes out with his band and starts singing (had no idea he could sing like that too!) and then rapping and performing most of their songs on their new CD (this one).  Before intermission he gets off stage and lets his band loose-they launch onto a jazz jam session with solos from all the musicians-and THEY blow us away.  Khari invites me backstage to sit in on a local T.V interview, while we wait I ask him, "Where do you want to go with your music?".  Without hesitation he says, "Man, I want to play at Red Rock.  I want spread our music everywhere."  -Cousin Geoff