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| Suli Breaks and a white guy |
I have been to see two events this month: Bruce Springsteen (~40 000 attendance) and Suli Breaks (~50 attendance).
I have been a Boss fan since 1984 (June, Dancing in the dark, Pop-Shop). Before 2013 I had never heard of Suli.
Synopses: Suli ripped The Boss a new one.
Bruce Springsteen was a disappointment. Not personally, you understand, but those tepid, vacuous fans of his. Too much for me. Shouting at people for dancing in the stands? Seriously? Go home, white boy. Take your heart meds or Viagra and go home.
Tonight it was Suli. Short set. Meeting and greeting. His girlfriend taking photos (gotta be his girlfriend, cause ain't no woman gonna have time for this unless she loves the man.)
He starts with a humorous piece about social media and how screwed up we are. Just to let us know that he is not all serious.
Then RIP. It doesn't have to mean what you think it means. It won't mean what it meant to me until now and that means a lot to me.
He tells us about his life. Highschool: passed. Law degree: passed.
Then took a job as a cleaner instead of following the path more travelled.
Then he gets serious. A poem about a Muslim girl. Inspired by his sister who wears a niqab. Not a hijab, the real deal niqab. Its raw. It hurts.
He finishes off with his first hit, "Why I love education, but hate school." You gotta hear it to understand. It's about choosing your path.
Enough with the facts. Let's get into the ebullient praise.
This man is a future. Most probably not the future we are going to follow, cause humans are pretty messed up, but a future nonetheless.
His words drag our 18 year old selves out of their graves and kicks them until the rise up. He doesn't shout, he hardly swears. He tears us apart gently, like damp origami. "Remember, repent, renew." This is not "born to run", this is born to remain. We know who we are and we aren't go'in nowhere.
He gives a shout out to his "unemployed graduates... cleaners... tellers", he has done all of those jobs and more.
He does photo's with his fans, before and after. He is here. Not here in a phalanx of bodyguards, not here on stage. He is present. He is undeterred by the tiny crowd, he thanks them for taking the time to be here.
We meet Sizwe and Lindi. He has dragged her along because she's his girlfriend and she has to see this. After the show we see them again. She is a fan too. If you are not a fan after seeing the man you have no soul.
Suli should be in every school. He should have a chance to speak to the nation. He really is that good at speaking the truth.
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