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3 Questions: Red Summer

3 Questions is all you need to ask of artists who move us:

I first met Red Summer at Sistafest in 2004. I thought she was barely over 21 and come to find out she is a mother, grandmother, teacher, poet and fellow sister on the grind. Over the years our friendship has grown as she maintains her place on my short list of poets who do it for me. She flew all the way from Chicago just to help out on the set of my music video Make A Move and subsequently found herself in the U People documentary. She then donated the song “Stillettos” to the U People soundtrack and has sealed her place in my life as sister and peer. So it was my pleasure for her to be the first to answer the following questions:

1. When was the first time you experienced the sensation of love (outside the context of a lover); when was it defined for you?

my grandparents seemed, to me, to have a marriage of convenience. i never saw them argue or fight, but i never saw them kiss or hold each other either. when my grandmother was recovering from cancer treatments, she was very weak and the chemo left her skin in a dry, flaky state. the top layer would crumble under your touch. my grandfather came to the hospital and rubbed handfulls of eucerine cream into her skin each day to soothe her. one day, while watching him dutifully tend to my grandmother, i burst into tears. i realized that love is not what i thought it was at all. their love had embodied the vow we so readily take for granted. they took care of each other until death parted them.

2. What is the heaviest thing you ever carried and when did you put it down?

the heaviest thing i ever carried was obligation. i did so many things in my life because i believed that was what i was supposed to do if i was good or nice or worthy. i did things because my parents wanted it, my teachers or principal wanted it, my religion dictated it or i thought that as a woman, i was supposed to do it. putting it down has been a struggle that has lasted almost 10 years. in 1999, i refused to go into a new phase with antiquated notions and live another year unhappily or untruthfully. so, slowly but surely, i’ve been unlearning all of those ideas and creating my own reality.

3. When did you accept the title artist and how have you defined that for yourself?

i was raised to respect art. my mother surrounded me with musicians and singers and actors my entire childhood. i wanted to be… a school teacher. it wasn’t until i really started going to open mics and reading my poetry, that i began taking my writing seriously. i took my first summer off from teaching and traveled around the country doing open mics. then every summer after that was dedicated to giving myself back what i had been giving my students. my art is my therapy, it’s my testimony, it’s my confession and my revelation. i don’t know how else i would have been able to define who i am if it were not for my body of work.

[audio:stillettos.mp3]

Contact Red Summer at http://www.myspace.com/redsummer

 

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