A Brief Update

Hey hey. It's your favorite writer Tsiambwom(insert laughter). So what's new, what's shakin', what going down, what's pop-a-locking?

Was that lame?

I used to have a bible study teacher that said that every time I walked into the room. She was probably one of the coolest people I knew.

Anyways, this is a brief update.  A lot has happened this past month I suppose.

Well, first off, I've been keeping relatively busy with Griot Stu. To date we've released about 7 videos, including our video blogs. We have another one scheduled to be put out soon.  Promo image for the video below.                                

                         

So we've got the ball rolling quite well on that. Also, we'll be releasing original music within the next couple of months, from local artist and co-producer of Griot Stu, Tre Harris, aka Tripp Maximus.

We tend to do quite a bit. But, I feel it's for the greater good.

I've been busy with work; my schedule changed from 8 to 12, to 8 to 5. That's right people, I work a full day's worth of work now. I'm part of the working class american. On a similar note, taxes suck. You know how much money they take out of your paycheck? It's border line criminal.

What else is new you say?

Well, I now co-teach a dance class for kids. Well, a member of my dance crew and I are forming a kids dance crew, due to the number of people having asked us to teach the children how to dance.  How legit is that? I'm a dance teacher....an instructor.....a sensei of sorts.

Apart from that, not too much is going on. School starts in a few weeks, and summer is winding down. I would say it's been fun, but I spent most of it working, to then see all that money go to rent and food. It's a hard not life for a guy like me, you know?

Until next time then.

Sundjata Keita - The Lion King

                          This is the story of how I became a dancer.

Sundjata Keita, or as it translates to English, is The Lion King. Sundjata is an epic hero from Africa. He was a crippled child who wished to walk like the rest of the other children, but was mistreated and scorned by pretty much everybody, even his family. Everyone except his mother who always loved him. Through his own strength of will, and a drive to protect his mother, Sundjata learned to walk, and in the process gained superhuman abilities.

I am Sundjata Keita.

Well, that's my dancer name anyways. The name my alter ego takes on when he dances. In the dancing world it is custom to have a nickname or a name that represents you. Now it can be your real name or an edited version of it, a nickname, or something completely different and abstract. People tend to choose things that represent their style, example: Liquid or Zoom. Others choose their nickname and add on their crew's name, example: Tre Lotus.

 I am a bboy, a certain type of dancer, and when referring to a bboy, you generally say Bboy "insert name here".  Unlike most bboys, I wanted my name to stand alone, like a first and last name. You wouldn't have to call me bboy sundjata all the time. You would just say that's Sundjata, or Sundjata Keita. One of my favorite bboys goes by Kid David. and I think that's just the coolest.

Anyways, why "Sundjata" you say? Well, when I first started dancing, I had the hardest time coming up with a name that suited me, my style, my personality. I believe some early drafts of my name were Trade Mark and Bboy T.M. Not overly creative(TM were my initials). Not  long after I started dancing more seriously, I realized I wanted a name that had meaning to it and represented me and where I come from. For a while, my name became Anansi, the African god of illusion and storytelling. You can see how that translates to dancing. Unfortunately, there was already a Bboy Anansi, who at the time I would say was much better than me from the videos I saw.

A few weeks or so ago, I was online. I'm not exactly sure what I was up to, but I stumbled across African Epics. I ran across the Epic of Sundiata. This vaguely tickled my memory from world history in high school, so I clicked on it and read through it. I immediately thought, this is it, my dancer name. I am Sundiata.

When I was little, I was a very sickly little child. I frail and weak, and scared of everything. And I mean everything.  I was uncoordinated and not very athletic. Then I moved this country and stayed pretty much the same. This wasn't very good considering that being a little boy in this country required you to bond with your friends over sports and outdoor games. I spent my time reading books and watching british period dramas on PBS.

 The older I grew, I eventually came to realize that I didn't have to be always scared, and avoid everybody by being book and that I can adapt and be with people. When I got to highschool, I decided that I was going to change myself. I wanted to be......better. The best me I could be. I picked up sports, became coordinated, in good shape, and all that. And then one day at summer camp, I was practicing a dance move I had picked up. A friend of mine commented saying "Hey T, that's pretty good, I didn't know you danced." That comment meant the world to me. It meant I was finally taking a step away from being that frail little weak child who was always afraid.

When I read the Epic of Sundiata, I immediatelybrealized that this was me. Through my own force of will I became who I wanted to be. Against all natural odds(believe me), I became a dancer. And a bboy at that, which if anyone knows what a bboy is, is a superpower in itself. Now your saying, "but the title of the post is Sundjata". Well, Sundjata is the natural African pronunciation of Sundiata. Keita was Sundjata's last name. I just decided to adopt the whole thing.
I am Sundjata Keita (Bboy Sundjata).

Well, that was a lot of words for one post. I hope I didn't too terribly bore you. Oh and please, keep the African and Lion King jokes to a minimum in the commentary. Yes I understand, I am an African, going by the title Lion King, whatever. Moving on.

A Griot is an African Storyteller

                           

Ladies and Gentlemen, Griot Studios

 Hey everyone. This is Griot Studios. That's our logo up top. I mentioned in the prior post the origins of Griot Stu and it's purpose for the most part. Griot Stu is a collaborative effort with my roommate Tre, the artist. It was born out of the need to do more professional work within our field of interests, and seeing how they were so closely related, we decided to join forces.  The name Griot Stu comes from me and Tre. Griot is the part I came up with. A griot is an african storyteller, and that's basically what we are trying to do, tell a story, our story, someone else's, a fictional character. Anybody. Plus, I'm african. Stu comes from the abbreviated version Tre likes to say studios. Whenever he came back from art class or from doing the project he'd always say, "Just came back from the stu guys." We think it's clever, but what do we know. We're not that cool.

As of right now Griot Stu operates as a name brand of sorts. We sorta kinda just stick the label on whatever work we do, but our main main function is producing videos for youtube. The videos are anything and everything, from short films, to dance videos, to comedic shorts. Our other productions include visual art, blogs, and music, although the art and music will take a little time to set up. Tre is working on his first mixtape now and is almost done with it. He goes by the rap name Tripp Maximus, so be on the lookout for that. Also, this blog is now under the production of Griot Stu. It's post are now promoted by the studios. Which is also why I will be blogging more heavily now. Gotta produce material for the team. 

Right now, there are four main facets to Griot Stu: GriotMusic, GriotArt, GriotFilms, and GriotWorks, which includes blogging and other social media. We launched with our first video about a week ago and will be keeping updates between our main videos with a video blog.

I personally think we have something amazing on our hands. I mean, not many people put in this kind of work for something they love to do, or I guess they do, since they love it. Anyways, I feel like it's a step in the right direction. The videos we make are something that I want to put on my personal portfolios as an actor. It's something I want to leave college saying I did, that will help further my career. 

I don't know, sometimes it feels like a dream, and I am always half a step from waking up and other times it feels like I'm about to fall asleep.....I think that makes sense. I don't speak cryptically often, but I am pretty good with my analogies, haha.

                     Well, time for some selfless promoting. Check out our first production: Mobbin

and subscribe to our youtube channel. It's a dance short film. I know you have one if you're on blogger. And also like our Facebook page: Griot Stu

You know, when boils down down to the core of why we made Griot Stu, it's just that we are just two artist trying to make it in the world. We understand that our road is longer and harder than most, yet, we still persevere to trying and make it. And not just because we seek fame or fortune or the superficial things, but because we can't imagine our lives without doing what we do. So, give us a chance to tell our story, show you our work. We promise you won't be disappointed.

What Else is New

Hey there blogosphere. It's been.....too long. I know a few posts back I promised to be a more wholehearted blogger. Here we are, more than a couple months later and I have nothing to show for that promise. Well, this time, it's going to be different.

     I sound just like a regular guy huh. Making promises, but failing to follow through. These are traits that I generally try to stifle but every once in awhile, I'm T, just another guy who can't live up to his promise. Well, anyways, I'm here now. A lot has happened in my few months of hiatus. It didn't even hit me that I wasn't blogging until about a few weeks ago, my friends asked me if I had posted anything new. I felt so bad realizing I hadn't, and even worse when i realized somebody somewhere reads my stuff. Well, this post is dedicated to all those that looked at my blog whilst I was away.

An Update:

In the now,
- It's summertime- (awesome, what else is new)

- I have a job, part time, but a job nonetheless. It's with the university I go to, Georgia Southern, so I stayed in Statesboro for the summer instead of going home to Atlanta (a semi-regrettable decision). *btw* I clean the dorm rooms for after the freshman have left for summer....it's terrible, just terrible.

-I got my first lead in a play for the summer theatre at Georgia Southern. Lead as in, I am one of the main characters the story is about. How awesome is that? It was shakespeare too. As You Like It. I played Orlando, the love interest, which was new....I've never really played the main love interest.

- Griot Studios. My roommate Tre, I have mentioned in an earlier post, have created a team, a production team of sorts, and have come up with a name brand. Griot Stu, aka Griot Studios. It's an idea sparked by one of my good friends Amy. She and I had big dreams freshman year of college and even wanted to start our own Theatre Company. Well she no longer goes to school here, and is now trying to make it in Atlanta, which is awesome!! Well, I have been feeling the urge to do something with my life already, you know start preparing for the future and begin to build my career in acting. One of my professors once said, "If you can't find work, make work." Basically, if you can't find a theatre to work in or can't find auditions, do your own stuff, put on your own plays, make your own films. And thus, Griot Stu. It my proactive step towards the future. More on Griot Stu in another post. In the meantime, check out the Facebook Page, like it if you will: Griot Stu

- Oh and I'm also auditioning for a talent agency in Savannah in a few weeks. More on that later too.

In the past,

-I was voted Co-President f the student organization for theatre, Theatre South, at my school (whaaaat!?!). Apparently I'm a pretty good leader.

- My friends and I formed a new crew...2 new crews actually, a breakdance crew - Bridge Breakers, and a krumping crew - Euphorian Monsters. We will be making a lot of videos this summer. Produced by Griot Stu.

Well, that's all for this post. Keeps your eyes and ears open everybody, there's a lot more coming your way.

Fate and the Artists

Fate and The Artists....

Well, as I said in my first post, I am a college student, Sophomore, 19 years old.

I attend Georgia southern University and I am a double major in Theatre and Journalism.

I am in a dance crew, Euphoria (E4a).

I am in a show choir, Academy of Peforming Arts/Men In Black.

I am what you would call, "an artist."

Now, what's weird is that, my freshman year at Georgia Southern, I was roommate matched to my current roommate,  Tre. He is in the truest sense of the word, an artist. He makes art. He paints and draws, and it is amazing. His main medium is colored pencils....have you ever seen a life-like portrait...in colored pencil? He's the secretary of the Art League, and his art just made cover page for an art magazine here. Here's his art that won:

 And that was the rough draft...
On top of that he dances as well, he is in The Lotus Crew, and he does poetry/raps. He's really good.

This year we are rooming with two other guys in an apartment.

One of them is Greg.
Greg, doesn't do art, but Greg, is an actor. He's like a budding Robert Deniro (his favorite actor), and he lives in my apartment. He was just nominated for the Irene-Ryan College acting competition based off his acting in a play we just did.

The judges nominated him. That guy, front and center in the newspaper. Greg dances as well, but not as much as me, or Tre. But you know what, Greg sings. When I say Greg sings, he can sing.

The fourth roommate, Stephen, is actually an engineering major...but he is one of the best dancers I've ever seen. Though he claims to have given up, and retired. Check him in his "glory days".

Did I mention Stephen created the Lotus Crew, well Super Lotus is the name.

So there you have it; the artist, the actor, the dancer and me, the intermediary, doing a little bit of all of it. I don't know if fate is real, or the concept that we are all on a pre-destined path.Who knows if we were supposed to meet each other. But the fact that four random guys can find their way to each other, at one random school, with somewhat the same goals in life amazes me. How does that happen? What pulls us there?

When we are all in the apartment together, we don't talk about any of that. It's all mentioned in passing and celebrated with cupcakes Tre brings from work. Tre is a decorator at a Bakery. But when we are all there, we are just four dudes hanging out. Talking about the real world, talking about how getting a full time job is gonna suck, how paying rent, and taxes and all that is gonna suck. We watch movies and eat Chinese food. We talk about girls, and girlfriends, and how no one understands them. We talk about farts and poop and time travel. But that's just how it is.

Quit frankly, I don't know what brought us together in that apartment, fate or coincidence, whatever. But I feel that we control what happens next. We can be as great as we want. I think they all feel that way too.