By Darryll Oliver
Cortney Charleston '12
“Minds making excuses for broken glass hearts/Left in pieces on the streets of Roseland/Crystal shards of a sincere smile named Derrion Albert that/Never made it home from school”
Lines like these, performed by spoken-word artist Cortney Charleston, are what best embodied the mood of the evening. The Open Mic Groove, hosted by Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship, Incorporated, gave an opportunity to young, independent rising student artists to broadcast their talents. As an open mike event, it allows for many artistic expressions, whether poetry, song, comedy, or any other such piece. Those who attended the event were presented with all those art forms in the cool, intimate atmosphere of The Bubble Tea House.
Steven Allen, a talented, singer and songwriter, kicked off the evening with two of his originals “Never,” and “No, It Can’t Be True.” The songs took an introspective look into relationships and characterized the emotions that emanate from them. Freshman, Amber Scott delivered a poem, titled “This Is For You,” about her affection for her mom and dad, which wrapped up her unique family experiences and growth over the years. Another freshman and member of the Penn Track & Field team, Aderinola stepped up to the mike and performed a poem titled “Addicted”, surrounding the difficulty of trying to leave something to which you are addicted. The artist quoted earlier, Cortney Charleston, was able to re-package current events, such as the memory of the murder of Derrion Albert, and present it in a more personal, poetic form. The Young Broke Romantics, a duo of Dan Higgins (who plays the harmonica and guitar), and Alec Bleday (the emcee) animated the audience by writing ad-lib songs about a random topic of the audience’s choice. Bleday’s rhapsody about passion fruit bubble tea kept the audience off their seats with laughter, while Higgins was amazingly able to keep his composure, holding the beat without cracking a smile. The Open Mic Groove is one of many events which represent the community organization of the social fellowship, dedicated to celebrating the artist and his/her craft. The next show will be in the Dubois Multi-Purpose Room, on Friday, November 13th, and there are still many slots available for any artists who would like to perform.
Amber Scott '13
If you’re interested in being a part of the upcoming Groove Open Mic on November 13th, please contact Darryll Oliver at darryllo@sas.upenn.edu. For more information about Groove Phi Groove, please visit http://www.gphig.org/.
Darryll Oliver '11, President of Groove Phi Groove S.F.I Quaker Chapter
Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship was first started in 1962 at Morgan State College (now Morgan State University) by fourteen Black American men who felt the need to create an innovative organization to change the way we think about brotherhood. Driven by the monumental Civil Rights and Black Power movements, they felt it was necessary to provide brothers on and off campus with a fellowship that was proactive in taking action in the community. The aim is to push black males toward positive initiatives, and promoting unity, intelligence and effective leadership, to study and help alleviate the many social and economic problems concerning society in order to improve the status of mankind. Today, Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship Incorporated has over 30,000 members nationwide.
