Dear God it's me Tracy Ann, There's a gnawing intuitive whisper that's been in my subconscious mind for years. No matter what seems logical or illogical about its laborious pursuit, I know that I was born to perform. I didn't know when or how I would put them to use, but ever since the beginning of the pandemic I slowly assembled my percussive & vocal arsenals. I told my close circle and of course my mother that I dream about finding my personal sound & surprisingly they all got on board. I was like damn, ok, is it obvi?? I've only been on stages since I was 3 years old dancing my heart out.
Now all I needed was the proper venue to finally showcase myself to an audience regardless of the judgment. It's so scary to jump out on a limb & present a rediscovered talent that you only really exhibited in the shower or at inebriated late karaoke nights that you host at your photography studio as a guilty pleasure for example 😅 karaoke therapy anyone? One of my close friends and Art N Soul Owner/Operator Al Huggins sent me a flyer for TrapJazzPaint since he knew I was looking to stretch my atrophied performance muscles & I'm so thrilled that I went!
Picture this: warehouse setup, blank canvases on easels filled the space, bathed in colorful mood lighting in front of a vintage styled cash bar, featuring an open mic with a live band. the DJ curated the perfect 90's r&b playlist, whilst sip & painters worked on their own masterpieces. I'm talking literal Black renaissance heaven right here in Fort Lauderdale near SIstrunk aka Flagler Village!!! The Host B. Soul, who also celebrated a birthday, was a very kind, generous & talented singer who remained inspirational throughout the entirety of the event which was perfectly timed at 8pm-midnight on the first Friday of every month. There was of course the low-key shade of the phenomenal professional singer/songwriter upper classmen amongst novices, ever on key as per usjh. They definitely gave us YouTube trained students a high performance bar to attain to, which I deeply enjoyed. TrapJazzPaint is overall really such a well balanced and healthy environment for artistic expression, like exactly what the Doctor ordered.
I prepared to sing my favorite karaoke song "Man Down" by Rihanna but really anything with attitude & a fashionably gangster vibe is totally my thing. I normally practice with the instrumental, but had to be inaugurated into the accompaniment of the band's guesstimated reggae song structure. I pulled off a theatrical removal of black pea coat & slightly stuck bubble gun reveal while being nervous, shaky & off-key 😅 but omg was it the time of my life! Being onstage is like flying a kite board; Such a glorious ride once you get the hang of it. I will most definitely prepare another song for next month as I review this cringeworthy video my twin cousin Crystal took to commemorate the moment 🤣 Wish me luck! Thinking of a song that the band will hopefully know. Any suggestions? DM me on IG @Miamiculturemaven
P.S. If you're planning to attend, get your tickets sooner than later. Currently the only available seating was for paint & sip participants.
