MVMT Milk

Growing up is hard to do. When people say, “Yo, where you been!?” I simply reply, “Trying to grow up!” 

The stresses and pressures of trying to balance it all: health, family, money, career, love . . . damn. In the midst of it all, I see signs in society which make me wonder if everything is falling apart or is it all coming together. Maybe it’s both.  

Life is good though. I worked hard this year. And I worked even harder this summer. I partnered up with the endlessly creative business consulting firm Parallel MVMT. We collaborated on the publication of a collection of poems, “Growing Up Hip-Hop.” 

This book includes poems I used to hide under my bed when I was 15 years-old. It has poems from some of my other publications, as well as some new work. I am honored to have a living legend, Nana Camille Yarbrough provide some lyrical libations as the foreword. It feels good to still be standing strong after the Def Poetry bomb that went off a couple years ago.  

I also collaborated with a super-talented crew of artists and some of my poetry students to create an amazing music video for “Declaration of Hip-Hop Independence.” My ultimate artistic collaboration this summer is with my soon-to-be wife. The rest of this summer is for celebration. 

Please come to any one of the Growing Up Hip-Hop Book Release Events to celebrate life, love, poetry and possibilities.  

-kahlil almustafa