Afro-Netizen welcomes the legendary Kenny Gamble to the blogosphere!

 This past Monday I had the distinct pleasure of ushering the legendary Kenny Gamble into the digital age by introducing him to the blogosphere.

As he entered the room in which I set up my Apple PowerBook, I was playing "Wake up everybody" by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes which 30 seconds prior I had purchased for 99 cents from iTunes.

However, what excited him more than the fact that he heard this age-old soul anthem emanating from my laptop -- a song as relevant today as it was when he and partners produced it over 30 years ago -- was that I could acquire it (legally via iTunes or elsewhere or via downloading it from a free peer-to-peer application) within seconds from almost any computer with a decent connection to the internet from nearly anywhere in the world.

In meeting this exuberant elder from the pre-digital era, I found that what I had hoped would be a good conversation piece was in fact a powerful entry point into a digital world that moments ago was other-worldly, unintelligible and thus irrevelant to his business, values and passions.

To watch this musical legend hunched over in his chair peering into the fascinating portal into cyberspace was inspiring, In that moment, Mr. Gamble was sold. He had to see it for himself and on his terms at his own pace. But the catalytic event that dissolved whatever level of technophobia Mr. Gamble might have admitted to revolved around two things that through his career have increasingly defined this man: music and movement; the latter, he would learn was linked to the former.

I told him about how I, a young Black man with just a laptop, digital camera, digital voice recorder, a blog-based website and press credential (and an American Express card) was able to cover the 2004  Democratic Convention along side the likes of CNN, NPR and the Wall Street Journal. So, perhaps I was oversimplifying, but I made my point: that Blackfolk could leverage the power of new media to create and distribute content in a broad, viral and unmediated fashion in ways unimagined just 3 years ago let alone 3 decades ago when "Wake up everybody" entertained and inspired its listeners in and around blighted inner-cities across the country and down-trodden folks all over the world.

Now in 2005 just weeks before the 10th anniversary mobilization of the Million Man March in Washington, DC, Kenny Gamble may view the lyrics of his grassroots anthem with some great dimensionality as it relates to his influential role in helping the Philadelphia area leadership responsible for doing its part in making this year's Million Man March a success on multiple levels, but particularly what occurs over next 10 years after this historic celebration and focusing on not merely the plan for this large-scale event, but the plan after the last attendees has boarded the bus back home. Interestingly, when you turn MMM upside-down, you get: WWW. Hmmm.

To listen to Kenny Gamble's brief responses to the following interview questions, click below.

Click here to hear what Mr. Gamble has to say about "Wake up everybody".

Click here to hear Mr. Gamble talk about his role in the Philadelphia area Million More Movement.

Click here to learn how to get involved.

Comments

[ATLien]

HMMMMMMMM

http://racerelations2005.blogspot.com

[Yvette]

Wonderful story! You are a true cyber-missionary!