Daye

NYC in the 1980s. Love. Memories. “After picking up a camera at the age of 15, Jamel Shabazz has been unknowingly become the first “visual documentarian” of hip hop. For over 30 years he’s captured the world around him. Every frame  of that world is a time portal that sparks emotion stemming from the scenes they represent. And if there is ever a glimpse into the foundations of street wear and its surrounding culture, it can be found in the pages of his first book.

He’s not going to make it. That’s what I thought… See, I drove up to Connecticut Friday morning for a photoshoot and to celebrate my friend’s birthday. On my way up, there was a lot going on in my mind. I was thinking about being back home and the people there. I thought of how, since moving to Atlanta, I’ve been surrounded by art, culture… beautiful & fly, dope beings. These things, I get to capture any time I’d like. I also thought, that I’ve been surrounded by beautiful & fly dope beings back home and I would be remiss if I didn’t capture this beauty. A lot of people (outside of CT) sleep on CT, sleep on Bridgeport. For some reason, there are preconceived notions that there aren’t any “black” people in Bridgeport, or Connecticut as a whole for that matter! if we are there, then we’re all stuck up…no urban areas, the “hood” doesn’t exist…. Man, oh man that couldn’t be far from the truth! Ha! I invite you to visit! 

There’s a lot of talent and beauty… Connecticut probably has all of what you think you know and all of what you think doesn’t exist.  But, I digress.

On my way up, I was so excited about making this shoot happen. Mind you, only one or two out of 15 people on my mental list knew I was coming home. So, this was veeerrrrrry impromptu! I arrived around a little after midnight… I didn’t even settle in good - it was around 1:30a when I started DMing everybody, one by one, to see if they would be interested and available. I hit Damon up at 2:20a. At 8:13a, Saturday morning, there was a response in my inbox: I’m down! Thx for reaching out.

I was so excited. Damon really has a great spirit - he’s one of the flyest people I know… A loving husband and father!

We set the shoot for Sunday around 3:30p. When Sunday came and he didn’t, I was a little disheartened. Time was passing and I remember saying, “He’s not gonna make it!” But the next day… Damon showed up! I probably knocked out 5 shoots before he made contact and when he did, I was so grateful. He was so apologetic and  still willing to have his session. We set a time (which was ASAP). He was on his way! 

While heading over, Damon received some unpleasant news and had to make a detour to the hospital. He called to let me know… I completely understood and was ready to save his photoshoot for another time down the road but Damon… Damon STILL showed up! That meant a hell of a lot to me. It brings me to tears as I type this because he showed up… they showed up… Through all of their busy and life matters…. I’m truly grateful.

The emotions of the matter he had to face prior to arriving was written all over him. It was heavy… he was heavy. But he kept going.

Back in the day, when I was living in Bridgeport, Damon was on the music scene. I remember being on set of one of his videos that was shot in Norwalk, CT. My cousin, Diane, was the make up artist. I believe, the person I was dating at the time and I were extras.

He performed at a spot in Norwalk… It was a 3rd Lane Riders party. I dug up some footage I taped of him! 2007!!!! (see below)

These days, he’s showing up through culinary arts. If you see his feed, he chefs up delectable dished for his friends and is chopping it up & cooking with the best of them. I always appreciate seeing artists express themselves through other avenues! As he states: [I] haven’t left music at all… But it’s all about ingredients at this point.

I don’t really, really know, but, I can guarantee Damon is working on something big and we can expect to see his fabulous restaurant spring up to success! 

I’m ready! =)

To contact or see more of Damon Daye: 

Instagram: @Damon_dayebar 

Email: [email protected] 

— Barcelona, Spain

— Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

— Male, Maldives

— Niagra Falls, USA/Canadian border

— Tulip fields, Holand

— Egyptian Pyramids

— Artificial Islands, Dubai

— Venice, Italia

Ten Highly Recommended Books by Ten Zimbabwean Writers.

Highlighting a selection of highly acclaimed books by some of Zimbabwe’s most celebrated and well-known writers, in honor of the country celebrating its 35th Independence Day on April 18th.

“Nyasha knew nothing about leaving. She had only been taken to places - to the mission, to England, back to the mission. She did not know what essential parts of you stayed behind no matter how violently you tried to dislodge them in order to take them with you.” ― Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions

“Because we were not in our country, we could not use our own languages, and so when we spoke our voices came out bruised.” ― NoViolet Bulawayo, We Need New Names

“You know how beautiful today was. And as I was looking at the sunset, All slim pink and thick orange and ripe peach. I felt the warm glow spread through me from the middle part of my heart where for that moment I was certain that’s where my soul is. I felt an incredible happiness that made me almost well up and tearful with joy… And i recalled that every time I think of you, that is how I feel.” ― Tapiwa Mugabe, An Incredible Happiness

“The freedom we craved for - as one craves for dagga or beer or cigarettes or the after-life - this was so alive in our breath and in our fingers that one became intoxicated by it even before one had actually found it. It was like the way a man licks his lips in his dream of a feast; the way a woman dances in her dream of carnival; the way the old man ran like a gazelle in his yearning for the funeral games of his youth. Yet the feast, the carnival and the games were not there at all. This was the paradox whose discovery left us uneasy, sly and at best with the ache of knowing that one would never feel that way again.” ― Dambudzo Marechera, The House Of Hunger

“Time is as necessary for remembering as it is for forgetting. Even the smallest embrace of pain needs time larger than a pause; the greatest pause requires an eternity, the greatest hurt a lifetime. A lifetime is longer than eternity: an eternity can exist without human presence.” ― Yvonne Vera, The Stone Virgins

“There is not a man in the world who is worth your dignity. Do not confuse self-sacrifice with love.” ― J. Nozipo Maraire, Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter

“He loathes the darkness, when the trees and the land blend into one blind mass of impenetrable black. Even the air presses around you like a cloth held up by large, invisible hands. The only thing you can make out is the glint of your bayonet. He loathes the darkness because the only thing you have is your ears. Even a twig falling can make you swivel suddenly.” ― Shimmer Chinodya, Harvest of Thorns

“I thought I loved him; but that was in another country. I exulted to hear him say, “I want a wife who shares in my dreams; an equal, not a subordinate.” I helped to write furious letters of righteous indignation condemning the white-settler regime and situation in his country. I forgot about the fight against apartheid in my own country as his battle seemed more urgent. We wrote letters and hosted exiles and through long we argued about Fanon and Biko and Marx and Engels. That was before we arrived in the country after independence. Before I found out that my husband already had a wife with three children, whose names were not gentle on the tongue.“ ― Petina Gappah, An Elegy for Easterly

“If the birds and insects refused to sing, what would the forest be?” ― Chenjerai Hove, Bones