For the Love of Life

When I first discovered journalist, novelist and now podcaster Touré on MTV2, I became an instant supporter. I admired his thorough work ethic and ability to never allow his subjects to railroad him. His questions penetrated without him pestering. He injected into his narrative a sense that he could cajole an answer out of a singer, rapper, race car driver, or tennis player with eloquence and aplomb. All the while, he separated the figure from their story in order to avoid subjectivity.

His current podcast brings laughs and smiles to me every time that I stream it. He’s a one-man-band when it comes to these shows. It’s just him and the subject. Like a griot imparting the oral tradition of showing tales to the youth and the forever young, Touré delves into the lives of his interviewees. He provides a profound statement that brings to bear the hope, fragility, class, and splendor of being a human being. Once you get a glimpse of his beautiful wife and children, you will understand just how fortunate this man is.

His podcasts propel the listener to envision the stories that celebrated artists, scientists, and businesspeople have to share with him. I sit back and smile and let the audio vibes waft over me. I am alternately stimulated and relaxed at the words that expel from Touré’s mouth. What I love most about his work is the fact that he genuinely enjoys a good story and you can hear it in his voice. The rising heights and the low register convey a picture painted with words. Everyone that he interviews offers something enriching, engrossing. The actors, athletes, and journalists that sit down with him seem to be smiling with just the way their thoughts tumble from their tongues. I recall a particular podcast with author Zadie Smith that Touré conducted on his recent podcast. I always thought that Smith was a muse in my own life of letters. He titled the podcast “How to be Free.” I took Miss Smith’s ideas of “learning...from people all of the time” while she writes as something that is illuminating. Touré drew this out of her by asking just a simple question about reading while Miss Smith works.

It is passages like this that exemplify the passion and dedication to be found in the dozens of podcasts that he has hosted. The deliciousness of the knowledge that I consume impells me to continue listening, learning and growing. Touré espouses creativity, decisiveness, and the ability to challenge oneself in an interview. I always smile when I think of the fact that my career as a fiction writer and journalist is rooted in Touré’s preeminence. I get to laugh, study, and better understand my own place in the world because of him.

The podcast, Touré Show, features some of my favorite notable people in the world who feel comfortable enough for Touré to probe their psyches like a licensed physician. Oftentimes, he will laugh with his guest at humorous anecdotes. His questions usually lead into a comical story that leads to a belly chuckle from both he and his interviewee. I cherish these moments. This podcast has brought me to the highest planes of thought all while tickling my sense of wonder and coloring the portrait that results from the art of conversation.

Ever the conversationalist, Troi “Star” Torain has always made me laugh since I discovered him on hip hop radio. But he is not a comedian. He is a philosopher and received private school education but is a didact and a high school dropout. The contradictions would be apparent but once integrated, it is clear that Mr. Torain is a purveyor and master of knowledge, wisdom, reverse psychology, doubletalk, and laughing despite the hurt. In this particular video, Mr. Torain praises the fact that director Spike Lee will be out as a spectator for the season. Now, this was before the commissioner cancelled all NBA games indefinitely because of the coronavirus. He expresses extreme joy at the idea of the “mascot” of the New York Knicks not bouncing around on the floor courtside. Though he isn’t here to make the viewer or listener laugh, Mr. Torain imbues his shows with enough humor to keep the kettle hot. From an objective perspective, he is able to jab and hook with his verbal array of tools. While he grounds the entire affair in reality, he questions things and adds a bit of flair to what he says. For example, he berated Lee for having “hands like a nine-year-old girl.” The jest that is so prevalent on the show has usually a deeper or darker tone. His jousts at Spike Lee become nuggets in which to inspect for their authenticity. He’s saying, “Don’t take my word for it. Meet the man yourself.”

While I’m chortling at Mr. Torain’s twisted diction, I am reminded of how current (not relevant) the man actually is. The self-described “Objective Hater” actually promotes love for reason and critical thinking and wonderful relationships with women. He even has a deep love for animals. Like the video above, Mr. Torain can be giddy and silly but also dead serious. These aren’t mood swings but applications of rationality to a given story or line of speech. Because of Spike Lee’s antics, it is imperative that Mr. Torain throws jest into the mix to heighten the need to correct bad behavior. As a proponent of upward thinking, Mr. Torain allows his audience to weigh in on certain matters. By permitting phone calls on the show, he puts himself on the spot. He employs reason to communicate the ideas that spark humor and understanding.

Laughter at evil is the crux of the broadcast. Mr. Torain delivers a commanding performance in this show about Spike Lee. For years, he had dogged the director for his thoughtless actions on the sidelines of Knicks games. Now, Star is able to kick back and snigger at the idea of Spike not being around probably into the next season due to COVID-19. So, Mr. Torain wins again as he puts forth a comical show without being a clown. He conducts research and prepares for his shows like an ascetic.

Mr. Torain makes me laugh and think simultaneously. Before and sometimes still, he would state that he “hoped [the audience] had been entertained and somewhat enlightened” to end his shows. Now, what he says most is that it is “no one’s business to teach you about the business” especially in sports and entertainment. This sobering remark just reminds anyone that in order to have fun and enjoy their riches, they must first take care of their finances. Mr. Torain has a tremendous amount of respect for the spoken word. That’s why he can twist a phrase for a laugh and then allow his audience to take in the dire consequences involved in his verbiage.

A man who met a dire end is in the above painting. I discovered the painting while searching online and it intrigued me. The late, great Jean-Michel Basquiat makes me wonder. The painting also makes me wonder what the young genius would’ve been like had he lived past 27 years. Already successful at such a young age, Basquait had positioned himself to be the powerful light of the art world. The portrait captures the intense focus and calm demeanor of the artist. He, as it has been mentioned, obsessed about human anatomy while recuperating from being hit by a car in his younger years. His mother handed him a book of Grey’s Anatomy and that changed the trajectory of his life. He exuded in his work the composition of the human form in skulls, torsos, and other parts of the body. This makes me smile because I now employ these techniques in my fiction writing. Basquait has inspired me to take on the world no matter my youth. Like a tour guide displaying what can be possible in life and art, he challenged me to consider art in fantastic ways. The intensity in the painting of his eyes shows his deep affinity for detail. He pushed himself and used his paintbrush as a microphone to speak to the human condition. Arriving on the scene just after the birth of hip hop, Basquiat painted with spirit and purpose. Everything in his paintings is there for a reason. He could’ve just splashed incoherent splatterings on a canvas and called it “art.” Rather, he committed every project to stand for something and to duel with conventional ways of expression.

What could’ve been will never be known. But this picture gives a sense that Basquiat possessed a sincere and penetrating drive for his craft. The color around his face seems to showcase the percolating ideas and power encased in his skull. In his brief lifespan, he produced over 600 paintings. But this portrait of the artist explores his fire for making greatness, even if he lived just on the cusp of achieving it.

A smile creeps on my face whenever I encounter this painting. It speaks of an artist dedicated to telling the truth about life. His hair shooting up from his head like the leaves of a plant implied that he would not conform to established standards. Yet, he wore a suit and tie. This juxtaposition of ideals in appearance became the hallmark of Basquiat’s oeuvre. He could be extremely formal or outlandish or spontaneous sometimes with just a few brush strokes.

There’s a direct link between this painting of Basquiat and the artist himself. He would focus all of his energy on specific aspects of his work. He offered to the world a whole host of works that drive the mind and provoke it to seek new avenues of comprehension. Basquiat lived as he painted. He burst into the art world with youthful energy like a hot jazz overture. His use of color and lack of light to highlight dark skin color, became his signature. While some would say that his works exhibit nothing but primitivism, this in no way is true. The lines, the color, the anatomical references, all contribute to the profound efficacy of his art.

For those of the darker nation who have been horsewhipped, shot, raped, stabbed, castrated, and set ablaze for nothing but the melanin in their skin, Basquiat makes black beautiful. Some may cringe at his jarring paintings but like the above photo, and Touré’s question from his novel Soul City, “Cain’t ugly be beautiful?”

Mr. Torain even weighed in on his affinity for Basquiat when he said in his book Objective Hate: The Prequel, where he called Basquiat, “a glowing matador on the fringe of greatness.”

All three men make me laugh and love life. It is the power of each of their abilities that continue to sustain me to this day. Whether it is Toure’s incisive interviewing, Mr. Torain’s excellent reportage, or Basquiat’s prodigious dignity, every one of them has put a thought in my head and a smile on my face.

With the glut of podcasts, YouTube shows, and artistic renderings, it is easy to get swallowed up by all of the activity. I have been fortunate enough to isolate at least three men who have made a positive impact on my life. The beauty of knowing that the love of work and the ability to present to the world their powers is a motivating force. All of the accomplishments that these men have attained gives me even more fuel to power my dreams. Their love of expression continues to give me the impetus to keep going despite whatever obstacles may come my way.

Each man brought about a way to carry oneself as not only a man but a man of substance. All of them made their mark on the globe and have served as indelible gentlemen in a world of posers, losers, and males (not men). The love for their lives and families and work will forever be the signet on the souls of anyone who ever wanted to achieve. The love that these men hold or held for truth has solidified like amber around a prehistoric insect. That same love for the people in my life permits me to smile, laugh, and enjoy the wonders of living.