yankee stadium

i was born in the South Bronx. i capitalized that for a reason. right off of Fordham road, below Grand Concourse and Jerome Ave.  you might know the name of my very popular home - Park Avenue, which runs all the way into the city.  i was on 183rd street in an apartment building with five floors and more immigrants than the Labor Day Parade in brooklyn.  the South Bronx had its own culture.  there were girls who snatched up their two inches of hair into a makeshift ponytail and then spread out the ends like the feathers on a peacock.  i know cuz i saw her on the bus stop every morning while i was waiting to get on the 41 with my mother.  i walked down the hill past the bodega saying hi to every kid in my building whose parents were too busy to take them to school like mine was.  i rode the 41 bus all the way up to Webster and Gun Hill Road in between masses of people.  old, young, employed, unemployed, when you're that young it all feels the same.  i heard young people talking slang unique to new york and even more unique to the borough we were in.  i struggled to balance between the shaking of the bus, the crowds of people and the weight my book bag held with my dreams.  always leaning into my mother, it's obvious now that the ride was so different for her.  this was not what she was used to.  she used to walk to school in the West Indies with her siblings and a bucket of water in tow.  she didn't have a book bag or a uniform or even a pencil sometimes.  whoever got a certain bone in the fish they had eaten the night before, would be the lucky one to attach it to a stick, dip it ink and use it in school the next day as a pencil.  but riding the bus up and down the South Bronx was the only way of life i had known.  trains running through the night, the occasional gunshots, car alarms and the never ending phrase, 'coco, mango, cherry' all served as vital instruments in the soundtrack of my childhood.

but one thing i remember more vividly than others is the pride and glory i acquired by being born in the home of champions, 27 time world champions.  there's two trips every class in the Bronx goes on...to the Bronx Zoo and to Yankee Stadium.  when you're so small, Yankee Stadium looks SO big. it's like the ruins of Rome before you know what the ruins of Rome are.  it's just massive and the only thing bigger than the stadium when you're looking up at it is the idea that you've inherited the same attributes that made them champions in the first place.  i don't have to tell you how special New York is as a city.  the streets are filled with ashes and pride.  we have overcome more than most including crazy cab drivers, 9/11, rush hour and the birth of hip hop.  it's a different feeling when you grow up in what we consider home and everyone else considers a world landmark.  that being said, Yankee Stadium is not just a stadium.  it's the home of the navy blue fitted, crisp with the fresh, white NY logo. it's the home of boom boxes and lady rappers, it's the home of beatboxing and breaking dancing. it's the home of ahmadu diallo.  it's the home of sean bell, biggie smalls, jay-z, fat joe, nas (it's his birthday by the way). it's the home of record breaking, the apple, the city that never sleeps.  it's the home of 600 home runs and 27 championships.

and where else would be an appropriate place for one of the the world's most successful rappers to host what is being called his most epic concert? there's actually nowhere in the world more appropriate than Yankee Stadium.  the concert has been advertised so heavily that my four year old even wanted tickets. along with Eminim, Jay-Z performed to a sold out crowd and will do so again tonight with special guest appearances and an audience that believe he embodies the very thing the stadium represents...EXCELLENCE.  here's a clip from last night's performance and i must say, that even though i'm not a fan of Nicki Minaj, she showed up ready to perform like the company she keeps.  so, without further ado, welcome to Yankee Stadium, where only the best perform.