____“Next PIMP to the mike,” says the master of ceremonies.
____Having been announced as Life, a tall man with a bohemian mien and an easy gait takes the stage.
____Life seats himself on the lone stool before a red brick wall in a corner of the dark room.  Dim candlelight and soft spotlights illuminate his thin frame.  He gently puts his double espresso down and immediately begins speaking in a slow, deliberate, rhythmic pattern.  He is reciting a poem about AIDS. 
____His words waft through the hot and stuffy room in a cool, invisible stream as he slowly reveals the possibility of a government conspiracy to infect the indigent and minorities with AIDS.  He likens the conspiracy to a war.
The poem builds in intensity.  His words now flow viscously around the audience until they feel like a molten river of barely restrained emotion.  As he reaches his climax, his voice softens.  The tension builds.  In a dramatic stage whisper, he exhorts the audience members to defend themselves.
____He rises from his stool, coolly sips his espresso, and ambles off the stage.  Despite the packed house, no one applauds.  Instead, they shake.
____Welcome to “Black on Black Rhyme”—a weekly, uncensored, open-microphone poetry forum that amassed its following and began its three proud years of existence in Tampa at the now defunct Leonard’s Restaurant, Sports Bar and Grill (delineated above) on Seventh Avenue in Ybor City; though the forum now resides at FAZE 2 Lounge on Busch Boulevard. 
____Tampa, however, is not the only home to “Black on Black Rhyme,” which is practically on the verge of becoming a franchise.  “Black on Black Rhyme” actually began in Tallahassee, where it continues to this day, but its Tampa founder, Walter Jennings, brought the idea to the bay area, because he saw a need for something similar here.
____“We’ve never had an altercation, and I think the reason is people are able to vent their frustrations on the microphone, so that’s one of the reasons I think it’s really important to the Tampa Bay area.”
____“With ‘Black on Black Rhyme,’” continues Jennings, “I think every time we host it, we prove that we—as a people, in terms of African-American, and as a culture—can get together and do something positive and have a good time; and at the same time, enlighten ourselves as well as other races.”
____Jennings, however, does not restrict participation to blacks.  He encourages poets of all races and nationalities. 
“One question that I’ve been getting in terms of the name ‘Black on Black Rhyme’ is ‘Are white people invited?’ or ‘Are different ethnic groups invited?’  The name ‘Black on Black Rhyme’ is really set in place to dispel the stereotype about black-on-black crime.
____“So we like to invite everybody that enjoys the spoken word, and even if you don’t enjoy the spoken word, I’m sure that there’s something to gain from it.  And you’ll enjoy yourself—guaranteed.  So we welcome everybody out to ‘Black on Black Rhyme.’”  
____Jennings and members of his poetry troupe The Conscious Party, the organizers of “Black on Black Rhyme,” help welcome unfamiliar poets by encouraging the audience to cheer for the newcomers.  But clapping is discouraged.  Instead, they ask the audience to “shake.”
____Before the show begins, Jennings and crew dispense plastic Easter eggs containing dried rice, a practice that Jennings assimilated from “Black on Black Rhyme” in Tallahassee. 
____On this night, the biweekly theme for the evening is “HIV and Me,” and Life, a Conscious Party member who declined to release his real name, has just “rocked the mike,” so the crowd wildly shakes their eggs as the packed room erupts like a den of rattlesnakes in distress.
____Amid the noise of the makeshift maracas, Conscious Party member James Hillsman, the master of ceremonies, whose stage name is J.B., retakes the stage to introduce the next “PIMP”—an acronym, devised by Hillsman, meaning “Poet In MyPerspective.”  But before he begins the introduction, a few newcomers enter, so he pauses to explain etiquette in approbation.
____“These are shakers,” says Hillsman, holding one of the plastic Easter eggs in his hand.  “We don’t clap here.  We shake.  So when you see a poet on the mike, and you’re feeling it, you shake.”
____Poets appreciate the encouragement.
  ___“Everyone here is very supportive no matter how they come off on stage,” says Kristal Larry, who goes by the stage name of Khristyle and who sings a cappella during her performances.  “When they get up there, no matter what they say, mostly everyone is supportive—even if they don’t agree with it.  Just the fact that a person is getting up there—they respect that and what they have to say.”
____Since the poets find fulfillment of _expression through poetry, they take what they have to say seriously and emphasize the importance of poetry in their lives.
____“I used to go out trying to find some sort of escape from reality,” says Hillsman.  “I would search for artificial highs, and the artificial highs were chemicals, chemical dependency.  Now, I depend upon my ability to express myself in my words.”
____Nick Jones, a regular who goes by the stage name LAMB (“Loving All My Brothers”) Ep’ik, sees “Black on Black Rhyme” as something more than a form of expression.  He considers it safety valve.
____“This is the only place I know where you can actually come faithfully, and be able to say what you’ve got to say so that you don’t go out into the streets and react in another way that’s not necessary.”
____Jones believes that “Black on Black Rhyme” is more than just a show.
“A lot of people just look at it as poetry.  Or they just look at it as, ‘Oh, all those people are getting together,’ and it’s more than that.  It’s like a mother, a father, a son, a daughter.  It’s a thug.  It’s a PIMP.  It’s an everything.  It’s a safety.  It’s a stress reliever.  It’s life.  It’s everyday life.”
____When Jones talks about “Black on Black Rhyme,” he likes to stress the family atmosphere of the forum.
____“You can disappear for months and come back, and they’ll still love you just like you’re that family member.  They always give you that love.”
____Although “Black on Black Rhyme” originally attracted only ten people, it now averages 65 to 80 people a show.  Some of whom attend religiously.
Charmaine Jennings, who goes by the stage name C-Maine, described the devotion of the diehards.
____“For them, it’s almost like going to church on Sunday.  It’s something that they just have to do to get them through the week.  It’s spiritual.”
____“Black on Black Rhyme” is held every Tuesday night at Faze2 Lounge, 2807 East Busch Boulevard, located one block from 30th Street.  The doors open at 8:00 p.m., and admission is free until 8:30.  After 8:30, a cover charge of $5 is required at the door.  The show begins at 9:00 and runs until 11:30 p.m. 
____For more information about “Black on Black Rhyme,” please call 813-915-2973.  For information about Faze2 Lounge, call 813-849-2807.

William J. Jacko is a staff writer for the Hawkeye, the Hillsborough Community College newspaper, while taking creative writing courses on the graduate level at USF. His work has appeared in Weekly Planet and the USF Oracle.
He is an aspiring journalist, freelance writer, and novelist.
To get in touch with Bill, e-mail bjacko@usffcu.org.

Editor's note: The pictures for this article were taken at the Jerk Hut Downtown Cafe, located at 207 E Twiggs St, Tampa, FL 33602. Black on Black Rhyme will continue at Faze2 Lounge Nov. 23rd (address in article).