On Sunday I attended an event I never thought I would
attend. I went to a deaf hip-hop/rap
concert given by Signmark, a deaf rapper.
My friends and I also danced while at the concert (a mix of lindy hop,
blues, and west coast) to his music. It
was a great deal of fun for us. Signmark
is a high-energy performer, made even more so by using ASL (American Sign
Language) to communicate the lyrics. He
has a counterpart who does the vocal lyrics, but Signmark composes the lyrics
and writes the beats himself.
The crowd itself seemed to be half hearing and half
deaf. It was surprisingly quiet. I was surprised at the variety of people who
knew ASL or used it to communicate. The
six foot five man in the biker jacket with the long white beard and American
flag bandana spoke only with his hands. A
knot of older women all signed quietly to each other, no sounds. Faces are also part of ASL grammar. It’s a very open language. You cannot hide what you’re trying to say,
and if you do try, you’re being rude.
One thing you, my reader, may wonder is “how do deaf people
enjoy a concert they can’t hear?”
Interesting question, and one for which I have an answer. Firstly, the speakers. They were powerful and very, very loud. For some in the deaf community, it isn’t so
much about hearing the music as it is about feeling it. They can feel the vibrations, especially of
the bass. Additionally, many people at
the concert, both hearing and not, had balloons. A balloon amplifies the vibrations from the
speakers. Holding the balloon makes it
easier to feel the music. I highly
recommend giving it a try.
The lyrics themselves were really clever. He rapped about deaf culture and deaf life,
about problems communicating, but also celebrating the culture and the benefits
of belonging. I’ve included two videos
of his songs below. I thought it was a great event and a great experience.
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