About KWABENA DINIZULU (AKA) ToozDzChild
KWABENA DINIZULU
A born again Afrikan, by way of MS, GA an NY. n-ter-d n2 this n-carnation on a Tuesday n Harlem, USA under a sun sign and the number 9. Baptised an' barmitzvahed n an x-tended village of elders, brotha's & sista's; resisdent members of 143rd Street, Refuge Temple an' The Ethiopian Hebrew Commandment Keepers. The Polo Grounds was my stompin grounds. Spiiritually gifted, family center-d an' culturally n-riched, Mama, Granny and Uncle Mack my nucleus, words and song my gift. Raised on Nina Simone, Arthur Prysock, Gloria Lynne and Jimmy Smith. Hung with the ancestors, Langston, Countee Cullen, Dunbar an' DuBois til Granny made her transition in '86 and the muse pulled me back from the abyss. Been with me ever since. Wordsmith, Poetry, my mistress.
Kwabena Dinizulu was born the only child of a single mother in the community of Harlem, USA. He was raised in both an Afrikan and Afrikan-in-America tradition, where family, spirituality, history and discipline were its foundation.
His “granny” guided him in the rudimentary morals and values of Afrikan people. Through her, he was nurtured by an extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins, and elder members of Refuge Temple Church of God and Christ. She passed onto him an inheritance of proverbs, witticisms and vivid tales about life in rural and segregated Wadley, Georgia and about the life of his great-grandfather, who had been enslaved on a plantation in Mississippi. Because of her Kwabena developed a deep love and respect for family, ancestors and his-story.
His mother was his guide and teacher, who exposed him to art and culture south of 125th street and to history and traditions beyond the accepted norm of Afrikans-in-America. She forced him to read when he would have rather played and to study rather than watch TV. Through literature she developed his knowledge of Afrika and Afrikan history, by exposing him to the works and deeds of Afrikan heroes and she-roes like Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, Countee Cullen, Frederick Douglass, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Sojourner Truth, W.E.B. DuBois, and so many others. Her quest for truth and knowledge of self would take them beyond the borders of a traditional Afrikan-in-America christian experience. It would lead through Islam and Judaism coming full circle at the indigenous traditions of the Yoruba and the Akhan of west Afrika. After reading a copy of How To Eat To Live, she changed their diet and began on a path of wholistic natural health foods. Kwabena likes to joke that she and Jack LaLanne were the only ones shopping at the health food store.
Along the way, Kwabena became an orthodox Ethiopian Hebrew and was barmitzvahed by Rabbi Wentworth A. Matthews of the Commandment Keepers Hebrew congregation in Harlem. He attended grade schools public, private, Catholic and Islamic (the Nation of Islam’s Mosque number 7, where Malcolm X once ministered). He was sent to boarding school in Southern Pines, NC at The Refuge Temple's R. C. Lawson’s Institute and attended college, though briefly at Talladega College and Pace University.
He caught the performance bug, unbeknownst to him, at the age of 14, when at his barmitzvah Nomsa Alma John was in attendence. She was impressed by him and invited him on her radio show at WWRL. Later, she would have him on her television show, Black Pride on ch. 11 WPIX.
He began his career as a DJ in High School at Charles Evans Hughes where as student activities director he facilitated school dances. Afterwards, he became one of a growing number of street DJ's, christened himself Dr. Vibes and with the help Jerry B and BK of WarPath Productions began his career spinning at the Grapevyne Lounge on 159th and Broadway. (Peace, be upon the memory of Yvonne, one of the Apollo Jewel Box Revue who managed the lounge and gave him his first shot) Between '75 and '77 he was imersed in the burgeoning disco scene, doing block parties, after hour parties and boat rides. He joined the armed forces in '77 intent on becoming an armed forces radio announcer but got shipped to Italy instead as security police. Yet, turned that single tour of duty in Italy into a twenty plus year career as a radio announcer and programmer.
Kwabena was the first enlisted and English speaking radio personality at Punto Radio Naif in Pordenone, Italy playing funk, r&b and soul. With the help of some fellow Airmen at Aviano Air Base, a dance troupe was formed with Kwabena as the dj and mc. They performed as a group at the beach clubs and discos of Jesolo and Bibione. After his discharge from the military and on the advice of Percy Sutton he took a gamble and returned to Italy where he programmed again, r&b, funk and soul for Radio Milan International 101 FM in Milano, the first privately owned Radio Station of record in Italy.
He returned to the states at the start of a new decade and made Tampa/St. Pete his home. Throughout the 80's he honed his skills in radio announcing and production at WTMP 1150 AM, WRXB 1590 AM, WTKN 570 AM, WSRV 102.5 FM, WMGG Magic 96 FM and in television production at the ABC affiliate WTSP TV where he ran audio for the 6 and 11 PM News. By 1990 Kwabena joined the WMNF Community Radio family as a substitute host for the Soul Party and in '92 began hosting his own show 4 Lovers Only, a popular weekly spoken word and slo' jam program. He's been with them every since.
It is this eccletic and some what helter sklelter, yet richly cultural and traditional his-story that has made him the published, award winning, performance poet and nationally known griot he is today.
Since, Kwabena has honed and developed his talents as a poet and storyteller. His poetic observations about the condition of Afrikan people in America and their social, historical ramifications are honest and humorously blatant. Using fable, folklore and historical narrative Kwabena weaves a presentation that is intimately emotional, informatively riveting and spiritually enlightened. He has embraced not just the art form, but the spirit of the “word” and the oral tradition.
Kwabena has performed at: The National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta; The Birmingham Heritage Festival; The Gulah Festival in South Carolina; The King-Tisdell Cottage Black Heritage Festival in Savannah; The Black Arts Festival in Huntsville Alabama; The Harambee Arts and Cultural Heritage Festival in Tallahassee, FL; The Zora Neale Hurston Festival in Eatonville, FL; The Mailou Arts Festival in Tampa, FL; The 1996 Centennial Olympiad in Atlanta, and at Disney World’s Animal Kingdom.
He’s presented, or facilitated workshops for, ASCAC (The Association for the Study of Classical Afrikan Civilization), The National Pan-Afrikan Congress, The National Urban League, 100 Black Men of Florida Inc., Pasco-Hernando Community College, Florida International University, Broward Community College, FAASA (The Florida Afrikan-American Students Association), Polk Community College, University of South Florida, Florida A & M University, National Association of Black Police Officers, The Miami Community Police Benevolent Association, Operation PAR, The Florida Humanities Council and others.
He has made appearances on radio and television, locally and regionally, and has opened concerts for: the world renown wordsmiths The Last Poets, Jamaica's Reggae Dub Poet Muta Baruka, gospel legend Shirley Ceasar, acclaimed actress Angela Bassett and R & B urban sensations K Ci & Jo Jo and Biggie Smalls.
This artist in residence has received numerous awards and grants from federal state and county arts initiatives. He’s been published in Atlanta’s Catalyst Magazine, and was a featured artist on “Body Mind & Soul” a compilation cd of South Florida poets.
Presently, he performs for arts councils, public schools, colleges, universities, festivals and cultural events nationally.
Kwabena Dinizulu aka ToozDzChild
4 Lovers Only aka The FLO
Tampa Bay's longest runnin Quiet Storm
Friday nites midnite - 3 am eastern on WMNF 88.5 FM in Tampa.
Listen on line at WMNF.org
4 Lovers Only
