Spike Lee Presents Lemon Andersen’s County of Kings

by Richard Ivory

The 1980’s were a time of great change for Urban America. It was a time of high levels of crime and of poverty. For some, however, it was a time for wealth and for innovation. Out of the difficulties of the 80’s, nevertheless, came a new and an exciting sound. First heard on the streets of the Bronx, and then throughout every borough …that sound was Hip-Hop.

The entire city was alive with the beats of Grandmaster Flash, The Furious Five and “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugar hill Gang. If you did not live through the magic of this time ,or are curious about Hip Hop’s origins, check out a new documentary called County of Kings being produced by Spike Lee and the Culture Project. County of Kings is set during the most influential cultural movement of our time. This cultural movement is the birth of Hip-Hop. County of Kings is guaranteed to take the audience back to the days of B-boys, Lee Jeans, Shell-Toe Adidas, BDP, and Bamboo Earrings.

County of Kings, which was written and performed by Brooklyn-born Puerto Rican poet, named Lemon Andersen, gives a tough and moving biographical account of a good kid growing up in an unforgiving environment. Mixing difficult drama and occasional humor with his own brand of Urban Poetry, Lemon uses his unique perspective and talent to bring his own coming-of-age story to life.

About the Author: Lemon Andersen is best known from his regular appearances on HBO’s *Def Poetry* presented by Russell Simmons. He is also an original cast member and a writer of the TONY award-winning *Def Poetry Jam on Broadway.* He can also be seen opposite Denzel Washington in Spike Lee’s *Inside Man*, and is featured in *The Soloist*, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr.

The New York Times had this to say about Lemon Andersen:

“Mr. Andersen has a gift for rhythmic time-capsule set pieces that capture the flavor of a moment in history, turning bold-face and brand names into propulsive song.”

If you are in town and want to check out a little Hip-Hop History check out County of Kings. The Documentary will begin its run at The Public Theater in Manhattan, New York on October 12th, 2009 with previews starting on September 29th, 2009.

ALL tickets for preview performances are $25. For all other performances (not including opening night), a limited number of tickets will be sold for $25, cash only, at the box office.

http://www.countyofkingstheplay.com/

http://www.cultureproject.org/

http://www.publictheater.org/

Richard Ivory is a political consultant and writer for New Majority.com and is the founder of HipHopRepublican.com, he has worked for the Republican National Committee and was the college outreach director for the Republican