Pieces of a Man

DOES anyone ever truly know what they are getting into when they begin something? We speak the rhetoric of singular focus, intention, purpose, and clear vision all the time. But do we really know what’s ahead of us?

In 1970, an imaginative wordsmith, barely twenty-one years; gifted with a love of reading and writing; and heavily influenced by Langston Hughes, published his first novel. A month later, he invited friends, some folks he barely knew, and even a few strangers off the street to sit around an assortment of folding chairs in a small Harlem studio; and there recorded his first spoken word live album.

When Gil Scott-Heron produced Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, did he know a year later he would be diverting from spoken word with his first studio album, Pieces of a Man, a literary and musical masterpiece that would become one of the most critically acclaimed -and important- mementos for the development of hip hop and modern dance music?

And even if so, could GSH have anticipated the path -the trials, the tribulations, the misunderstandings, the frustrations- of what that process would look like; and what his progress, his journey, actually would be?

SEVEN years ago, when I started BostonMan Magazine, I was confident I could bridge a gap among different communities in the city and -at some level- create a unique product, that would resonate with an influential 25-54 year old audience.

Similar to GSH, books and writing have been embedded into my DNA since an early age. I love to write, was excited to produce my first publication since the old college newspaper, and figured if nothing else, we would at least give Boston barbershops a few fun topics to argue about on a Saturday morning.

The secret, you see, was going to be the semi-private membership based professional networking events we would host every four-to-six weeks. That, so projected, was going to be the most impactful pocket -both in building community and finances- where success would be found with this new platform.

But does anyone ever truly know what they are getting into when they begin something, and where their path of self-discovery may take them?

As years passed, and Pieces of a Man further cemented itself atop The Mount Rushmore of all time classic studio albums -the album itself- gradually became more and more known for its influential proto-rap opening track The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.

This would frustrate Gil Scott-Heron up until his final days before being laid to rest in May 2011.

“It was the only political piece on the album,” GSH repeatedly emphasized during his later years. “Very few people heard ‘Save the Children’, ‘Lady Day and John Coltrane’ or ‘I Think I Call It Morning’. They just missed the point. The point became one of the 11 pieces. The least inventive one on the album was the one that was the most heralded.”

Over these first seven years building BostonMan Magazine, we have unequivocally tapped into a vein here in the city -here in our communities- with our curated Legacy Club professional networking experiences. Every time I’m sipping a scotch in Seaport, or enjoying dinner in the North End, someone (often multiple someones) are guaranteed to approach me offering up something along the lines of: “Best events in the city, man..” or “How do I get on ‘the list’ for your parties bro..”

But they’re missing the point.

The very fabric, THE SOUL, of what BostonMan Magazine is -of who I am- is in the writing. It’s in the storytelling. It’s in the pages of the magazine.

If you’ve only heard of or seen the events, but haven’t read Seeing the Whole Picture, A Warrior’s Heart, The Sadness Will Last Forever, The Night James Brown Saved Boston, El Tiante’s Hall of Fame, Do What’s Right, So What’s Right Is Done, The Man in the Arena.. and the list goes on; you’re only seeing one of the pieces.

Praised as it may be, only seeing the events is limiting the experience to the least inventive piece of BostonMan Magazine.

This autumn, for the seven-year anniversary release, our storytelling expanded up and down the Northeast as we proudly continue to showcase New Englanders having a positive impact on the world.

We shot, Rob Gronkowski -the greatest tight end in the history of the NFL- at Gillette Stadium. “My home,” as Gronk a-matter-of-factly put it during the shoot.

We traveled to Washington DC -my birthplace- to shoot Jacqui Heinrich, host of the nation’s top-rated show The Sunday Briefing, with the nation’s State Capitol as a stunning backdrop.

We found ourselves in New York City shooting Angelo Rosa, a wide-eyed young designer from Providence along with Ron Poisson, a charismatic culture aficionado from Woonsocket, who together are setting the upscale streetwear world on fire.

And, back here in Boston, we welcomed home Ricky ‘FuQuan’ McGee -wrongfully imprisoned for 28 years; now fully exonerated- with a ‘Handcuffs 2 Cufflinks’ cover shoot as he was fitted for the custom tux he wears tonight at Boston’s Runway Ball.

The biggest achievement -our greatest accomplishment- at BostonMan Magazine isn’t the recognition we receive for how ‘dope our events are.’ It’s when someone who has opened up to us about who they are, and what their story is says after reading about themselves in our pages: “You spoke my truth.”

I have come to identify and agree with Gil Scott-Heron on many different levels. And although it is just one piece of a complex makeup of his Pieces of a Man, he is right that The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.

BostonMan Magazine will continue to print it, as intended to be.