Through spoken word muMs navigates us through the tug of war he experiences between his pursue of Hip Hop and his fear to overcome all the obstacles presented to him. His inspirational one-man performance flashes back into all the events that lead to where muMs is today. We were on a roller coaster of emotion with muMs as he laughed and as he almost brought himself to tears, a perfect balance between the two existing throughout the piece. At every moment he had the audience’s attention, which is something hard to do when there are no lavish components or many characters. MuMs’ character was so dynamic that there was no need for other characters, and those that were included in the performance were played by him. His friend, Beatle, was excellently portrayed in a deep voice that was made for his bold character. MuMs’ connection to his audience was incredible. The amount of “Yeah”s and “Mhmm”s heard throughout every comment, reference, and hardship he faced were continuous. This made it apparent that he related to his audience because of their share of musical interests, cultural backgrounds, and personal experiences. The moments when he included the audience in his performance and had them cheer created a more engaging atmosphere. It was clear that he was putting his entirety to the performance as we watched the sweat dripped down his face from the very beginning. Anyone who needs a little inspiration in overcoming the fear that they create themselves in trying to figure out where life is taking them would benefit from watching muMs’ character develop. Also, those who want to find the inspiration and hope for all the injustices in the world will find it in his empowering words.

MuMs found himself at the center of a stage with simple design, but perfect for its purpose. The cinder block wall was left as is, with no backdrop or scenery, just a change of lighting as the play developed. Adding more props would have drawn away from muMs’ performance.

After speaking for 90 minutes straight muMs’ throat would of course be parched, but the professionality of the use of a water bottle and the small, but apparent, interruptions during the performance to drink and wipe his sweat are questionable. It hindered the performance because the audience would recall that this was a performance and it took out all the genuine power that his character was so effortlessly creating. There was a moment that the DJ laughed, and then muMs began to sing as his father did. If noticed, this foreshadowing would have an effect on the audience. After doing this show so many times and for Rich to still be able to laugh at this part must have meant that it was highly comic. Therefore, the audience would either laugh knowingly or expect more than was actually presented.

At first glance the music to a performance may seem as just an additional factor, but in this case it proved extremely instrumental in helping relay the plot. Whenever muMs was enjoying recalling his memories the music would be upbeat. At the most serious moments there would be no music at all.   The entire focus was on muMs, on his voice, on his gestures, on his presence. As his voice echoed in the theater we were drawn more and more into his performance and were brought into the moment he was experiencing.

The actual structure of the writing was very effective. The prologue that would begin each section of the performance was helpful in maintaining the cohesive aspect of the piece. There were no major pauses between parts, which compellingly did not allow the audience to clap or interrupt the performance. A very intriguing aspect of the writing was that it was all done in past tense, but when referring to the events that had concerned his mother, muMs brought us into the moment by using present tense. It all was like a story that had happened a long while ago until we come to this part, the one where muMs is suffering right now. The present tense made all the difference in how the audience perceived his story; if you had yet to come to the realization, at this point it was all real.  MuMs’ thought provoking performance would encourage any audience to become loyal fans of his work.