May 16, 2008 | Indianapolis IN
New York Undercover in Indianapolis!
Sometimes life has a way of connecting the dots in the coolest ways. I had been a longtime fan of Malik Yoba from his days on New York Undercover. Back when MySpace was the place to be, Malik and I were connected there, and he’d host fun trivia contests from time to time. YES — I actually won one! The prize was a phone call, and we talked for about 30 minutes. He asked about me, I asked about him, and it felt like catching up with an old friend. That call made me an even bigger fan.
Fast forward to May 16, 2008 — the night I finally got to meet him in person after his one-man play, Harlem to Hollywood, at the Madam Walker Theatre in Indianapolis. The night before, I was in Cleveland at a music listening party where my long-time friend (and then-new client) Howard Hewett was a guest artist. As I was leaving, I mentioned that I was driving to Indy to see Malik the next evening — and to my surprise, Howard and Malik actually knew each other and even played golf together back then! Howard told me to mention it, and when I did, Malik laughed — clearly it was an inside joke between the two.
Malik was warm, gracious, and signed a photo I had printed, personalizing it to my then-MySpace profile name. From a trivia contest phone call, to a mutual friend connection, to meeting him in person — it was a full-circle moment I’ll never forget. Those were the golden days of social media, when connecting with someone you admired felt personal, exciting, and real.
