It is with very heavy hearts that Chat 'Bout Cleveland posts this entry...Cleveland has lost a dear friend in our own, Makka B. Chat 'Bout Cleveland will always be grateful for the love and support he showed with this venture and with this love, we pause in tribute.....
A Time to Weep
Ecclesiastes 3:4
A Tribute to Makka B
I can remember the first time I saw Makka B.
It was the early 1990’s at Cleveland’s hottest club “Our Place”. Tuesday nights were the biggest. The line would be from Urbana (where the club sat), to Ivanhoe Rd filled with people waiting to get in. As with any hot spot, every Tuesday you would see the same faces week after week after week…
And every Tuesday I would see Makka B; standing alone by the speakers enjoying himself. A year or so went by and before my friends and I knew it, Makka B had us all over Cleveland supporting him at his reggae nights (even though we were not too familiar with reggae music). From Rueben’s to the Fireside, we would go stop in say hi, have a few drinks and then return to the comforts of “Our Place”.
Fast forward ten years later, finally ‘turned on’ to reggae music, I ran into Makka one weekday afternoon at Dailey’s. We looked at each other very familiarly and spoke. He kindly said in his well-mannered soft-spoken voice, “Hey, I remember you when you were this big.” and chuckled. I had to laugh too. I said, “Yeah, I remember you too. Damn it’s been what about ten years?” As we got reacquainted, always the promoter, Makka let me know that he was hosting and playing at Jiggy Fridays.
I always remembered him as the guy who introduced me to reggae music.
Makka B remained the same over the years. Always laid back and cool, soft spoken, and comical. He had jokes, and most of the time they were on me, but I had to laugh. I can remember running into Makka at Dailey’s. After telling him our plans to go to dinner, again he reminded me the weight I had put on and said, “T, do me a favor and all of y’all just need to have a salad, okay?” and chuckled. And like before, I had to laugh too. (I think he was one of the few who could get away with that!)
He liked to say he watched my friends and I grow up into to women. He also has a deeper side, and what a conversationalist! We would talk about things from music (of course) to the Kundalini that lies sleeping within every person. Yes, he was deep and that smile! I will always remember that beautiful smile, beautiful spirit and beautiful soul.
I will always remember Makka as a man who loved and respected his family. He loved his wife and children and was constantly working to provide for them. He often spoke on how he wanted his son to go to college.
It seemed that everything that Makka did was for other people. When Makka had something he had it with the intention for everyone. He was not a man obsessed with ego or fame. If he ate, everyone ate too. He wanted the scene in Cleveland go to the next level I think about the love and support he had for his 6-Day Birthday Tour. I am also thankful that I, along with the other Cleveland masses had the chance to show him some love and support for ALL his events.
People are remembering Makka for always having a good time, respecting everyone and wanting to see people uplifted. My recent memory is last Saturday at Mr. Dailey’s dance Saturday, doing his usual thing on the dance floor, I can still see him having a great time, dancing all over the place, and really enjoying himself.
The last time I saw Makka was Sunday at Caribbean Flavor as we discussed his dance this coming Saturday.
“I will call you Tuesday or Wednesday, to talk over the details.”
“Okay.” – that’s how he was, cool, laid back, easy to get along….
Saddened in my heart when I received the news this morning about Makka B’s murdered, I turned to the Lord and read Ecclesiastes 3 which says:
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
A time to be born, and a time to die;…A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance;…
Makka B for your season of life, I can honestly say that we were blessed to have had you present in ours. Although this is a time to weep, as I write this tribute to you, I find myself laughing through my tears. I find joy in my heart being thankful that I had the pleasure of knowing a true soldier, faithful and just to the end.
To your family, my prayers go out to you and I leave you with words from the Most High:
Psalms 37:23-24 …the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and he delighteth in his way. Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand...
Our hearts are heavy, God bless…
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