Street Cred: I Got Lit (Street Light)

By Joy Lynn Clark

November 24, 2014

Street Light by Dazee Dizzle

As a poet with dual citizenship in both the city and the burbs, I am always getting my street cred tested.

Lit. Even though I took years and years of lit in school, when it came to the streets, I thought it was like a secret password or some kind of honor bestowed upon me when I have been truly accepted. My lit was American lit, British lit, U.S. Lit, classical lit, and the bible.

In the burbs, people expected me to be like Hillary Banks from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. On the other hand, In the city I always had to know my lit. Well, I wasn’t really Hillary Banks and how come only the bangers seem to have lit? I am a street.