The Source Magazine Article
As it appeared in the June 2000 Issue
Child’s Play:
Young Writer Adds Another Notch to Her Belt
Unlike most third graders who were fascinated with cartoons and toys, all Ah-Keisha McCants wanted growing up was her favorite blue felt-tip pen. At the tender age of eight, McCants would use that same pen to write her very first short story. Today, the 19-year-old has gone on to author a variety of literary works, including two songs for NBC’s The Cosby Mysteries, 15 journals of poetry, a made-for-TV movie, and she is currently collaborating with jazz/blues musician Olu Dara for his new album. “[My dad} got me Sega, Nintendo, Atari…but nothing was like that pen,” recalls McCants. “It was liberating, and from then on I just kept writing.”
Born in Harlem’s Lincoln projects, the scribe credits her father, writer/actor Reed McCants, and stepmother, director Neema Barnette, as contributing factors to her penchant for writing. As a child, the couple moved young Ah-Keisha to Los Angeles, where she was introduced to a more creative environment. According to McCants, living on the West Coast helped her get in touch with her artistic side. “Cali gave me insight on my writing,” she says. “If I stayed in the projects, I probably wouldn’t have been influenced to do it so early.”
After graduating from Los Angeles County High School of the Arts as a theater major, McCants returned to New York and continued her literary aspirations. Her latest project, Café Millennium, an interactive play in which the audience is actually part of the performance, runs every Sunday and Monday at The New York Comedy Club and features an open poetry slam after its weekend shows. Practicing for the production in between classes and work, the college sophomore has high hopes for her future. “I’m just about getting’ more accomplished,” she confesses. “Everything I write is related to my people, and I just wanna give [other] kids hope.”
–Earl Synclair Skinner