Sir Mix-A-Lot, on the other hand, is a complete mystery. What in the world will he say? Will it be appropriate? Or will he suddenly amaze us with a never before displayed command of Elizabethan theater and poetry? His name is, after all, Sir Mix-A-Lot, and I recall him performing in a mid-'80s electro-funk song called "We Are the Knights," which was rich with medieval imagery. (I have tried to verify this without success, but my memory tells me that he was in the song, which had two DJs competing as if they were lancers on armored horses--it was very imaginative.)
Whatever happens at Bookfest, one thing is for sure: Sir Mix-A-Lot was the first (and to this day, only) rapper to put Seattle on the pop culture map in a serious way. Indeed, while visiting Stockholm back in 1988, I first heard of Broadway when a friend of mine--a handsome, blue-eyed Swedish teen--played it for me in his bedroom. "Is this New York?" I asked him, as he nodded his blond head to the beat. "No, man," he answered. "This is another Broadway. It's in Seattle."
Sir Mix-A-Lot participates in a discussion of "Music as a Movement," Sat Oct 19, 2:40 pm-3:40 pm, at the Word (of Mouth) Stage; he also participates in the Songwriting Workshop, Sat Oct 19, 3:45 pm-4:15 pm, at the Word (of Mouth) Stage.