Stop, Forward, Rewind, Play

This is a total throw back and it deserves to be posted. I remember the day Brian told me about this classic performance. It was January of 2010 and I was in the car at a tournament in Miami  due to a mini rain delay. He sent me the link to this video via Facebook and I'm almost certain I watched it7 times that day. Weirdly enough, when I went to the Columbia Preview Weekend (back in the day when I was a pre-frosh), not only did I meet Sciryl at the poetry event at the IRC (home of CUSH), I ran into him at the Times Square subway stop a few months later. I'm a huge fan of his and you should definitely check out his music, Youtube channel, or anywhere that features his stuff because this guy is good. I never got the chance to meet Riva, but she seems like a cool girl. Anyways, this poem easily goes into my top 5 all time favorite Def Poetry performances because it's just so unique and it's something I've never seen before. You'll agree once you watch the video. I promise.

Everything Man

I don't, remember the first time I heard Kwe-li
I don't remember what I was doing
There were no remembered witnesses to my doings
But it seems like I've known him, forever
He who has, moved through mornings and midnights
Through, deaths and dawns
To document our bones our blood our lives
Listen, listen to his exact wings
Strumming mists from clouds
Listen, listen a man always punctual with his, mouth
Listen to his, revolution of syllables
Scoping lightning from his pores
Keeping time, with his hurricane beat
Asking us to pick ourselves up and become, THUNDER

--- Talib Kweli, Everything Man 

When I first heard Everything Man, off Kweli's album "Eardrum", I really thought that the intro was a real poem. I still think of it as a real poem. The poem and the song really do belong together, but I thought you guys would appreciate this one...a rap song with a real poem in it? Isn't that unheard of? Rap is supposed to be abou---

Let me stop. Take the poem for what it is and enjoy. 

Song of the Day: The Floesist and the Songstress

The saddest thing about this Song of the Day? Floetry broke up in 2007. 

Floetry...my definition of neo-soul, besides Erykah of course. Marsha Ambrosious (The Songstress) is pretty much unbelievable and Natalie Stewart (The Floetsist) is just dope. And I mean they're from London...how can you not love them? I was walking around campus the other day listening to my iPod and this song, Floetic, came on shuffle. Obviously, my mood brightened up immediately, probably because I didn't even know I had their album on my iPod at all. I absolutely love everything about Floetry, especially the fact that they do spoken word poetry together. I can't remember what season of Def Poetry Jam this is from, but I definitely know I have it on DVD (so it's either season 1,2,4 or 5) and I've watched it enough to sing along with Marsha while completely disregarding anyone around me. I'm sure they enjoy my lovely voice anyways.

Side note, someone told me the other day that I have the perfect voice for jazz or blues (a very nice way of saying you have kind of a deep, raspy voice for a woman). Too bad I can't hold a note without my voice cracking. Puberty will hit soon enough...

Anywho, the poem is called "Fantasize" and it's easily one of my favorites. This back-and-forth, overlapping kind of spoken word is my favorite style. More poems performed in twos coming soon!

Cheating

I know people like to think Spoken Word poetry always has to be deep or lovey dovey or somewhat depressing, but the Poemcees kinda do it differently on this one. Hands down, this poem is one of the funniest ones I've heard on Def Poetry Jam. On a side note, I'm a season short of having the full series on DVD and I'm pretty sure I'm going to find it and buy it within the next week. Thank you Amazon. Oh, and thanks Brian on showing me this like 2 years ago.

A Feminine Poem by Rakim

Okay, a poem written in feminine rhyme...by Rakim. Whatever.

A couple of summers ago, my parents, aunt, and I went to D.C to visit my sister's apartment and she took us to one of the coolest restaurant/cafe type places I had ever been to: Busboys and Poets. We were only there for lunch (I'm actually really mad that I can't remember what I ate...I remember loving it and I would have loved telling you people about it) but everything from the menus to the waiters made it clear that there was a poetic vibe going on. Actually, this particular poem by Rakim was actually on the menu, but with good reason since it's a poetry cafe. There are tons of different poems all over the menu by artists like Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes, which is a good little distraction for people who are incapable of choosing anything to eat at restaurants like me. Basically, this place is a little bit like the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe in Lower Eastside NYC but with food and more alcohol. I know this because I'm pretty sure someone around us ordred a mint mojito or something. As for Rakim's poem, well the man is just a genius so I support what he does and apparently so does Busboys and Poets.

 For more info on Busboys and Poets, click here! 

She Says She Loves Me

This poem is deep and kind of gives me chills when I listen to it. It was the inspiration for Kendrick Lamar to write the record "Opposites Attract" off his mixtape O(verly) D(edicated). Listening to this entire poem now makes me listen to the song a little differently, a little clearer.  Kendrick even adds a clip of the audio of Lamont Carey's poem at the end of the song, and the whole thing is just genius.

Say What?

In honor of my FIRST trip to the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe tonight, I present to you my favorite poet/favorite spoken word poem of all time: Shihan's "Flashy Words". When I listened to this poem for the first time, I got chills. I can actually recite this entire poem by heart; I know so because I've done it (alone, of course). Shihan's poetic abilities are absolutely ridiculous and I have so much respect for him. And he's actually hysterical in some of his poems, but completely emotional in some others. If you enjoy this poem as much as I did when I first heard it and are not very familiar to spoken word: Def Poetry Jam (any season 1-6) on Amazon. Do yourself a favor.

Realness

“Looking real and being real are two different things. 

Saying it and living it are two different things. 

Realness is oneness with yourself and selfness in your words. 

Your words represent yourself. 

Don’t act like you resent yourself,

by saying things you don’t see yourself saying. 

Singing sad songs sounds stupid

When your days are better than those that are living life in love…

And trust me, it doesn’t get any better than that."

-TheFancyClown