Proving that it is indeed the year of the poet, spoken word poet G.R.E.E.D.S (Generating Rhymes to Engage the Enlightened Soul) has recently unleashed "Riot" in the run up to the launch of his new project Ready EP. Making poetry instantly accessible to a wide audience by merging it with acoustic sounds, indie, reggae, hip-hop and soul beat patterns his latest is supremely catchy, courtesy of Stinkahbell.
February 2010 revealed a jewel in the crown of super-sonic XL Recordings – whose coat of arms reads: Radiohead, the White Stripes, Basement Jaxx, Vampire Weekend, Ratatat, to name but a few - with the musician, poet, novelist, activist, the extraordinaire and un-classifiable Gil Scott-Heron. Music messenger Richard Russell, XL's founder, sealed the production of Gil Scott-Heron's first album in 16 years: I'm New Here, a 28 minute LP of 15 tracks. 60 years-old in body, ageless in Soul and perhaps even soul. The poet has returned, bearing an aura on a par with that of the most ancient and potent, wise and mischievous gods. But had he ever left?
February 2010 revealed a jewel in the crown of super-sonic XL Recordings – whose coat of arms reads: Radiohead, the White Stripes, Basement Jaxx, Vampire Weekend, Ratatat, to name but a few - with the musician, poet, novelist, activist, the extraordinaire and un-classifiable Gil Scott-Heron. Music messenger Richard Russell, XL's founder, sealed the production of Gil Scott-Heron's first album in 16 years: I'm New Here, a 28 minute LP of 15 tracks. 60 years-old in body, ageless in Soul and perhaps even soul. The poet has returned, bearing an aura on a par with that of the most ancient and potent, wise and mischievous gods. But had he ever left?
Set aside 7 minutes to watch prolific US spoken word artist Taalam Acey discussing the relationship between Hip Hop, Poetry and Spoken Word from The Market 4 Change Volume 2. Filmed at The University of Washington, Tacoma (Longshoresman's Hall) on Wednesday February 3, 2010 by...
"I started writing poetry in 2001... because I couldn't afford paint."
25 year old Inua Ellams: born in Nigeria but resides in London where he spends his days and nights busily establishing himself as one of the city's most buzzworthy visual and verbal artists. As part of his word domination, he has performed all around the country and is a member of a growing number of poetry and creative collectives including OneTaste, A Poem In Between People, Malika's Poetry Kitchen, NewBlood, Generation Txt... and probably several others since I began writing this paragraph.
"I'm from a long line of trouble makers, of ash skinned Africans, born with clenched fists and a natural thirst for battle, only quenched by breast milk."- The above quote hollers from his self-penned play: The 14th Tale, which opens at London's National Theatre in the second week of February. A biographical coming of age story, the one-person play charts his experiences growing up in Nigeria, being schooled in Ireland and returning to England, where his career currently blossoms. Watch Inua talk about his play, his poetry - and the life experiences that inspire both - along with a performance of his poem "What Becomes of The Broken Hearted", in our video: The 14th Tale will be at the National Theatre (London) for 10 performances between 9 February - 13 March. All tickets are priced at £10 - nationaltheatre.org.uk Win a pair of tickets to see the show in March by emailing comps@soulculture.co.uk with your contact details, stating which date you'd like to see the show.
An interesting documentary I just stumbled across: Originally aired on the BBC in 2004, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: A Film About Gil Scott-Heron features contributions from disciples such as Chuck D and Mos Def as well as music from his career stretching back over 20 albums to the early '70s.
Gil Scott-Heron is the Godfather of rap. His confrontational, no-nonsense street poetry and intelligent song writing skills have inspired the modern Hip-Hop generation and he is arguably one of the most significant musicians and poets in Afro-American history.I found the documentary online in 6 parts...
Gemma Weekes is in celebratory mode. Her debut novel, Love Me, has been translated into Dutch and an Italian version is in the offing, widening its potential audience. Love Me, set in London and New York, has generated quite a buzz since its release in January receiving very encouraging reviews from The Guardian, The Metro and The Independent amongst others [click to read our review].
Yet Weekes is no newcomer to the literary scene. If you’ve even only a passing interest in London’s live music and spoken word scene then Gemma’s name would be familiar to you - she has performed everywhere from the Jazz Café and Royal Festival Hall to The Theatre Royal, Stratford. In fact she wears many hats; apart from being a novelist, singer/songwriter, musician and poet she’s also a journalist, short story writer and mother to boot. We’re joined by two-year-old Isaiah who offers quiet intermittent protest at having someone else so rudely take his mummy’s attention.