On a blaze of good musical intentions and eye-catching artwork, wordsmith extraordinaire Richard ‘[Verb]Swish’ Smartt Jnr releases his debut full length album, Teach-Err, Teach-Err: The Learnt Lessons.
With an art form as over-subscribed as Spoken Word, amidst all the have-a-go’s and blaggers the listener can become disenchanted and hard to impress. That’s where [Verb]swish - Richard Smartt Jnr to his mum – comes in. His distinctive delivery, erudition and seemingly effortless wordplay are a welcome reminder that exceptional performance poetry is still alive and kicking. SoulCulture caught up with one of London’s brightest poetic stars.
SoulCulture: Which writers would you say have had the greatest impact on your work?
Friday 3 July saw the launch of ‘Onwords & Upwords’ bi-monthly showcase, the brainchild of accomplished Spoken Word artist, Richard Smartt Jnr better known as [Verb]swish.
Verbs explained that he wanted to put on a night that gave spoken word as much of an equal billing as good music. He didn’t want poets rushed off stage to make room for ‘loud music that would only deafen us’. Verbs kept the line up simple; four quality artists spread over the evening. The show wasn’t bursting at the seems with acts therefore the audience could really appreciate each one to the full. The performances were stripped down to bare essentials, proving that none of the artists on the night were your flash-in-the-pan types, with an over-reliance on clever production to hide mediocrity. These are the real deal.