Are you ready for some poetry, motherfuckers?
I've been watching a whole lot of spoken word poetry lately thanks to Youtube and it's reminded me that I so need to fuck a poet. Seriously.
I don't do any spoken word myself, but I love listening to it so much! We aren't even going to on into how in love I was with HBO's Def Poetry. Man, I never missed an episode. Anyway, below are my current fave spoken word artists.
Rives has been a favorite of mine since waaaaay back in the day. His poem, Kite is one of three that has been featured on Def Poetry. He's such an awesome storyteller it's easy to get wrapped up in his poetry. Under the cut is a poem called Compliment that he preformed at the Bowery Poetry Club a couple of years ago. If you happen to enjoy your poetry with some fantastic beatboxing in the background check out this version.
My second favorite Rives poem is DPJ. You have to scroll down a bit and click on the picture to view the .mov. Also, go ahead and tool around his site. I have a lot of fun reading his blog. He posts all kinds of random shit like links and video and interviews with other poets.
In terms of young talent, George Watsky is one to watch for. His poem V for Virgin was featured on Def Poetry and check out So Many Levels Redux which he also performed at Youth Speaks Finals. He has a MySpace that he keeps updated with whatever poetic or musical endeavors that he's embarking on. Behind the cut is his Def Poetry performance of "V for Virgin." There is an even longer, better version of this poem on his website. I guess he had to shorten the poem for his Def Poetry appearance. I HIGHLY recommend checking that one out, though. He also has an awesome book/cd called Undisputed Backtalk Champion available for sale through his website.
Also, on the young talent tip, I stumbled upon this really awesome poem called "This Is For You" by the 2005 Chico Speaks Out Team which seems to be a spoken word poetry team out of Chico State University in Chico, CA. The audio is kinds shitty, but it is sooo worth it to stick some headphones in your computer and give it a listen. This is their MySpace. It hasn't been updated in a while, but it's worth checking out to listen to the tracks that you have up.
If you can't get enough youth poetry, check out Saturday Mornings by Isaac Miller. He's a Youth Speaks champion (as was George Watsky) and his stuff is really deep and he makes you think.
Other notable spoken word poets and poems to look into:
INQ's When Hip Hop Was Fun.
Shannon Matesky's My Space.
All of the poets that are in this clip of a season 6 episode of Def Poetry. Especially check out the poem by Sonya Renee. It's beyond awesome.
OK. That's all I got. Let me know what you thought of any of the poems/poets.
All I will tell you is this: this moment, tonight, is all that we got, so we gonna rock with it.
I don't do any spoken word myself, but I love listening to it so much! We aren't even going to on into how in love I was with HBO's Def Poetry. Man, I never missed an episode. Anyway, below are my current fave spoken word artists.
Rives has been a favorite of mine since waaaaay back in the day. His poem, Kite is one of three that has been featured on Def Poetry. He's such an awesome storyteller it's easy to get wrapped up in his poetry. Under the cut is a poem called Compliment that he preformed at the Bowery Poetry Club a couple of years ago. If you happen to enjoy your poetry with some fantastic beatboxing in the background check out this version.
Click to viewMy second favorite Rives poem is DPJ. You have to scroll down a bit and click on the picture to view the .mov. Also, go ahead and tool around his site. I have a lot of fun reading his blog. He posts all kinds of random shit like links and video and interviews with other poets.
In terms of young talent, George Watsky is one to watch for. His poem V for Virgin was featured on Def Poetry and check out So Many Levels Redux which he also performed at Youth Speaks Finals. He has a MySpace that he keeps updated with whatever poetic or musical endeavors that he's embarking on. Behind the cut is his Def Poetry performance of "V for Virgin." There is an even longer, better version of this poem on his website. I guess he had to shorten the poem for his Def Poetry appearance. I HIGHLY recommend checking that one out, though. He also has an awesome book/cd called Undisputed Backtalk Champion available for sale through his website.
Also, on the young talent tip, I stumbled upon this really awesome poem called "This Is For You" by the 2005 Chico Speaks Out Team which seems to be a spoken word poetry team out of Chico State University in Chico, CA. The audio is kinds shitty, but it is sooo worth it to stick some headphones in your computer and give it a listen. This is their MySpace. It hasn't been updated in a while, but it's worth checking out to listen to the tracks that you have up.
If you can't get enough youth poetry, check out Saturday Mornings by Isaac Miller. He's a Youth Speaks champion (as was George Watsky) and his stuff is really deep and he makes you think.
Other notable spoken word poets and poems to look into:
INQ's When Hip Hop Was Fun.
Shannon Matesky's My Space.
All of the poets that are in this clip of a season 6 episode of Def Poetry. Especially check out the poem by Sonya Renee. It's beyond awesome.
OK. That's all I got. Let me know what you thought of any of the poems/poets.
All I will tell you is this: this moment, tonight, is all that we got, so we gonna rock with it.