Third friday

My first meeting at iSpeack, the on campus spoken words group, was meant for me to introduce myself and what my relationship to the group was going to be like over the next few weeks. Luckily I was able to make a lot more progress than that, and actually begin my “research.” The group had a big performance coming up; they were going to be one of the opening acts for the Homecoming performance. To my benefit, the artist chosen this year is COMMON, being one of the few artists, whose lyrics come close to resembling that of a spoken word poet. Common has been a performer at Russell Simmons’ “Def Jam,” which is a serious of HBO specials that give floor space to the best poets in the country. Even more so, COMMON is one of my favorite rappers, so this was a win win situation for me, yet again.
During the discussion of how their opening act was going to work out, I was able to get a good first impression of “who” some of these poets are. Starting with the first reader of the day, Dashawn. A 19 year old, Jamaican American male from the notorious Coney Island in Brooklyn New York, home to some of the finest talent in the country. His voice is soft but his words shoot at you real fast, keeping your attention very sharp, just like his message. “ART” a 19-year-old African American female from Boston Massachusetts, with a flow serious enough to resemble a young Erica Badu, but enough art to remain similar to none. J.G, an 18-year-old writer with a voice as powerful as his words, and stories that make his swagger and attitude look natural. Keni, a 19-year-old newly self found poet, whose appearance shows no pain or struggle, but body language will double slap your eyes wide open and inject reality. The last poet that caught my attention at this meeting was one of he co-presidents of ispeak, Melanie. Melanie did not perform a piece, but her words still managed to have an impression on me. What she said went something like this, “The before stuff sucks (the writing and the performing). It’s after the performance that it all feels good.” A looked around waiting for a reaction from anyone in the room, however, I found none. I left the room looking for one and I will.