Ladies' Night featuring QUEEN SHEBA...
The Ladies showed up and showed out at Elevated! Ladies’ Night. On this particular night, Elevated! was special; it was given a woman’s touch. The venue featured an all female mic; from the host and deejay to the performers, women ruled the night. Ladies Night at Elevated! is a unique night as the venue is organized and produced by the First-lady of Collective Purpose, Jessica Molina, and a committee of women who share in their love for spoken word and self-expression.
The audience was ‘edutained’ by each artist who took the mic with a performance relating to womanhood, views on life, and the human experience from a woman’s perspective. One woman shared a comical piece on the frustrations of waiting in line to use the ladies restroom. Keomi Tarver, a regular at Elevated!, performed a thought provoking poem about a woman who seeks to cure her insecurities with various acts of promiscuity. It was a night of solidarity and support for the many walks of women in our community.
The Elevated! Ladies’ Night audience welcomed Queen Sheba as the special feature and she was special. With her powerful delivery, Queen Sheba, brought the house down in an outstanding performance. Her performance overflowed with comical, heartfelt, and straight to the point imagery that moved the audience to two standing ovations. She is one of the most demanded spoken word artists/poets in the world. Performing in over seven countries, Queen Sheba is currently on tour promoting her latest CD, The Domino Effect. However, her work is not limited to the art of Spoken Word poetry. As an activist, womanist, and artist, Queen Sheba incorporates activism and equality into community projects, as well as her poetry. Queen Sheba showed her reign over the mic with a commanding presence and life experience-inspired poetry. Yes, it was another night of pure inspiration at Elevated!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
ELEVATED! Ladies' Night featuring Queen Sheba!
Collective Purpose presents…
Ladies' Night @
ELEVATED!
1st & 3rd THURSDAYS
The premiere open-mic in San Diego is giving you the best poets, singers, and musicians.
Come out and get your fix!
Thursday, 12/3/09 @ 9 PM
Featuring: Queen Sheba!
Queen Sheba is an Atlanta based Spoken-Soul-Hip Rock-Alternative-Word-Genius. Bringing class with an attitude back to Hip Hop. A breath of fresh air since Lauryn Hill. With a music video on BET-J and VH1 Soul, her recent performance on BETs Lyric Café constantly running, so is she. Shebas 5 th album 'Domino Affect' with several celebrity cameos was released in stores and on iTunes Sept 8 07 and has already charted thousands, with record labels liking her for the first female Spoken Word artist with a major distribution deal, 2 new music videos, several magazine appearances and rave reviews to boot.
We will also have a special Guest Host San Diego's own, Miss Angela Kinlaw. An educator, community activist and much more!
Make a visit:
- Women only on the mic: share new poems, old poems, or very first poem
- Bring a friend and expose them to spoken word poetry
- Share life with other artists
- Begin a network with women in San Diego
- Dance to a spoken word poem
- Come to inhale knowledge from others perspectives- Listen, learn, and love
Come experience the resurrection of spoken word! Elevated! is a creative arts experience that is guaranteed to uplift, inspire and move you through spoken word, music, and visual art. Elevated! features nationally, internationally, and locally renowned poets. The open mic encourages up-and- coming artists to showcase their skills and talent. Come to listen, express, and get ELEVATED!
Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
$5 at the door
Friday, November 13, 2009
ELEVATED! 4th Anniversary featuring Shihan!
San Diego's premiere open-mic is having a birthday bash...Elevated! is celebrating 4 years on the San Diego arts and culture scene!
Please come out and help us kick off another year of bringing you the best artists in the game.
Please come out and help us kick off another year of bringing you the best artists in the game.
Our very special guest feature for this very special night is none other than Shihan! A veteran of HBO's Def Poetry Jam, Shihan is a National Poetry Slam Champion (2004) and has been featured on a variety of media outlets (6 appearances on HBO's Def Poetry, NBC, Oprah Winfrey's Oxygen Network, Al Gore's Current TV, Nike's Battlegrounds, Reebok, Adidas, NBA, CNN, Artisan Films' Belly DVD, Complex and Billboard Magazine, 5 National Tours including the Tony Award Winning Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry Jam International Tour and 2 upcoming spoken word documentaries with theatrical releases, SP!T and the sequel to 1997's cult doc Slam Nation, Slam Planet). His abilities to transcend cultural and generational boundaries have made Shihan a much sought after talent.
Please come out and help us celebrate the success of your spoken word and creative arts outlet.We have invited special guests from all over the world to come out and share their art and creativity with you. Some of them are past features and some are family from the performance community.We will have giveaways and freebies from some of our partners and friends. It will be a night you won't soon forget. Don't be the one who missed it!Get there early...It is definitely going to be a spectacular showcase of talent!Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104$7 at the door
Come experience the resurrection of spoken word! Elevated! is a creative arts experience that is guaranteed to uplift, inspire and move you through spoken word, music, and visual art. Elevated! features nationally, internationally, and locally renowned poets. The open mic encourages up-and- coming artists to showcase their skills and talent. Come to listen, express, and get ELEVATED!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Elevated SD Slam Opens InkSlam With a Win
The Elevated! San Diego Slam team made the trip to LA to participate in the InkSlam, part of the 4-day spoken word and literary festival taking place in Hollywood. There was a total of 8 teams competing for the $3,500 in prize money: Bay Area All-Stars, Slam Charlotte (2-time repeat National Slam champs), Walla Walla, Empire Mind State, Da Poetry Lounge, Elevated! San Diego, Mark My Words, and Nuyo/Louder Arts. These teams are packed with some of the best talent in the spoken word game: Aja-Monet, Oveous Maximus, Ner City, Simply Kat, Bluez, Rudy Francisco, Chas, Rachel McKibbons, Ner City, Prentice Powell, Nikki Blak, Ant Black, Javon Johnson, Kessed, Marc Marcel, Tam Blu, and Jude Holiday...damn!
So, the first bout had Da Lounge, Bay Area All-Stars, Walla Walla, and Elevated! San Diego. It was a powerhouse bout that turned into a slug fest. The beautiful Dasha Kelly was the host for the first bout and we could not have asked for a smoother, more gifted icon to get us thru the bout. Da Lounge drew the 1 and went first in the 1st round. Bay Area drew the 2; Walla Walla drew the 3; Elevated! drew the 4. My strategy, like most coaches, was to jump on the others teams from go...let them know that Elevated! SD was here to win and not give them any hope (I don't think Shihan or City would tell you any different. Coaches/Teams that save poems usually don't get a chance to perform them!).
The bout started with the Sacrifice Poets: Brother Gimel (also the DJ) and Imani. Brother Gimel did his thing and moved the audience into the consciousness stage. Some of you may know Imani from Elevated! in San Diego. She left for college after the summer and man...she has grown! She ripped the stage with her piece about the current state of music and the audience loved every slammin bit of it. It was a moment of pride and joy to seen one of the young poets nutured and cultivated at Elevated! excel to that height. I gotta say thank you to the Bay Area for taking great care of her and welcoming her into the great poetry community up there! We got a winner growing y'all! I can't wait for her to come home and rip the stage @ Elevated!
1st Round: Everyone knew Da Lounge would send up Mr. Javon Johnson to get the hometown crowd hyped. This dude kicks off the slam with Black...the audience went nutz! It was a good coaching move by Shihan to get the jump on the other teams. Unfortunately, the judges did not work in their favor and Javon pulled a 26.3 total. Next up the Bay sent -I- and she killed her poem, Skin! I've seen her perform a few times and trust me when I say, SHE WENT IN! The judges slept on her and she a total of 27.6, another low score from the judges. Walla Walla made an adjustment to move the judges off of the scoring stump. Their piece about Girlfriends got a score of 26.9. Elevated! SD was up last in the first round. I put Rudy Francisco in the A slot and he left it all on the stage with Jacob. The judges were pushed into the high score range by the audience and pulled by Rudy, giving him a total score of 29.6.
Note 1: The crowd did go a little crazy when Dasha Kelly announced Elevated! It was a great feeling to get that kind of response in Da Lounge. We have been slamming up there for 3 years and it was always good vibes...but tonight they went bananas for us! It might have helped that we had Simply Kat, Nikki Blak, and even though Rudy is Team SD inside and out, Da Lounge is his 2nd home. Regardless, they know us up there and appreciate the talent Elevated! SD is bringing to da game.
Back to the bout: so after the 1st round Elevated SD is in first, Bay Area second with Da Lounge close behind and Walla Walla holding it down.
2nd Round: First up was the Bay Area...they sent Chas up (please don't sleep on this dude...great spirit, great writing, and he delivers...we are bringing him back to Elevated! soon!). He performed Collect Call to perfection, just like I knew he would. The judges agreed and he scored a 28.4 (nice way to start the round...the 1 is the weakest slot in a round). Next up was Walla Walla...they brought the heat with a team piece about environmental issues. Don't get me wrong, the piece was great...Da Lounge just isn't the most environmentally friendly crowd. The judges gave them a 24.9 (BOOOOO with 3 thumbs down to the judges). I sent up Nikki Blak next for Elevated! SD...she delivered This is Warning in her quiet, yet power-packed style. The judges rewarded her with a 29.4. That score put us in a great position. We were 3 points ahead of the closest team (Bay Area). Last up in the 2nd round was Da Lounge. They put up Danielle and she brought the house down (the ending of her poem...WOW!), getting a 29.6 from the judges...Round 2 ended with Elevated! SD in the lead and Da Lounge and Bay Area fighting for 2nd place.
Elevated! SD 59.0Bay Area 56.0Da Lounge 55.9Walla Walla 51.8
Note 2: All of the poetry on stage in this round was way above par. The poets were leaving the stage emotional and exhausted. It was exactly what you would want to see in a slam...great poetry from great poets being scored fairly from the judges. Kudos to Dasha for selecting a great panel of judges! Whew, I was sweating just from thinking and strategizing. Worse yet...me and City (coach for Bay Area) were only feet away from each other and I could see him watching me watching him. It was like pistols drawn at high noon. I knew round 3 would be ugly.
3rd Round: Like I said, I knew this round was going to be a living hell. This is where the other teams try to make up some ground and pull out anything they may have been saving. Since Da Lounge and Bay Area were slugging it out for the 2 spot and we were up by 3 points on them, I had some breathing room, but not enough to get comfortable.
Walla Walla was up first and they scored a 27.6, a respectable score for the the first poem of the round. In this round, going second and having Da Lounge and Bay Area go after us, I wanted to make sure we didn't lose any ground. I had an idea we would make it into the finals at this point, but it was not a sure thing. I sent Deacon up to do his ace, Job Security...
Note 3: You have to know that Deacon had driven through Friday evening traffic from San Diego to LA-3.5 hrs and had just arrived at the spot. Here I am asking him to get on stage and do his ace after 5 minutes in the building. Everyone on the team knows that I ask the impossible all the time. Deacon looked at me and said you sure. I told him I needed him to go all the way in and then he could relax from the long drive.
...Deacon delivered. He had the crowd laughing, gasping, and crying before he left the stage. The judges gave him a 27.9...good enough to hold our position and a very respectable score for Da Lounge. Da Lounge was up next and sent us a nicely wrapped surprise in the form of Kesed (we didn't even know he was on their team until he took the stage...Shihan is known for pulling rabbits from a hat!). Kesed did an unexpected love poem and scored a 27.0 from the judges (I thought the piece was better than that), which opened the door for the Bay Area. Ner City must have sensed the same thing becuz he sent up Prentice Powell next. Man....DAMN!!!! THIS DUDE!!!! He did a piece called Good Father...it was a masterpiece delivered masterfully. I've seen Prentice do his thang on more than one occassion, but this dude became his poem. it wasn't even Prentice on stage anymore...he was words and he spit! The judges melted and scored him a 29.9...the high score of the night! It was ridiculous (according to Ner City, you can find it on youtube next week...check it out!) So after 3 rounds the scores got a little tighter, but we were still in the lead! The final round was going to be Donkey-Kong-Booyah-Gangsta-ridiculous!
Elevated! SD 86.9Bay Area 85.9Da Lounge 82.9Walla Walla 79.4
Note 4: As you can see above, Bay Area made up a lot of ground with Prentice bangin out that dope piece on Good Fathers! I didn't have any breathing room. Me and City looked at each other and nodded. It was one of those Magic Johnson-Michael Jordan-Larry Bird-Isiah Thomas moments...I respect you and we are cool, but I'm comin for your blood...After its all done we will still be cool but right now we got something to do.
Final Round: I knew Ner City was gunnin and he had the drop on me. We were up first in the final round. I already told you that is the weakest position in the round. Score creep is notorious for the last round and when you go first, you don't get the boost from score creep. I did the only thing I know how to do...I swung first (he/she who does the worst damage first stands the best chance to win). If we weren't gonna benefit from score creep, then we needed to make sure no one else did. After talking with Ant Black (whom you will notice had not performed yet...I love this dude, his spirit was completely with the team...no selfishness whatsoever...all he said was get us a 30) my strategy was set. We ended the bout the same way we started...jumping on heads! I sent Rudy Francisco and Simply Kat up to smash through the scoring barrier. They performed Push...and if you have ever heard that piece, then you know it pushes people to new places, to transformation, to do something with their life. It certainly pushed the judges...they scored a 29.9, delivering on my promise to get Ant Black's request (technically). Da Lounge went next and sent up Ashlyn...this young poetess is the bizzzzznezzzz. She shut it down...literally left the audience silent! The judges heard her and gave her a 29.4...high score for Da Lounge team. Next up...the Bay Area All-stars coach called his own number. That's right...Ner City put the team on his shoulders and took the stage. After some confusion as to why he would need 2 mics it became clear that he was trying to win this thang. He started with the cord of one mic wrapped around his upper arm and then said "Some Black people talk about how they got indian in their family...I got Heroin in mine! The audience let out a gasp and it was over from there. He ripped it up. The judges hought so, too and gave him a 29.7. It was great, but it wasn't good enough to get past us!
Elevated! San Diego Slam won the bout and advanced to the finals with Bay Area All-Stars coming in second and also making it to the finals! Here are the final scores from the bout
Elevated! SD 116.8Bay Area 115.6Da Lounge 112.3Walla Walla (IDK...disrespect, I didn't hear the scores as the audience was in an uproar)
Last note: All the teams in this bout...all of them...showed their ass on stage. There was no slacking in any of the poets. It was a great bout and I am glad that San Diego participated and can be seen on the level with the poets who came, saw, and conquered. If you didn't plan on going to the finals tonight...you may want to rethink that position and get your ass up to LA. It's going to be bananas.
Holla,
CW
So, the first bout had Da Lounge, Bay Area All-Stars, Walla Walla, and Elevated! San Diego. It was a powerhouse bout that turned into a slug fest. The beautiful Dasha Kelly was the host for the first bout and we could not have asked for a smoother, more gifted icon to get us thru the bout. Da Lounge drew the 1 and went first in the 1st round. Bay Area drew the 2; Walla Walla drew the 3; Elevated! drew the 4. My strategy, like most coaches, was to jump on the others teams from go...let them know that Elevated! SD was here to win and not give them any hope (I don't think Shihan or City would tell you any different. Coaches/Teams that save poems usually don't get a chance to perform them!).
The bout started with the Sacrifice Poets: Brother Gimel (also the DJ) and Imani. Brother Gimel did his thing and moved the audience into the consciousness stage. Some of you may know Imani from Elevated! in San Diego. She left for college after the summer and man...she has grown! She ripped the stage with her piece about the current state of music and the audience loved every slammin bit of it. It was a moment of pride and joy to seen one of the young poets nutured and cultivated at Elevated! excel to that height. I gotta say thank you to the Bay Area for taking great care of her and welcoming her into the great poetry community up there! We got a winner growing y'all! I can't wait for her to come home and rip the stage @ Elevated!
1st Round: Everyone knew Da Lounge would send up Mr. Javon Johnson to get the hometown crowd hyped. This dude kicks off the slam with Black...the audience went nutz! It was a good coaching move by Shihan to get the jump on the other teams. Unfortunately, the judges did not work in their favor and Javon pulled a 26.3 total. Next up the Bay sent -I- and she killed her poem, Skin! I've seen her perform a few times and trust me when I say, SHE WENT IN! The judges slept on her and she a total of 27.6, another low score from the judges. Walla Walla made an adjustment to move the judges off of the scoring stump. Their piece about Girlfriends got a score of 26.9. Elevated! SD was up last in the first round. I put Rudy Francisco in the A slot and he left it all on the stage with Jacob. The judges were pushed into the high score range by the audience and pulled by Rudy, giving him a total score of 29.6.
Note 1: The crowd did go a little crazy when Dasha Kelly announced Elevated! It was a great feeling to get that kind of response in Da Lounge. We have been slamming up there for 3 years and it was always good vibes...but tonight they went bananas for us! It might have helped that we had Simply Kat, Nikki Blak, and even though Rudy is Team SD inside and out, Da Lounge is his 2nd home. Regardless, they know us up there and appreciate the talent Elevated! SD is bringing to da game.
Back to the bout: so after the 1st round Elevated SD is in first, Bay Area second with Da Lounge close behind and Walla Walla holding it down.
2nd Round: First up was the Bay Area...they sent Chas up (please don't sleep on this dude...great spirit, great writing, and he delivers...we are bringing him back to Elevated! soon!). He performed Collect Call to perfection, just like I knew he would. The judges agreed and he scored a 28.4 (nice way to start the round...the 1 is the weakest slot in a round). Next up was Walla Walla...they brought the heat with a team piece about environmental issues. Don't get me wrong, the piece was great...Da Lounge just isn't the most environmentally friendly crowd. The judges gave them a 24.9 (BOOOOO with 3 thumbs down to the judges). I sent up Nikki Blak next for Elevated! SD...she delivered This is Warning in her quiet, yet power-packed style. The judges rewarded her with a 29.4. That score put us in a great position. We were 3 points ahead of the closest team (Bay Area). Last up in the 2nd round was Da Lounge. They put up Danielle and she brought the house down (the ending of her poem...WOW!), getting a 29.6 from the judges...Round 2 ended with Elevated! SD in the lead and Da Lounge and Bay Area fighting for 2nd place.
Elevated! SD 59.0Bay Area 56.0Da Lounge 55.9Walla Walla 51.8
Note 2: All of the poetry on stage in this round was way above par. The poets were leaving the stage emotional and exhausted. It was exactly what you would want to see in a slam...great poetry from great poets being scored fairly from the judges. Kudos to Dasha for selecting a great panel of judges! Whew, I was sweating just from thinking and strategizing. Worse yet...me and City (coach for Bay Area) were only feet away from each other and I could see him watching me watching him. It was like pistols drawn at high noon. I knew round 3 would be ugly.
3rd Round: Like I said, I knew this round was going to be a living hell. This is where the other teams try to make up some ground and pull out anything they may have been saving. Since Da Lounge and Bay Area were slugging it out for the 2 spot and we were up by 3 points on them, I had some breathing room, but not enough to get comfortable.
Walla Walla was up first and they scored a 27.6, a respectable score for the the first poem of the round. In this round, going second and having Da Lounge and Bay Area go after us, I wanted to make sure we didn't lose any ground. I had an idea we would make it into the finals at this point, but it was not a sure thing. I sent Deacon up to do his ace, Job Security...
Note 3: You have to know that Deacon had driven through Friday evening traffic from San Diego to LA-3.5 hrs and had just arrived at the spot. Here I am asking him to get on stage and do his ace after 5 minutes in the building. Everyone on the team knows that I ask the impossible all the time. Deacon looked at me and said you sure. I told him I needed him to go all the way in and then he could relax from the long drive.
...Deacon delivered. He had the crowd laughing, gasping, and crying before he left the stage. The judges gave him a 27.9...good enough to hold our position and a very respectable score for Da Lounge. Da Lounge was up next and sent us a nicely wrapped surprise in the form of Kesed (we didn't even know he was on their team until he took the stage...Shihan is known for pulling rabbits from a hat!). Kesed did an unexpected love poem and scored a 27.0 from the judges (I thought the piece was better than that), which opened the door for the Bay Area. Ner City must have sensed the same thing becuz he sent up Prentice Powell next. Man....DAMN!!!! THIS DUDE!!!! He did a piece called Good Father...it was a masterpiece delivered masterfully. I've seen Prentice do his thang on more than one occassion, but this dude became his poem. it wasn't even Prentice on stage anymore...he was words and he spit! The judges melted and scored him a 29.9...the high score of the night! It was ridiculous (according to Ner City, you can find it on youtube next week...check it out!) So after 3 rounds the scores got a little tighter, but we were still in the lead! The final round was going to be Donkey-Kong-Booyah-Gangsta-ridiculous!
Elevated! SD 86.9Bay Area 85.9Da Lounge 82.9Walla Walla 79.4
Note 4: As you can see above, Bay Area made up a lot of ground with Prentice bangin out that dope piece on Good Fathers! I didn't have any breathing room. Me and City looked at each other and nodded. It was one of those Magic Johnson-Michael Jordan-Larry Bird-Isiah Thomas moments...I respect you and we are cool, but I'm comin for your blood...After its all done we will still be cool but right now we got something to do.
Final Round: I knew Ner City was gunnin and he had the drop on me. We were up first in the final round. I already told you that is the weakest position in the round. Score creep is notorious for the last round and when you go first, you don't get the boost from score creep. I did the only thing I know how to do...I swung first (he/she who does the worst damage first stands the best chance to win). If we weren't gonna benefit from score creep, then we needed to make sure no one else did. After talking with Ant Black (whom you will notice had not performed yet...I love this dude, his spirit was completely with the team...no selfishness whatsoever...all he said was get us a 30) my strategy was set. We ended the bout the same way we started...jumping on heads! I sent Rudy Francisco and Simply Kat up to smash through the scoring barrier. They performed Push...and if you have ever heard that piece, then you know it pushes people to new places, to transformation, to do something with their life. It certainly pushed the judges...they scored a 29.9, delivering on my promise to get Ant Black's request (technically). Da Lounge went next and sent up Ashlyn...this young poetess is the bizzzzznezzzz. She shut it down...literally left the audience silent! The judges heard her and gave her a 29.4...high score for Da Lounge team. Next up...the Bay Area All-stars coach called his own number. That's right...Ner City put the team on his shoulders and took the stage. After some confusion as to why he would need 2 mics it became clear that he was trying to win this thang. He started with the cord of one mic wrapped around his upper arm and then said "Some Black people talk about how they got indian in their family...I got Heroin in mine! The audience let out a gasp and it was over from there. He ripped it up. The judges hought so, too and gave him a 29.7. It was great, but it wasn't good enough to get past us!
Elevated! San Diego Slam won the bout and advanced to the finals with Bay Area All-Stars coming in second and also making it to the finals! Here are the final scores from the bout
Elevated! SD 116.8Bay Area 115.6Da Lounge 112.3Walla Walla (IDK...disrespect, I didn't hear the scores as the audience was in an uproar)
Last note: All the teams in this bout...all of them...showed their ass on stage. There was no slacking in any of the poets. It was a great bout and I am glad that San Diego participated and can be seen on the level with the poets who came, saw, and conquered. If you didn't plan on going to the finals tonight...you may want to rethink that position and get your ass up to LA. It's going to be bananas.
Holla,
CW
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
ELEVATED! Slam night featuring Lucifury!
Thursday, 10/15/09 @ 9 PM
Slam Night
Lucifury is one of Denver's top ranked Slam Poets, and a founding member of Denver's Slam Nuba team. He recently slamed in the 2009 Indivigual World Poetry Slam held in San Francisco California where he stood among 12 finalist. Famous for his surreal way with words and concepts has built him one of the largest fan bases of any underground artist in Colorado. Lucifury won the title of "Most Erotic Slam Poet," in 2007 during the National Poetry Slam in Austin Texas. He is the 2 time Slaughterhouse Slam Champion, and along with the Slam Nuba team, won the Southwest Shootout Slam in Dallas, Texas in 2008.
Lucifury began his spoken word career as a rapper, crafting his style during the battle rap era of the late nineties. This quickly expanded into spoken word during his time as a full time performer in St. Louis in 2004. When he returned to Denver that year, he began to compete at the Mercury Café, where he began a nearly unprecedented winning streak that lasted until he got to the team selections for the National Poetry Slams.
Lucifury has opened for artists such as Dead Prez , Bahamadia, Universes, and The Flobots. With his Lyrical ability, he will soon be taking his career to heights unseen by poets in this era. Come on out & hear Lucifury as he will move the crowd with his aggressive writing and introspective performance!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
ELEVATED! featuring Paul Mabon!
Thursday, 10/1/09 @ 9 PM
A Chicago native, I am an actor/poet most skilled at being interactive, imaginative, theatrical, comedic, handsome and true to life.
No stranger to the Los Angeles comedy circuit, I have performed at Mixed Nuts, The Comedy Union, The Comedy Store, and The Laugh
Factory. A few of my television credits include NBC's It's Showtime at the Apollo, BRAVO's No Talent Necessary, HBO's Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry and the MTV TRL Awards Show.
I currently reside in Los Angeles. In 2008 /nominated for an NAACP theatre award for my participation in the play Butterflies of Uganda /opened for accomplished Hip hop artist Talib Kweli. I
also won $2,500.00 in the Flypoet.com Spoken Word and Music Showcase 'Great Debaters' movie local, regional, and national promotional poetry slam.
In 2007 I wrote and produced a live, one night only theatrical DVD and Album taping titled "Blurring the Line."
Described as "groundbreaking" the show featured 25 poets and actors from numerous poetry and theater venues performing with myself.
In 2006 I opened for Grammy Nominated Hip Hop Artist "Common" and was commissioned to perform my work by the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. Recently, after 8 months of auditioning, I became a lifetime member of the prestigious Los Angeles and New York based Actors Studio. With God's help I'll get to the big or small screen. As fine as I am.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcFcW9hX7_g
Come experience the resurrection of spoken word!
Elevated! is a creative arts experience that is guaranteed to uplift, inspire and move you through spoken word, music, and visual art.
Elevated! features nationally, internationally, and locally renowned poets. The open mic encourages up-and- coming artists to showcase their skills and talent.
Come to listen, express, and get ELEVATED!
Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
$5 at the door
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
ELEVATED! featuring IN-Q, and Special Guest: Taylor Mali
The premiere open-mic in San Diego is giving you the best poets, singers, and musicians.
Come out and get your fix!
Thursday, 9/17/09 @ 9 PM
Come out and get your fix!
Thursday, 9/17/09 @ 9 PM
Featuring: IN-Q!
and Special Guest: Taylor Mali!
IN-Q has been a featured poet on HBO's Def Poetry Jam, ABC's Eye on LA, and NBC's Living Large. He wrote and performed 5 poetry commercials for Nickelodeon and a hip hop song for Wendy's Skill Drill Giveaway. He is a 5 time Hollywood Slam Team member and 2007's "Grand Slam Champion". He was also part of the team that won the National Poetry Championships in Saint Louis in 2004. This same year IN-Q opened up for Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers at LA's Campaign Fundraiser to support the Senate. IN-Q won the Urban Graffiti Contest (a pilot filmed for Warner Brothers) and The Sunkiss competition, sponsored by Power 106. He has been a regular at DA Poetry Lounge, Fly Poets Showcase, and done numerous spot dates around the country. For the last four years he has been teaching poetry to Upward Bound students in Long Beach and Art Share students in Downtown L.A.
Our special guest is Taylor Mali. He is one of the most well-known poets to have emerged from the poetry slam movement and one of the few people in the world to have no job other than that of poet. Eloquent, accessible, passionate, and often downright hilarious, Mali studied drama in Oxford with members of The Royal Shakespeare Company and puts those skills of presentation to work in all his performances. He was one of the original poets to appear on the HBO series Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry and was the "Armani-clad villain" of Paul Devlin's 1997 documentary film SlamNation.Come experience the resurrection of spoken word! Elevated! is a creative arts experience that is guaranteed to uplift, inspire and move you through spoken word, music, and visual art. Elevated! features nationally, internationally, and locally renowned poets. The open mic encourages up-and- coming artists to showcase their skills and talent. Come to listen, express, and get ELEVATED!
Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
$5 at the door
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
ELEVATED! Slam for Indies, also featuring Nikki BLAK!
Please join us for the Indi Slam...the winner will represent San Diego at the Individual World Poetry Slam. We will also a fantabulous feature...NIKKI BLAK! That's right...BOOM will be in the building! Don't miss this special edition slam and expolsive feature!
Come experience the resurrection of spoken word! Elevated! is a creative arts experience that is guaranteed to uplift, inspire and move you through spoken word, music, and visual art. Elevated! features nationally, internationally, and locally renowned poets. The open mic encourages up-and- coming artists to showcase their skills and talent. Come to listen, express, and get ELEVATED!
Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
$5 at the door
Friday, August 14, 2009
ELEVATED! featuring Korim!
Thursday, 7/20/09 @ 9 PM
Featuring: Korim!
Man from the pits of poetry Poetry from God, Texas, and the Universe He is 19 years young and five years into the stage Stages in L.A., N.Y.C, D.C., and other non "letter and period" named cities Blessed east to west Voice Horse from south to north Knows he will be this forever Long Hair, Light-Skinned, Two wholes, one ear-ring He changes as often as the weather these days yes, he cares about global warming has absolute faith in this generation says we are the second coming Writer, Poet, Performer currently located somewhere between brooklyn and harlem. Holding his heart in his hands It is leaking all over the place Many need to see this mess Korimthepoet@gmail.com He'll be there Thinks resume's are rediculous A man's work is what's worthwhile record is necesarry; he gets it. So Flypoets in L.A. And Mouth off in Oakland, Nuyorican in NYC and Say Word in Richmond, Embargo in Dallas/Ft.Worth and WineUp in Charlotte, Brave New Voices in New York, San Jose, and D.C., National Poetry Slam in Austin and Madison, Featured on NPS 2008 DVD, Soundbites Poetry Slam Winner, Youngest Slam Champ in Texas? Absolutely Korim poet from the pits of a woman from Texas. Thinks often. Knows rarely. Understands nothing. He only wants to speak He only want to teach you him Learn this man Korim is quite a journey Take it from me -Jonathon Sterling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6nFkY005LQ
Man from the pits of poetry Poetry from God, Texas, and the Universe He is 19 years young and five years into the stage Stages in L.A., N.Y.C, D.C., and other non "letter and period" named cities Blessed east to west Voice Horse from south to north Knows he will be this forever Long Hair, Light-Skinned, Two wholes, one ear-ring He changes as often as the weather these days yes, he cares about global warming has absolute faith in this generation says we are the second coming Writer, Poet, Performer currently located somewhere between brooklyn and harlem. Holding his heart in his hands It is leaking all over the place Many need to see this mess Korimthepoet@gmail.com He'll be there Thinks resume's are rediculous A man's work is what's worthwhile record is necesarry; he gets it. So Flypoets in L.A. And Mouth off in Oakland, Nuyorican in NYC and Say Word in Richmond, Embargo in Dallas/Ft.Worth and WineUp in Charlotte, Brave New Voices in New York, San Jose, and D.C., National Poetry Slam in Austin and Madison, Featured on NPS 2008 DVD, Soundbites Poetry Slam Winner, Youngest Slam Champ in Texas? Absolutely Korim poet from the pits of a woman from Texas. Thinks often. Knows rarely. Understands nothing. He only wants to speak He only want to teach you him Learn this man Korim is quite a journey Take it from me -Jonathon Sterling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6nFkY005LQ
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Bust a Lip, San Diego!
Reminder: ELEVATED! IS CANCELLED THIS WEEK!
Let's wish the San Diego Slam Team GOOD LUCK at the National Poetry Slam this week in West Palm Beach, Florida!
Stay tuned for updates!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
San Diego Slam Team Unveiled
written by Tomi Barnett, Shakema Martin, & Christopher Wilson
On Thursday, July 16, 2009 over one hundred and forty people attended Elevated. Elevated serves as an outlet for creative expression and is the largest open mic in San Diego. It is a place in the community where artists from all over San Diego can come and express themselves and not worry about getting booed. The show consists of two segments: the open mic and the feature. The open mic segment is open to people of all ages and topics; people come from all over San Diego to perform or to watch the performers. The audience is always deeply engaged in the show and very enthusiastic about the artist’s performances.
On this night the San Diego Slam Team featured at Elevated. The Slam Team members are Rudy Francisco, Ant Black, Deacon Blair, Jro, and Simply Kat, who couldn’t make it because she was attending the Youth National Poetry Slam. All of the artists had an outstanding performance. Rudy Francisco’s performance made the audience look deeper into life and the way that things can be prevented. He spoke to all ages; the younger audience had a chance to experience a young person talk about things in a way that they could understand, while the older audience could relate to through their own experiences. Ant Black expressed a lot of emotion while he performed. If you didn’t shed a tear, then you weren’t fully there! Deacon Blair had a different delivery than the other poets; the tone of his voice was strong and his message was hardcore. Jro’s performance was very surprising. While he used some strong language, it was very artistic. By the end of the night the team received several standing ovations.
Elevated was created to give local artist an opportunity for self-expression and unite people in the community. Through the performances at Elevated you see that life can be different and its okay to try new things. At Elevated people from all walks of life are welcome. So, don’t miss the next show on July 30th when we have the Battle for San Diego.
On Thursday, July 16, 2009 over one hundred and forty people attended Elevated. Elevated serves as an outlet for creative expression and is the largest open mic in San Diego. It is a place in the community where artists from all over San Diego can come and express themselves and not worry about getting booed. The show consists of two segments: the open mic and the feature. The open mic segment is open to people of all ages and topics; people come from all over San Diego to perform or to watch the performers. The audience is always deeply engaged in the show and very enthusiastic about the artist’s performances.
On this night the San Diego Slam Team featured at Elevated. The Slam Team members are Rudy Francisco, Ant Black, Deacon Blair, Jro, and Simply Kat, who couldn’t make it because she was attending the Youth National Poetry Slam. All of the artists had an outstanding performance. Rudy Francisco’s performance made the audience look deeper into life and the way that things can be prevented. He spoke to all ages; the younger audience had a chance to experience a young person talk about things in a way that they could understand, while the older audience could relate to through their own experiences. Ant Black expressed a lot of emotion while he performed. If you didn’t shed a tear, then you weren’t fully there! Deacon Blair had a different delivery than the other poets; the tone of his voice was strong and his message was hardcore. Jro’s performance was very surprising. While he used some strong language, it was very artistic. By the end of the night the team received several standing ovations.
Elevated was created to give local artist an opportunity for self-expression and unite people in the community. Through the performances at Elevated you see that life can be different and its okay to try new things. At Elevated people from all walks of life are welcome. So, don’t miss the next show on July 30th when we have the Battle for San Diego.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
ELEVATED! featuring The San Diego SLAM Team!
Thursday, 7/16/09 @ 9 PM
Featuring: The San Diego SLAM Team!
This week the San Diego Slam Team is featuring at Elevated! The Slam Team is traveling to West Palm Beach in August to compete against 64 teams from all over the world for the coveted National Poetry Slam Championship. The members of the team are Simply Kat, Ant Black, Rudy Francisco, Deacon Blair, and Jro. Don't miss this opportunity to come out and support your local team!Come experience the resurrection of spoken word! Elevated! is a creative arts experience that is guaranteed to uplift, inspire and move you through spoken word, music, and visual art.
Elevated! features nationally, internationally, and locally renowned poets. The open mic encourages up-and- coming artists to showcase their skills and talent. Come to listen, express, and get ELEVATED!
Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
$5 at the door
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The San Diego Poetry Slam Team will host a fundraiser at It's A Grind located at 204 N El Camino Real #204 in Encinitas, California, on Sunday, July 19 from 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM. The funds will be used to send the winners of San Diego's Grand Slam to represent San Diego in the National Poetry Slam (NPS) in West Palm Beach, Florida in August. NPS is the largest team performance poetry event in the world and the San Diego team will have the opportunity to compete against 83 other teams."Last year San Diego's team ranked in the top 20 and we're excited to help support this year's team," said Sam Yago, the event promoter.
The members of the San Diego team are Simply Kat, Ant Black, Deacon Blair, Rudy Francisco and Jro. The fundraiser at It's A Grind will include live performances by members of the San Diego Poetry Slam Team and special invited guests from the Full Moon Poets. Raffle prizes were generously donated by UNIV Shop, RobustFlavor.com, Koastal Distribution, Plan B Skateobards and more! The fundraiser will include a silent skateboard art auction with handpainted boards by local artists.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
ELEVATED! featuring the I.E. Youth Slam Team
Collective Purpose presents…
ELEVATED!
1st & 3rd THURSDAYS
The premiere open-mic in San Diego is giving you the best poets, singers, and musicians.
Come out and get your fix!
Thursday, 5/21/09 @ 9 PM
Thursday, 5/21/09 @ 9 PM
The night's feature will be the Western Regional Champion Inland Empire Youth Slam Team. These young poets are insightful, creative and wise beyond their years. Their poems are inspiring, revolutionary and at times comical. Their diverse perspectives create an all-inclusive performance that keeps audience members at the edges of their seats.
Come experience the resurrection of spoken word! Elevated! is a creative arts experience that is guaranteed to uplift, inspire and move you through spoken word, music, and visual art. Elevated! features nationally, internationally, and locally renowned poets. The open mic encourages up-and- coming artists to showcase their skills and talent. Come to listen, express, and get ELEVATED!
Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
$5 at the door
Monday, April 20, 2009
10 POETS...5 SPOTS...1 MICTHURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2009
@SDAI: MUSEUM OF THE LIVING ARTIST
1439 EL PRADO (in Balboa Park)
doors open @ 7:30
$5 Cover
The San Diego Poetry Slam is hosting its annual Grand Slam competition in historic Balboa Park at the San Diego Art Institute's Museum of the Living Artist. The Grand Slam will determine who is crowned San Diego Grand Slam Champion for the next year. Rudy Francisco, Ant Black, Simply Kat, Gil SOTU, Jerrica Escoto, Succinct, Taili Mugambi, Viet Mai, Jro, and Deacon Blair (2008 Grand Slam Champion) will perform their best slam poetry in the competition. The top 5 finishers will make up the 2009 Slam team. The team will represent San Diego in West Palm Beach, Florida in August, competing against 83 teams from around the world in the National Poetry Slam. Last year's team ranked in the top 20 of the world in San Diego's return to the national competition. Please come out and help us select the best poets to represent San Diego, as we try to win it all!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
ELEVATED! Open Mic!
Collective Purpose presents…
ELEVATED!
1st & 3rd THURSDAYS
The premiere open-mic in San Diego is giving you the best poets, singers, and musicians.
Come out and get your fix!
Thursday, 4/16/09 @ 9 PM
This week will have a completely Open Mic.
No feature, no competition,
ALL ARTS!
Come experience the resurrection of spoken word! Elevated! is a creative arts experience that is guaranteed to uplift, inspire and move you through spoken word, music, and visual art. Elevated! features nationally, internationally, and locally renowned poets. The open mic encourages up-and- coming artists to showcase their skills and talent. Come to listen, express, and get ELEVATED!
Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
$5 at the door
Friday, April 3, 2009
The event, taking place in the Old Globe's Copley Auditorium theatre in the round, features special performances by New York-based performer Aja-Monet. She will present works that, in part, explore some of the concepts and themes of Black Womanhood. The program also features a quarterfinal competition among poets for the last spots on the 2009 San Diego Poetry Slam Team, which will represent San Diego at the National Poetry Slam in Florida later this year.Tuesday, March 31, 2009
ELEVATED! featuring Aja-Monet!
Collective Purpose presents…
ELEVATED!
1st & 3rd THURSDAYS
The premiere open-mic in San Diego is giving you the best poets, singers, and musicians.
Come out and get your fix!
Thursday, 4/2/09 @ 9 PM
Featuring: Aja-Monet!
This week's feature is the incredible Aja-Monet. A Cuban-Jamaican poet originally from East NY, Brooklyn, she now resides in Harlem , NY . At 21 years old, she is the youngest Grand Slam Champion of the Lower East side 's legendary Nuyorican Poet's Café. Her work is classically surrealist, engaging altogether Hip Hop, Soul, and literary audiences. Aja-Monet dedicates her time and energy working with inner-city adolescence, providing performance poetry workshops and opportunities. Aja-Monet is currently finishing up her B.A. at Sarah Lawrence College where she is studying Writing, Theology, and Psychology.
Come experience the resurrection of spoken word! Elevated! is a creative arts experience that is guaranteed to uplift, inspire and move you through spoken word, music, and visual art. Elevated! features nationally, internationally, and locally renowned poets. The open mic encourages up-and- coming artists to showcase their skills and talent. Come to listen, express, and get ELEVATED!
Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
$5 at the door
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
ELEVATED! Celebrating Women's Herstory Month with Dr. Sharon Elise!
Collective Purpose presents…
Doctor Sharon Elise is a professor of sociology at California State University, San Marcos, where she teaches courses in race and ethnic relations, gender, social movements, critical race theories, and community and social theory. Her current research interests are in the criminalization and "prisonification" of African Americans, changing racial and ethnic identities in diverse California, educational equity, postcolonial theory, and feminism. Dr. Elise writes and performs poetry with the spirit of passion and purpose, her words hold truth towards her activism through education and the community. Dr. Elise served on the first SLAM team representing San Diego and holds title of SLAM winner for the first city-wide slam held in San Diego (1998).
ELEVATED!
1st & 3rd THURSDAYS
The premiere open-mic in San Diego is giving you the best poets, singers, and musicians.
Come out and get your fix!
Thursday, 3/19/09 @ 9 PM
Celebrating Women's Herstory Month!
The Feature for the night will be
Dr. Sharon Elise!
Doctor Sharon Elise is a professor of sociology at California State University, San Marcos, where she teaches courses in race and ethnic relations, gender, social movements, critical race theories, and community and social theory. Her current research interests are in the criminalization and "prisonification" of African Americans, changing racial and ethnic identities in diverse California, educational equity, postcolonial theory, and feminism. Dr. Elise writes and performs poetry with the spirit of passion and purpose, her words hold truth towards her activism through education and the community. Dr. Elise served on the first SLAM team representing San Diego and holds title of SLAM winner for the first city-wide slam held in San Diego (1998).Come experience the resurrection of spoken word! Elevated! is a creative arts experience that is guaranteed to uplift, inspire and move you through spoken word, music, and visual art. Elevated! features nationally, internationally, and locally renowned poets. The open mic encourages up-and- coming artists to showcase their skills and talent. Come to listen, express, and get ELEVATED!
Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
$5 at the door
Friday, March 13, 2009
~HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE~
Artistic collaboration of dance company, bkSOUL, and spoken word poets, Collective Purpose, HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE explores the power of love and Hip Hop music.
San Diego, CA – Fresh off of their successful partnership on The Movement, bkSOUL and Collective Purpose are presenting a new collaboration, HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE. Presented by Sushi Performance & Visual Art and choreographed by grace shinhae jun (Artistic Director of bkSOUL), HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE is both a tribute and a narrative to the Hip Hop experience in urban America. The spoken word poetry of Ant Black, Kendrick Dial, and Rudy Francisco (Collective Purpose) explores, through love, critique and celebration, the unique perspectives of Hip Hop music as the voice of the marginalized, global bridge-builder, and empowerment narrative.
A combination of Hip Hop and modern dance, the movements of bkSOUL’s dancers are choreographed to the poetic flow of Collective Purpose’s lyrics. With the background of beats and music familiar to the Hip Hop listener, the presentation is dynamic and moving, imploring the audience to undergo a fantastic journey from the beginning of the Hip Hop movement to its current mainstream appeal. Infusing messages of progress and hope in the lyrics and the dancer’s movement, the presentation addresses the pop-culture undertones of racism, misogyny, violence, and endless entertainment present in Hip Hop’s current form.
Hip Hop Saved My Life premieres on Thursday, March 26, 2009 at Sushi’s performance venue located in downtown San Diego at 390 Eleventh Ave. The performances run nightly through Sunday March 29, 2009. All performances begin at 8 pm, except Sunday night, which starts at 7 pm. Tickets for all shows are Pay-What-You-Can and can be purchased at the Sushi location!
Formed in 2001, bkSOUL (http://www.bksoul.com/) is a diverse community of artists who share culture, language, and soul. Grounded in rhythm and beats, and drawing from the traditions of Hip Hop and modern dance, bkSOUL redefines Hip Hop through body, sound, and spoken word. As children of Hip Hop culture, bkSOUL’s artists seek to embody social justice and activism, fighting racism and inequality collaboratively.
Collective Purpose (http://www.collectivepurpose.org/) is a group of spoken word artists. Founded in 2005, they are committed to their mission to elevate, edutain (educate & entertain), and enlighten the community through words and performance. They intend for art to do more than entertain, it has the power to affect, heal, and transform the community into a place of inclusion, tolerance, and understanding. Collective Purpose utilizes creative expression in the hopes of inspiring others to become truth seekers, truth speakers, and positive change agents.
An integral part of the West Coast cultural landscape, SUSHI-A Center for the Urban Arts, earns national acclaim for the San Diego arts community and provides a forum for artists to reflect the rich diversity of our multifaceted ethnic, cultural, sexual, and personal backgrounds. Its new home is located at 390 Eleventh Ave. at J St. in downtown San Diego. For more information on the shows and tickets, visit www.sushiart.org or call 619.235.8466.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
ELEVATED! Kickin' off Women's Herstory Month with Megan Rickman!
Collective Purpose presents…
Coming into The Spoken Word scene smoking, literally, Megan Rickman first touched down at Slam Richmond in January of 2007, She came, She Slammed, She Won...Since then she's became a staple on the richmond poetry scene, Working with Lyric Ave, Tuesday Verse's, Redemption Production, Soul fire music and many more. Now, she has started her own production company with her friend and partner Roscoe Burnems. They founded Think Deep with the plan of bringing the VCU and Poetry communities together. She is also coaching the Teen Slam team that will be attending Brave New Voices in the coming year.
Come experience the resurrection of spoken word! Elevated! is a creative arts experience that is guaranteed to uplift, inspire and move you through spoken word, music, and visual art. Elevated! features nationally, internationally, and locally renowned poets. The open mic encourages up-and- coming artists to showcase their skills and talent. Come to listen, express, and get ELEVATED!
Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
$5 at the door
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