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STATS:

  • LOCATION: Sacramento, California
  • TENURE: Writing for 24 years, performing and hosting for 12
  • PROJECTS: Sac Slam, King of the Mic, Battle of the Bay, Mahogany, it goes on and on.
  • WEBSITES: www.google.com

1. Why do you write?

Writing is my way of releasing different energies within. I often have trouble expressing myself in plain terms, so writing enables me to paint a picture of how I feel and so on. I write my frustration, my pain, my desire, my ambition…and it feels good to share it and sometimes learn that you are not always the only person who has that feeling or experience.

2. How did you get involved in hosting and organizing events?

To sum it up, I would have to say that God chose me. I was just a guy who came to poetry and sat in the back of the room with a candle, a notepad, and an incense. I got invited to be part of a collective after the 5th time I ever read poetry on the open mic. From there, they groomed me into becoming a host, and eventually, when poetry was dying in Sacramento, my phone rang and it was a venue. It’s 12 years later, and my phone hasn’t stopped ringing.

3. How do you keep poetry events captivating to audiences so that they can continually come out and support?

I bring in the best poets I can find to feature. My DJ plays rare grooves and jazz, so the crowd gets a cultural stimulus before we even reach the mic. I also try to keep the venue community oriented, and it helps that I am creative and have a sense of humor. To top it off, I am stunningly sexy and attractive.

 4. How important do you think you and others like you, are to the literary and artistic community of Sacramento, CA?

We are the lifeline of culture in Northern California.Without us, all Sac has is the Kings…and they aren’t winning many games these days.

5. Tell me about your involvement with the Sacramento Slam Team?
I was a member of the first ever Sac Slam Team in 2002. I took over the team after it’s creator, the late Angela Boyce, decided to move back to San Diego. I have been the slam master and coach ever since.

6. As a host, you have had the opportunity to host some of the most  creative and driven spoken word artists across the country. Who are some ones that stand out to you and why?

Ainsley Burrows, Myisha Cherry,Will Da Real One, Ise Lyfe, Tara Betts, and James Cagney. I choose these people because I know them as more than poets. It was more like when we met, we were old friends. That speaks a lot to their character. I have poets that come out, and they are good, but they rarely speak beyond asking questions about the show. Not saying that they are not down to earth, but in my experience, the poets I’ve named, and I probably have left a few out, they have shown me that it’s really about the art.

7. What is your ultimate artistic goal and mission?

I want Maya Angelou to ask me for my autograph. Either that, or I want to be in Oprah’s Book club. Then I will know that I have made it.

8. Name a poem that you would not mind having to read every day for the rest of your life?

For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide when the Rainbow is Enuf

9. Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?

Hopefully with a wife and kids, and a good job. Poetically, I would like to have my own venue, that I own, and I can hold community events there.

ARTIST’ WORK

The Joy of Being Average
See Work ▼

Made in China

See Work ▼

 

 

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