Hip Hop, Poetry and Soul

The Canadian Festival of Spoken Word begins tomorrow in  Toronto and I’m revving to check it out for the first time. It’s a shame that Def Jam Poetry discontinued four years ago. Personally, I find that some poetry can seem pretentiously ambiguous as opposed to the eloquent, succinct quality of hip hop and spoken word.

What was really neat about Def Jam Poetry is that they exposed a number of budding spoken word artists, entertainers, R&B and hip hop stars that would later shape the scope of our auditory world. Some of Kanye West’s brilliant verses made their way to his Late Registration album, i.e. Gold Digger.

Here are a few of the better known performances from Def Jam Poetry:

Shihan – Flashy Words

“…And when I opened my eyes, I found myself standing before a mirror,
staring into the eyes of an invisible man until my pupils
became pupils and I can teach myself to live a better life.
Words…  Words.
From a piece of mind brings peace of mind, all I gotta do is give a piece of mind?
Only the words piece together the pieces in me
To create a peace within me.
But shit, they are all pieces.
Pieces to a puzzle when which put together is me.
So let me tell you something:
Don’t ever do anything you’re not supposed to
And only speak when spoken to
And don’t speak unless you mean.
‘Cause a good man is hard to find
And a hard man is good to find.”

Rafael Casal – First Week of Breakup

Shihan – This Type of Love

This was hilariously adorable. Shihan’s the king of spoken word for a reason.

Just for funny kicks: Jamie Foxx - Off the Hizzle for Shizzle

Dave Chappelle has performed on DFP with his own “poems” as well – love them, haha.

Anyway, I’ll end this post abruptly with a final video. Parts of the song kill me every time, but I’m still thriving – particularly today of all days.

Happy thanksgiving. Seriously.