On January 12th, I was invited to do my first Solo Poetry feature in March. I still have not got over the shock yet. I keep thinking that it was a dream or something. But it is real. I am going to be the Headliner at Joe Montoya’s Poetry Unplugged. Mind Blown.
RAP IS POETRY
I am going to perform 10 poems and rap lyrics. Now, why would I perform rap piece? Isn’t this a poetry show? Yes, it is. But people resist to realize that Rap lyrics are just a sub genre of poetry. There is a poem style called Lyrics.
Lyrics are a form of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. The term derives from a form of Ancient Greek literature, the lyric, which was defined by its musical accompaniment, usually on a stringed instrument known as a lyre. They use the same poetical devices and concepts like sonnets used in Shakespeare’s plays. The art of rap derives from lyric poetry, accompany with music, to become songs instead of poems.
I was a novice poet when I was 9 years old but I switch over to be a rapper because I began to love the hip hop culture. Plus, I could not breakdance or afford turntables (until I was 21). So, I was going to be a rapper. I have performed in groups and solo. I have made albums and recordings under the stage name RES. I have listed blog posts below about being a Emcee to poet & DJ / Turntablist.
TYPES OF POETRY FEATURE
Now, I have seen and performed with several headline features at various venues. There are two types of feature Poets: Reading poets and Spoken Word artists. For Reading poets or Poetry reading, the Feature Poet reads their or others poems aloud in front of an audience like a Speaker giving a speech. Those type of feature can use their personality to invoke emotion the poem. I rarely see this type as entertainment due to the separation with audience by paper. But, the Spoken Word artists are performer, musician, and activist that would perform their poems like an actor on a grand stage. Projecting the emotion towards the audience, these artist are animated with their actions and words. Spoken word artist fascinated me, since I was rapper before I became a poet.
So why do you call your feature: Split Personality?
I have been an emcee for 30 years who has added additional skills (Deejaying, Turntablism, musician, producer, engineer, and entrepreneur) to extend my career. I just started pursuing Spoken Word in 2003 to perform in Coffee shop and not dive bars. It took years to understand the matrix of Spoken word and Slam Poetry. I have relinquish my rapping persona to be a poet. It took a few friends to recognize that I am not performing at my full potential. So, I started to reintroduce Resolution (MC) to CharRon(poet). This feature is the result.
Link:
Res Wonderland 