I am excited to see an interview done on me. Thank you to Izzy Lala for asking and writing the article. It was an amazing experience because it was a chance to see someone else’s point of view of me.
Plus, I started to understand the image that I projected publicly. Since being a tone setter is a statement, I enjoy being the first poet to starts the show.
Poetic Roots
My roots with poetry are long. I have been writing since I was 10 years old. A lot of my early poems were turned into rap lyrics immediately. While most poets have their heroes: Robert Frost, E.E. Cummings, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, etc. my heroes were rappers (emcees).
Street poetry was the coined term before Hip Hop was a culture. Most critics say that rapping is not poetry. I counter that remark with this: evolution is a recurring event. So, when poets view some new or strange styles of poetry, they need to understand the importance is still the words.
I thought about how to define my own poetry. I assumed poetry was similar to a painting or music. I made it for someone to read or recite and build their own interpretation.
But reading Austin Kleon’s book, Show Your Work, revealed my work can’t tell stories by itself. My poetry is my work. So I have to explain the unfamiliar parts because what I do is me.
Check out Izzy Lala interview of me:
