Spoken Word

I just got my Gil Scott Heron CD, 'I'm New Here' and boy is this some amazing shit! From the first track 'On Coming from a Broken Home (part 1)' to 'On Coming from a Broken Home (part 2)' I am hooked...So if you are into your spoken word/poetry/mesmerizing guitar riffs, this is one for you.

"No matter how far you have gone, you can always turn around" - 'I'm New Here"

This got me thinking about back in the days when I used to be a bit of a scraggy tomboy and was well into writing poetry and hanging around in parks. I listened to a lot of Sarah Jones, Ursula Rucker, Jill Scott, Saul Williams, Sage Francis and various others, but this got me thinking about all the great female Word Warriors that we have around...

In terms of listening, the above mentioned are all great, but there are the authors as well whose words do not necessarily reach anyones lips. Writers like Maya Angelou though, have managed to get several people to read her work for her. My favourite example is the film Poetic Justice which stars Janet Jackson and Tupac. JJ plays a heart-broken young poet who lives in Compton, LA. She reads several poems written by Angelou, who even has a small role as a wise relative in the film. Here is one from the opening scene.

Alone

How to find my soul a home

Where water is not thirsty

And bread loaf is not stone

I came up with one thing

And I don't believe I'm wrong

That nobody, but nobody

Can make it out here alone

Alone, all alone

Nobody, but nobody

Can make it out here alone

There are some millionaires

With money they can't use

Their wives run 'round like banshees

Their children sina the blues

They've aot expensive doctors to cure

Their hearts of stone

But nobody, no, nobody

Can make it out here alone

Now if you listen closely

I'll tell you what I know

Storm clouds are gathering

The wind is aonna blow

The race of man is suffering

And I can hear the moan

'Cause nobody, but nobody

Can make it out here alone

Alone, all alone

Nobody, but nobody

Can make it out here alone

Here are some videos to get you empowered!!

Your Revolution - Sarah Jones

What a Woman Must Do - Ursula Rucker

Woman to Woman - Thea Monyee