Express yourself.
Express yourself through song.
Express yourself through dance.
Express yourself through rap.
Express yourself through stories.
It’s all poetry anyway.
@ *SPOKEN SOUL POETRY SLAM*
Where? Appel Commons Multipurpose Rm.
When? 9PM-1AM…
There will be five open mic slots in the beginning of the slam, so get there early if you want to share. Following that will be the Poetry Slam.
Featuring? The Mad Violinist & Amir Sulaiman
This will be the final that will determine the Cornell University Poetry Slam team. The team will be competing against 22+ other colleges from across the nation in the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational at Eastern Michigan University.
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Word on the features:
Ashanti Floyd (The Mad Violinist), 21, is a talented performing artist who enjoys playing and composing many music genre including hip-hop, jazz, fusion rock, gospel, bluegrass and classical. Trained from an early age in the strings and percussion and having a mastery of music theory, he is considered a “melodic, rhythmic genius.”
Ashanti made his debut on the violin at the age of three. Since then he has gained valuable experience through formal and informal studies. Ashanti knew where he wanted to go to college and only applied to one school, the Berklee College of Music. His audition gained him a scholarship and an opportunity of a lifetime. After two semesters he had recorded and performed original compositions with his own rock band, and assisted with the arranging and recording of hip-hop music for other artists. He has performed with a Boston College quartet and as principal violist for the Berklee College Orchestra performing with artists such as Michael Brecker and Darrel Anger. Ashanti’s most recent appearances include a live, audience stirring, original rendition of hip-hop music on BET’s 106 and Park, the grand opening of the VIP at the B.B. King Blues Club in Nashville Tennessee, and instructing at the Britney Spears Camp for the Performing Arts in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. At such a young age, Ashanti has performed with many greats such as BB King, Kirk Whalum, Actor Steven Segal, Wynona Judd, Vince Gill, Charlie Atkins, and Stephen Cropper.
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Amir Sulaiman is a poet, writer, speaker. In many ways writing is his most significant means to self discovery. He’s recorded a couple albums, “Cornerstore Folklore” and Dead Man Walking”. Amir has featured twice on HBO’s Russel Simmons Presents Def Poetry. He’s finishing his third album “Like a Thief in the Night”. “Like a Thief in the Night” is scheduled to be released in early ’07 on Uprising Records and distributed via Sony/Red. Most recently he’s released a project BROAD DAYLIGHT available now. He was blessed to work with a few of his favorite artist on that album, Abi Odun (Last Poets), Mos Def, Goapele and Liza Garza. It’s his first project that has major distribution so it feels like his introduction as an artist to the world. Needless to say, it is special to him. God willing, the people will find benefit in it. He also gives lectures and workshops on Freedom of Speech and the Artists Sacred Obligation, Art & Spirituality, and Manifest Liberation: Liberty of the Body, Mind and Soul. Check him out on www.myspace.com/amirsulaiman
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Sponsored by Africana Student Association, Ujamaa Residential College, Office of Minority Educational Affairs, Africana Studies and Research Center, Robert Purcell Community Center, Community Center Funding Board, CU Tonight and Mews Hall
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