‘IN Da TRADITION’

Spoken Word & Hip Hop Institute 2009

June 22-26, 2009

Presented by the MN Spoken Word Association and the U of M’s Department of English

Quick Overview:

This is the second Spoken Word and Hip Hop Institute hosted by the MN Spoken Word Association (MNSWA) and the University of Minnesota’s English Department. This summit will bring together a number of distinguished Hip Hop and Spoken Word practitioners, scholars and poet-scholars from the Twin Cities and the Midwest. Highlights of the summit include networking, classes and workshops, a citywide performance showcase/finale, and open discourse around the practice, integration, and possibilities of spoken word poetics and hip hop in classes, research, community work, and curriculum. MNSWA’s E.G. Bailey has presented similar classes and institutes in other cities in the past and facilitated the institute last year alongside University of MN’S Geoff Sirc. This institute has become an annual event that nurtures strategy and discourse on the usage of these urban art forms.

Summit Instructors:

E.G. Bailey (MN Spoken Word Association) and Geoffrey Sirc (University of MN) in addition to guest instructors.

Summit Facilitators:  Shá Cage (MN Spoken Word Association) and Terri Sutton (Uof MN- English Department )

What Should I Generally Expect:

The summit will incorporate a combination of lectures, performance demos, listening sessions, interactive activities, pedagogy, and discussion. Instructors should leave the institute with clear ideas and support around integrating and reaching students through urban arts in the classroom as well as pathways to brining MNSWA artist educators into their schools and classrooms. Students will be encouraged in experimentation and practice of writing and cultural and historical analysis. Each day participants will meet in a communal space on campus then move to identified classes for each session. Larger performances will be held in the auditorium, and community members from the wider Twin Cities/Midwest may be invited as guests.

Dates/Time: Monday June 22nd – Friday June 26^th | Sessions are 9am-3 pm daily. The finale concert is on Friday June 26th at 7pm and engages participant performances and guest performances.

Attendees:

Ideal participants include high school student leaders who are highly  interested in learning more about the history, culture, and practice of these arts forms as well as middle and high school k-12 teachers who are interested in the usage of these art forms in secondary education, whether for the purposes of creative writing or for academic research, analysis, and writing. The institute serves as both a platform for the University of MN to introduce students to post secondary education……. in addition to inviting educators and schools interested in bringing MNSWA’s programs into their schools-as a solid first step towards introducing new ways to stimulate their student’s learning. Preference will be given to students and teachers who did not participate in 2008.

Location: Sessions at the U of M. Selected applicants will receive maps once registered.

Food: Water and light lunch will be provided for breaks each day.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: May 24, 2003

Contact: Sha Cage 612-746-1500 x2
sha@mnspokenword.org

MN Spoken Word Association & Kairo Communications present
Jessica Care Moore
(Def Poetry Jam, Slam Nation (documentary),
Underground Voices (documentary), SLAM (film),
Nas’ CD “Nastradamas”, and many other projects)

Alphabet Verses The Ghetto Tour
featuring BLACK Elephant (of Milwaukee) and Twin Cities spoken word artists

Saturday June 21st at U of M Campus, Coffman Memorial Union (CMU) Theatre, 309 Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Avenue S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455. 7pm doors, 8pm performance; $15/$12 in advance/$10 students; All Ages. Call 612-746-1500 (x3) or email info@mnspokenword.org for ticket locations.

The MN Spoken Word Association proudly presents the kick off tour of Spoken Word artist, Jessica Care Moore also featuring BLACK Elephant and Twin Cities female spoken word artists, on Saturday June 21, 2003 at the University of Minnesota’s Coffman Memorial Union (CMU) Theatre.

The only five-time winner of the famed ‘Showtime at the Apollo’ Amateur Night competition, Jessica Care Moore has performed on the same stage as CeCe Wynans, Sonia Sanchez, Gil Scott Herron, The Last Poets, Mos Def, Ossie Davis, Nikki Giovanni, Roy Ayers and others. A main character in the documentary Slamnation, Jessica left audiences in awe with her one-woman play There Are No Asylums For Real Crazy Women, the story of Vivienne Eliot, the late first wife of famous poet T.S. Eliot. Ms. Moore is the founder and president of Moore Black Press, a publishing company founded to give access to the works of up and coming poets and spoken word artists. Jessica was featured on the first season of Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry on HBO and will appear on an upcoming episode of the sophomore season of the acclaimed HBO series. She has performed her poetry in London, Scotland, Berlin, Paris and Amsterdam. Recently completed a production of her new theatre work Alphaphobia, about a black girl who thinks the alphabet is trying to kill her.

A multifaceted writer, publisher, and international actor, Care Moore hits home with her soulful sound, rapid-fire lyrics and hardcore appeal. Author of the best selling poetry collection, The Words Don’t Fit In My Mouth, she is no ordinary poet-she is one of the hottest young book authors in the country. ” Monica Scott

Jessica Care Moore and her poetry were featured in Born to Sing Mama 3, as well as in the documentaries Underground Voices and SlamNation, and the feature film Slam, which won the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. She has been featured on several TV talk shows, and her poetry has appeared in both mainstream and alternative publications. Moore currently teaches poetry and publishing workshops to high school students in New York City and is CEO at her publishing company, Moore Black Press. She is currently editing The Poetry of Emcees, anthology of poetry by hip hop artists.

Jessica Care Moore in Concert marks the fifth occasion in which The MN Spoken Word Association has hosted a national artist of her caliber, recognition, and artistry. “The success of last summer’s Singers of Daybreak Spoken Word Conference that featured the legendary Last Poets and the fiery ensemble, i was born with two tongues, showed how excited audiences are for quality Spoken Word. The community has made it pretty clear in their overwhelming support that they want to see cutting edge performances that cross and connect local and national borders,” said e.g.bailey, Artistic/Executive Director of The MN Spoken Word Association. The organization is proud to lead as the ‘premiere’ presenting organization in the Twin Cites for quality Spoken Word performances, he adds.

Tickets for Jessica Care Moore in Concert are priced at $15/$12 advance/$10 students, and are available in advance by calling 612-746-1500 or info@mnspokenword.org. The Coffman Memorial Union (CMU) Theatre is located in 309 Coffman Memorial Union at 300 Washinton Avenue S.E. in Minneapolis.

Note To Press: For more information, promotional photos, or to request an interview, please contact Sh Cage at (612) 746-1500 (x2) or sha@mnspokenword.org.
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The MN Spoken Word Association is dedicated to bringing the spoken word community into a stronger alliance while serving as a primary presenter and resource center. Our concentration is both regional and national. We wish to nurture and elevate the community by acting as a focal point for collaborative efforts between artists, venues, and organizations.

Singers of Daybreak + Carl Hancock Rux: Spoken Word Comes of Age
by Lydia Howell

Through hip-hop, poetry and the many strands of oral traditions, have permeated pop culture. Minneapolis is ground zero for the first national symposium of spoken word performance, SINGERS OF DAYBREAK. The two-day conference is a whirlwind of dialogue, jams, workshops, video, and film showings, capped by an exhilarating evening of performances.

MINNESOTA SPOKEN WORD ASSOCIATION PRESENTS
THE FIRST SPOKEN WORD SYMPOSIUM: SINGERS OF DAYBREAK
TWO DAY DIALOGUE TO FEATURE SONY SPOKEN WORD RECORDING
ARTIST CARL HANCOCK RUX

The art of spoken word is an ancient art form rooted in the oral tradition recognized in the griot tradition of Africa, the bardic tradition of Europe and the Middle East, the itinerant Tamil poets of India and the cantos singers of South America. Spoken word as it is practiced today is a rhythmically based performance of poetry that is steeped in influence of these traditions. Recognizing the rise of spoken word as an art form in the community in the last 10 years, the Minnesota Spoken Word Association presents the Twin Cities first symposium dedicated to the art of spoken word.This two-day dialogue, August 18 &19, will feature panel discussions, workshops, screenings of spoken word films and videos, and youth activities. The event concludes with Carl Hancock Rux headlining an evening of spoken word, music and dance in First Avenue’s Mainroom. Featuring two stages, the evening will include a performance by jazz group Moveable Feast, spoken word collectives Edupoetic Enterbrainment, The Poet Tree Collective, the Brutist, a performance by rising hip hop artist Slug (of Atmosphere) and along solo spoken word artists including J. Otis Powell!, Bao Phi, Divine Words, Doug Kearney, Sister Mimi, Toki Wright, choreographer Leah Nelson, and others. The evening will culminate with a performance by Carl Hancock Rux.

Selected by The New York Times Magazine as “One of Thirty Artists Under the Age of Thirty Most Likely to Influence Culture Over the Next Thirty Years” (New York Times-1994) and featured on the cover of The Village Voice as one of “Eight Writers on the Verge of Impacting The Literary Landscape…” (Village Voice-June 1998), poet/performer Carl Hancock Rux crosses the disciplines of poetry, music, dance and theater. Having recently published an experimental collection of poetry and prose, Pagan Operetta (Fly By Night Press), Rux has also published poetry, fiction and experimental dramas in numerous journals and anthologies internationally. Musically, Rux has performed his work in collaboration with a variety of artists, including Vernon Reid, Mark Batson, Toshi Reagon, Nona Hendryx, as well as alternative rock bands, trip-hop DJ’s, Latin orchestras, and West African drumming ensembles. Rux has also performed on world stages with The Alvin Alley American Dance Theater (with Jamaican multi-percussionist Junior Gabbu Wedderburn), The Urban Bush Women (featuring an original composition by the avante-garde jazz musician David Murray), and Movin’ Spirits Dance Theater (with Tony award nominated choreographer of “Rent”, Marlies Yearby). He has also performed his work throughout the U.S., Europe, West Africa, Indonesia and Scandinavia. Rux’s debut album, Rux Revue (Sony/550 Music), pairs the artist with some of popular-alternative music’s most inventive composers to date, including Beck/Beastie Boys producers, The Dust Brothers, Elliot Smith producers, Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf, newcomer Alan Elliot, and acclaimed folk rock singer/songwriter, Toshi Reagon. Rux Revue is available now.

The reputation of the Twin Cities as a rising spoken word community was recently acknowledged by the naming of Minneapolis as the location of the 2002 National Slam Competition. The community has fostered the talents of several nationally acknowledged performers including Bao Phi who has won at the Nuyorican slam competition (one of the strongest in the country) twice. He has also placed highly at the National Slam Competition two years in a row. And the local performance community is poised for international acclaim with the upcoming release of a CD featuring the spoken word of Desdamona produced by legendary Jamaican producers Sly & Robbie. Additionally, Village Blues, the spoken word film by spoken word artist e.g. bailey and filmmaker Ayesha Adu has been shown in several festival and venues including the Juneteenth Film Festival, MMAAC First Film Festival, and MNTV, a showcase of Minnesota independent films. And it received a silver award at the Worldfest Flagstaff International Film and Video Festival. A group of Minnesota spoken word artists including Mankwe Ndosi, Truthmaze, Sister Mimi, Desdamona performed Sleeping God at the first Hip Hop Theatre Festival in New York under the direction of dancer and choreographer Leah Nelson. Edupoetic Enterbrainment has performed regionally at various venues, and member Tiyo Siyolo placed in top 10 (out of 120) at the Def Jam Slam Competitions in Chicago.

The mission of MN Spoken Word Association is to foster and support the community of spoken word artists in Minnesota, and to facilitate programs and events that will further the work of the artists and advance the art of Spoken Word. MnSWA creates programs and workshops for spoken word artists, develop and facilitate grants, and promote their work. It would also serve as a center for information and networking within the spoken word community.

This activity is made possible, in part, by funds provided by Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC) from an appropriation by the Minnesota Legislature. Also funded in part by the Jerome Foundation.

Singers of the Daybreak is co-sponsored by SASE: The Write Place, Intermedia Arts, KFAI, The Loft, Flatland Gallery, Ricochet Kitchen, Rhymesayers Entertainment, First Avenue, World Beat Video, Borders Book Stores, Insight News, Radio K, Pangea World Theatre, Sgt. Preston’s, Sound Unseen/Undercinema, Ashe & Spencer, The Archie Givens Sr. Collection, The Givens Foundation, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, First Fridays, Sabathani Community Center, Pillsbury House Theatre and Backdrop Productions.

Artist biographies and a complete schedule of symposium events follows. For more complete information about Singers of Daybreak or MN Spoken Word Association, please check our website www.mnspokenword.org.