Spoken word artists express themselves

By Antoinette Okai-Koi

okai0001@algonquincollege.com

Snap, snap, snap rings through a room caked in darkness, setting a relaxed mood. A voice echoes across and a light is shown onto a stage where a sister-locked black beauty stands firm, her eyes closed, head tilted to the sky and belts out a powerful spoken word on race.

“I am speaking about hard issues; my poetry is not about flowers,” said Stachen Fredrick, president of Ottawa’s Young Black Professionals. “The pieces I write are about unity. I talk about black, Caribbean, African issues,”

Spoken word is an artistic performance using lyrics, poetry or stories spoken out rather than sung. It is accompanied by a cadence of beats kept up by the rhythmic style of the performer usually with drum or another musical instrument.

“I talk about issues that affect the black communities. Aids, equality, racism; just particular issues,” said Frederick, who has been writing and performing spoken word for two years.

Preferred by artists and musicians alike, poetry slams has performers battle each other and are judged on how provocative and insightful the piece is.

“It’s relaxations; if something is on my mind I write about it, or if an organization will ask me to come up with in particular,” said Fredrick. “ In March, at the end of February, the black community approached me write about the afrocentric schools.”

These methods of spoken word gained popularity in the 80s and 90s in urban settings and have resonated with the urban culture as a way to voice their concern on black matters

This method has gained way in urban culture through political and social discussions.

With an outspoken personality, Fredrick was drawn to spoken word as an escape from her life and a way to voice out her opinions on sensitive and important matters.