Search the web

Random Urban Static: Spoken Word Poetry Power

Comments (1)

The most talented spoken word artists, or "rhymecologists," proffer clever, vocabulary acrobatics as observations about the way we live in the world. They spit unexpected couplings, laying them down, end to end, from the beginning to the send. They lay bare naked truth for you to hear and see and feel.

The tightest lyrics provoke thought, pain and laughter. And when the performance is over your mind and heart are worked out from riding the gymnastic gyrations of verbal uneven parallel bars.


'GV7 Random Urban Static' is a documentary I watched over the past few nights. It sits you down, up close and personal with 15 spoken word artists and lets you listen and watch as they open up about the creative process and what compels them to rhyme.



It's a sincere chronicle. But the most engaging moments of the film feature the artists themselves reciting their work. Hearing artists talk about art or the "artistic process" narrows the power of the rhymes for me. Because the more I hear about the artist's personal story, and about his or her own conflicted inner dialogue, the more I am taken out of the moment and have straggling remnants of back story floating around in my head as I watch them perform.

Not a big deal. After five minutes of Bridget Gray, I am transported right back to all the possibility of verbal creativity.

Comments: (1)

Add a comment

Page 1 of 1

Add a Comment

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed but they are required to confirm your comments. When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password."

Most Commented Articles

Get Closer to BV

  • slider Image
  • slider Image
  • slider Image

Find a Message Board

Find out what members are saying about everyone from Barack to Beyonce. There are nearly 100 forums from which to choose. Click on a category below and discover the right board for you.

Our Lens Sept. 1

    Hector Jackson (C), who impersonates the late US pop star Michael Jackson, gestures while he takes part in the "I do dance Thriller" event which attempts to break the Guinness World Record for the biggest mass "Thriller" dance, in Mexico City, on August 29. Up to 15,000 people are expected to take part in a potentially record breaking mass performance of Michael Jackson's famed "Thriller" dance on the day he would have turned 51.

    Omar Torres, AFP/ Getty Images

    A long line of fire marches west towards the communities of Acton and Sunland-Tujanga on August 31 in Los Angeles, California. At least 18 homes were destroyed and 12,000 more homes and 500 commercial buildings are being threatened in the fire which already took two lives. The wildfire, which broke out Wednesday afternoon near a ranger station and the Angeles Crest Highway above La Canada Flintridge, has forced thousands of evacuations.

    Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images

    Venus Williams of the United States reaches for a shot against Vera Dushevina of Russia during day one of the 2009 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 31, in Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.

    Chris McGrath, Getty Images

    A Kenyan Muslim child reads verses from the Quran, Islam's holy book, on the fifth day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in a Madrassa (Religion School), in Nairobi, Kenya, Wednesday, Aug. 26. Muslims throughout the world are celebrating the holy month of Ramadan, where observants fast from dawn till dusk.

    Sayyid Azim, AP

    Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off from launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center on August 28, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Discovery is scheduled for a 13-day mission to the International Space Station.

    Joe Raedle, Getty Images

    Host Vanessa Williams performs with dancer Gilles Marini onstage at the 36th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards at The Orpheum Theatre on August 30, in Los Angeles, California.

    Jesse Grant, WireImage

    A girl plays with tomato pulp during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta in the village of Bunol, near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26. Bunol's town hall estimated more than 40,000 people, some from as far away as Japan and Australia, took up arms Wednesday with 100 tons of tomatoes in the yearly food fight known as the 'Tomatina' now in its 64th year.

    Alberto Saiz, AP

    Tom Wainaina recounts the events that lead to his being burned over most of his upper body August 26 in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya. Wainaina was burned by a group of men during post-election violence in Kenya's disputed 2007 presidential election. Ethnic-tribal violence left over 1,000 people dead. The non-governmental organization (NGO) Concern, in cooperation with local Kenyan groups, has launched a campaign to provide the urban poor with cash grants to start a business or get back on their feet after suffering disproportionately from post-election violence in 2007. The money is transferred to the recipients via a mobile phone which insures a safe and simple financial transaction to customers who don?t have bank accounts. Wainaina is one of dozens of Kibera residents to receive the assistance of a cash grant. Hairdressers, grocery stores and food vendors are just some of the businesses that have been financed through the program.

    Spencer Platt, Getty Images

    People standing near the grave of Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY) look at the grave of Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) at Arlington National Cemetery August 30, in Arlington, Virginia. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) was buried yesterday next to his brothers President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY) after he died of brain cancer on August 25.

    Brendan Smialowski, Getty Images

    US President Barack Obama takes out his daughters Malia (R) and Sasha (2nd L) and niece Suhaila Ng (L) to shop in the Alleys general store on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, on August 30, 2009.

    Jewel Samad, AFP/ Getty Images