Hip Hop Poet Laureate kahlil almustafa Debuts Show 126-127
| Hip Hop Poet Laureate kahlil almustafa Debuts Show 126-127 |
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| Written by Robert ID4554 |
| Monday, 01 December 2008 02:32 |
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kahlil almustafa, Nuyorican Grand Slam Champion and recipient of the Hip Hop Theater Festival FAAR Award, will debut his two day multimedia performance Growing Up Hip Hop: Plugged-In, at the the world famous Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Showing both Saturday, December 6th and Sunday, December 7th 2008, this event is in part a celebration of the release of his third collection of poetry, Growing Up Hip Hop: Collected Poems 1992-2007. Like a classic 5-mic Hip Hop album, kahlil almustafa's latest book captures the universal truths and contradictions inherent within the Hip Hop Generation. The poems in Growing Up Hip Hop document the politics and pain of broken communities, celebrate women as lovers and leaders, and offer a blueprint for restoration and redemption. Growing Up Hip Hop: LIVE fuses images, film, original music, and live narrative delivering both a particularly potent & powerfully personal performance. The $15 admission comes with a free copy of Growing Up Hip Hop. "Ever since I was 15 years-old and first picked up a pen, I always wanted my poetry to address issues which were important but nobody around me was talking about. I''m excited to present this collection because it challenges this idea of poet as rock star and emphasizes the poet's role as witness and story-teller," says almustafa. Known by many as the Poet Laureate of Hip Hop, almustafa gained attention in the Hip Hop community as a performer with GAME Rebellion, performing at the first solar-powered Hip Hop concert at the US Social Forum, as a member of the "Hip Hop 4 President Tour," and as a grantee of the Ford Foundation's Future Aesthetics Artist Regrant (FAAR) award selected by the Hip Hop Theater Festival. For more information and videos check out: www.kahlilalmustafa.com and www.youtube.com/mvmtmilk SHOW INFO: Saturday, December 6th and Sunday, December 7th 2008 At the world famous Nuyorican Poets Cafe 236 East Third St., between Ave's B & C Show is at 7pm, Admission is $15 and comes with a free copy of Growing Up Hip Hop, $5 for students (no book) Praise for kahlil almustafa and Growing Up Hip Hop: "Growing Up Hip Hop should be required reading for every high school English class. Electric, relevant and engaging, almustafa's poems voice the angst and hope of his generation." -Bree Picower, Assistant Professor, NYU/Core Member, New York Collective of Radical Educators "almustafa is unafraid to tackle thorny issues of race, gender, class, love, hate, with a keen eye and a precision worthy of a doctor, a healer, a root worker. Listen to him, read him, and be prepared to have your mind and heart reflected by his truth-telling mirror." - Kevin Powell, Author & Political Activist "The words of kahlil almustafa are both fierce and loving, chilling yet warm, a reminder that poetry goes beyond spoken word touching not only the ears, but the heart and the soul. His work possesses an integrity reserved for the truly gifted, one that reminds the elders and the ancestors that we are still here, still fighting-with genuine spirits like kahlil on the front lines." - Toni Blackman, Author Inner-Course/US Hip Hop Ambassador "kahlil almustafa's poetry has a mixture of content and soul. It comes out as powerful in its message as it does in its style." - Ras Baraka, Deputy Majority Leader of Newark |
