Collective Purpose

San Diego Slam Team Going to NPS in Boston

2011-07-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

In a short 2 weeks the San Diego Slam Team will head to Boston to compete in the National Poetry Slam. The competition begins on August 9th, with 72 teams from around the world competing. The finals, composed of the top 4 teams after preliminary and semi-finals bouts, will compete on August 13th at the Berklee College of Music.

The San Diego Slam team is poised to do very well in the tournament and is one of 4 teams representing Southern California in the yearly tournament. The other SoCal teams are Da Poetry Lounge, Brass Knuckles LA, and The Damn Slam LA. Each team is made up of very accomplished spoken word artists. The San Diego Slam Team is formed by Ocean (out of SlamCharlotte Fame), Rudy Francisco (2010 IWPS Champion), Deacon Blair (2-time San Diego Grand Slam Champion, Imani Cezanne (San Diego WOWPS Rep), and CCEP J. Dew (San Diego IWPS Rep).

The San Diego Slam Team has been working hard all summer to perfect their poetry, performances, and raising money for the trip to Boston. Our fundraising goal is $6,000 and it has been very difficult in the current state of the economy to reach our goal. We are about $2,500 shy of hitting the mark. If you would like to help us with a donation please click on the donate button on this page. All donations will receive team merchandise depending on the level of the donation: $3-$9...team bracelet in blue/white or purple/gold; $10-$20...team CD; $21-$99...team CD and 2 bracelets, $100 or more...team CD, 2 bracelets, and an official NPS T-shirt [available after we return from Boston])

2010-07-02T15:21:00.001-07:00

HEROES: HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE!

AT THE SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART (Copley Auditorium) IN BALBOA PARK

July 16-18 (Fri-Sat-Sun) @ 7PM each night

A collaboration of bkSOUL and Collective Purpose, Hip Hop Saved My Life is a celebration of Hip Hop through spoken word, dance, music, and art! With the familiar background of beats, music, and lyrics, Heroes: Hip Hop Saved My Life! is simultaneously a critique of, and a tribute to, the space, voice, and progressive nature of America's newest indigenous art form: Hip Hop. This program is a dynamic and moving presentation of body and soul, imploring the audience to undergo a fantastic journey from the beginning of the underground Hip Hop movement to its current mainstream appeal.

First shown at Sushi Performance & Visual Art last spring, the latest rendition of Hip Hop Saved My Life will pay tribute to some of the foundational artists of the Hip Hop scene. Celebrating the heroes of Hip Hop: DJ Kool Herc, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Lauryn Hill, Crazy Legs (Richard Colon) and MC Lyte, Hip Hop itself is also hoisted to a pedastal as a hero in the resistance of urban culture to succomb to mainstream pressure to assimilate. Infusing messages of progress and hope in the lyrics and the dancers movement, the performance addresses pop culture undertones of racism, misogyny, violence, & mindless entertainment present in mainstream music.

This performance run is full of new twists and turns, as well as special guests. Without spoiling the surprise, we are told that an actual Hip Hop Hero will be part of the show. Who knows who it will be...don't miss this pivotal and important representation of an insider's view and love for this urban art form!

This performance is presented in conjunction with the Heroes: Mortals & Myths in Ancient Greece exhibit at SDMA.

Tickets can be purchased in advance for all shows online via Ticketmaster or at The SDMA Box office. You can also purchase tickets from Chris Wilson, grace jun-mills, or Kendrick Dial.

Tickets:

Students w/ID-$10

SDMA Members-$12

Pre-sale (through the artists)-$12

General Admission-$15

For more information please contact us:

cwilson@crwenterprises.net or call 619-209-8241

YOUR 2010 SAN DIEGO SLAM TEAM!

2010-06-24T12:56:00.000-07:00

The 2010 San Diego Slam Team was selected in one of the most heated Grand Slams in San Diego history. Eleven of San Diego's best poets slammed it out for the honor and privilege of representing San Diego at the 2010 National Poetry Slam in Minneapolis, MN. The night started with a semi-final round of 5 poets: Kendrick Dial, Tamara Blu, Blest, Jerrica Escoto, and JRO. After a highly competitive round, Kendrick Dial, Jerrica Escoto, and Tamara Blu moved on to compete in the final 2 rounds against this season's slam champions. Sitting in the shadows, waiting to see who would advance were Ant Black, Rudy Francisco, Succinct, Deacon Blair, CCEP, Jason O'Neil, Imani Cezanne, and April Rojas. Each of them earned a first round bye when they were crowned San Diego Slam Champion in the previous months.

All of the poets came out swinging for the fence in the first round of the finals. After the first round, 7 of the poets moved on to the final round: Kendrick Dial, Rudy Francisco, Ant Black, Jerrica Escoto, Imani Cezanne, CCEP, Succinct, and April Rojas. In the final round, new poems ruled and the judges rewarded the poets for their raw, emotional, audience-moving performances. After a tough round of highs and lows, the judges completed their task and the selection of the was final. After scoring a near perfect 59.75 the 2010 San Diego Grand Slam Champion was crowned: RUDY FRANCISCO! Joining him on your 2010 San Diego Slam Team is Ant Black, Imani Cezanne, Succinct, and Jerrica Escoto!

All the poets competing deserve recognition and congratulations. It was one of the most competitive Grand Slams in San Diego Slam history. A poet visiting from the East Coast commented, "it was the best slam I have ever seen!" Please take a moment congratulate the poets who competed and the poets who made the team. They will be working hard to represent San Diego at the regional and national level.

We will be competing in the California Western Regionals in Los Angeles July 8-1o, 2010 and at the National Poetry Slam in Minneapolis, MN August 1-8, 2010. The team will need all of your support and well wishes. We will also need help financially. We have to raise approximately $4,500 to make the trips for the competition. There will be several fundraisers in the summer to assist in funding. The Slam Team is also selling a live CD, 5 ACES, for $10. If you would like to purchase the CD and/or make a donation, please use the link below. Every little bit helps and the team greatly appreciates your support!

2010-03-08T10:30:00.000-08:00

COLLECTIVE PURPOSE & The Band

w/Special Guests

LIVE AT SAN DIEGO INDIE FEST 6

(in North Park at University and Kansas)

Saturday, March 27, 2010
@3pm on the Mainstage

(behind the North Park Theatre)

for more info: www.sandiegoindiefest.com

2009-12-10T08:44:00.000-08:00

Ladies' Night featuring QUEEN SHEBA...
The Ladies showed up and showed out at Elevated! Ladies’ Night. On this particular night, Elevated! was special; it was given a woman’s touch. The venue featured an all female mic; from the host and deejay to the performers, women ruled the night. Ladies Night at Elevated! is a unique night as the venue is organized and produced by the First-lady of Collective Purpose, Jessica Molina, and a committee of women who share in their love for spoken word and self-expression.

The audience was ‘edutained’ by each artist who took the mic with a performance relating to womanhood, views on life, and the human experience from a woman’s perspective. One woman shared a comical piece on the frustrations of waiting in line to use the ladies restroom. Keomi Tarver, a regular at Elevated!, performed a thought provoking poem about a woman who seeks to cure her insecurities with various acts of promiscuity. It was a night of solidarity and support for the many walks of women in our community.

The Elevated! Ladies’ Night audience welcomed Queen Sheba as the special feature and she was special. With her powerful delivery, Queen Sheba, brought the house down in an outstanding performance. Her performance overflowed with comical, heartfelt, and straight to the point imagery that moved the audience to two standing ovations. She is one of the most demanded spoken word artists/poets in the world. Performing in over seven countries, Queen Sheba is currently on tour promoting her latest CD, The Domino Effect. However, her work is not limited to the art of Spoken Word poetry. As an activist, womanist, and artist, Queen Sheba incorporates activism and equality into community projects, as well as her poetry. Queen Sheba showed her reign over the mic with a commanding presence and life experience-inspired poetry. Yes, it was another night of pure inspiration at Elevated!

ELEVATED! Ladies' Night featuring Queen Sheba!

2009-11-30T12:23:00.001-08:00

Collective Purpose presents…

Ladies' Night @

ELEVATED!

1st & 3rd THURSDAYS

The premiere open-mic in San Diego is giving you the best poets, singers, and musicians.

Come out and get your fix!

Thursday, 12/3/09 @ 9 PM

Featuring: Queen Sheba!

Queen Sheba is an Atlanta based Spoken-Soul-Hip Rock-Alternative-Word-Genius. Bringing class with an attitude back to Hip Hop. A breath of fresh air since Lauryn Hill. With a music video on BET-J and VH1 Soul, her recent performance on BETs Lyric Café constantly running, so is she. Shebas 5 th album 'Domino Affect' with several celebrity cameos was released in stores and on iTunes Sept 8 07 and has already charted thousands, with record labels liking her for the first female Spoken Word artist with a major distribution deal, 2 new music videos, several magazine appearances and rave reviews to boot.

We will also have a special Guest Host San Diego's own, Miss Angela Kinlaw. An educator, community activist and much more!

Make a visit:
- Women only on the mic: share new poems, old poems, or very first poem
- Bring a friend and expose them to spoken word poetry
- Share life with other artists
- Begin a network with women in San Diego
- Dance to a spoken word poem
- Come to inhale knowledge from others perspectives
- Listen, learn, and love

Come experience the resurrection of spoken word! Elevated! is a creative arts experience that is guaranteed to uplift, inspire and move you through spoken word, music, and visual art. Elevated! features nationally, internationally, and locally renowned poets. The open mic encourages up-and- coming artists to showcase their skills and talent. Come to listen, express, and get ELEVATED!

Eveoke Dance Theatre

2811 University Ave

San Diego, CA 92104

$5 at the door

ELEVATED! 4th Anniversary featuring Shihan!

2009-11-13T09:56:00.001-08:00

San Diego's premiere open-mic is having a birthday bash...Elevated! is celebrating 4 years on the San Diego arts and culture scene!
Please come out and help us kick off another year of bringing you the best artists in the game.

Thursday, 11/19/09 @ 9 PM
Featuring: Shihan!

Our very special guest feature for this very special night is none other than Shihan! A veteran of HBO's Def Poetry Jam, Shihan is a National Poetry Slam Champion (2004) and has been featured on a variety of media outlets (6 appearances on HBO's Def Poetry, NBC, Oprah Winfrey's Oxygen Network, Al Gore's Current TV, Nike's Battlegrounds, Reebok, Adidas, NBA, CNN, Artisan Films' Belly DVD, Complex and Billboard Magazine, 5 National Tours including the Tony Award Winning Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry Jam International Tour and 2 upcoming spoken word documentaries with theatrical releases, SP!T and the sequel to 1997's cult doc Slam Nation, Slam Planet). His abilities to transcend cultural and generational boundaries have made Shihan a much sought after talent.

Please come out and help us celebrate the success of your spoken word and creative arts outlet.

We have invited special guests from all over the world to come out and share their art and creativity with you. Some of them are past features and some are family from the performance community.
We will have giveaways and freebies from some of our partners and friends. It will be a night you won't soon forget. Don't be the one who missed it!
Get there early...It is definitely going to be a spectacular showcase of talent!
Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
$7 at the door

Elevated SD Slam Opens InkSlam With a Win

2009-11-09T10:02:00.000-08:00

The Elevated! San Diego Slam team made the trip to LA to participate in the InkSlam, part of the 4-day spoken word and literary festival taking place in Hollywood. There was a total of 8 teams competing for the $3,500 in prize money: Bay Area All-Stars, Slam Charlotte (2-time repeat National Slam champs), Walla Walla, Empire Mind State, Da Poetry Lounge, Elevated! San Diego, Mark My Words, and Nuyo/Louder Arts. These teams are packed with some of the best talent in the spoken word game: Aja-Monet, Oveous Maximus, Ner City, Simply Kat, Bluez, Rudy Francisco, Chas, Rachel McKibbons, Ner City, Prentice Powell, Nikki Blak, Ant Black, Javon Johnson, Kessed, Marc Marcel, Tam Blu, and Jude Holiday...damn!

So, the first bout had Da Lounge, Bay Area All-Stars, Walla Walla, and Elevated! San Diego. It was a powerhouse bout that turned into a slug fest. The beautiful Dasha Kelly was the host for the first bout and we could not have asked for a smoother, more gifted icon to get us thru the bout. Da Lounge drew the 1 and went first in the 1st round. Bay Area drew the 2; Walla Walla drew the 3; Elevated! drew the 4. My strategy, like most coaches, was to jump on the others teams from go...let them know that Elevated! SD was here to win and not give them any hope (I don't think Shihan or City would tell you any different. Coaches/Teams that save poems usually don't get a chance to perform them!).

The bout started with the Sacrifice Poets: Brother Gimel (also the DJ) and Imani. Brother Gimel did his thing and moved the audience into the consciousness stage. Some of you may know Imani from Elevated! in San Diego. She left for college after the summer and man...she has grown! She ripped the stage with her piece about the current state of music and the audience loved every slammin bit of it. It was a moment of pride and joy to seen one of the young poets nutured and cultivated at Elevated! excel to that height. I gotta say thank you to the Bay Area for taking great care of her and welcoming her into the great poetry community up there! We got a winner growing y'all! I can't wait for her to come home and rip the stage @ Elevated!

1st Round: Everyone knew Da Lounge would send up Mr. Javon Johnson to get the hometown crowd hyped. This dude kicks off the slam with Black...the audience went nutz! It was a good coaching move by Shihan to get the jump on the other teams. Unfortunately, the judges did not work in their favor and Javon pulled a 26.3 total. Next up the Bay sent -I- and she killed her poem, Skin! I've seen her perform a few times and trust me when I say, SHE WENT IN! The judges slept on her and she a total of 27.6, another low score from the judges. Walla Walla made an adjustment to move the judges off of the scoring stump. Their piece about Girlfriends got a score of 26.9. Elevated! SD was up last in the first round. I put Rudy Francisco in the A slot and he left it all on the stage with Jacob. The judges were pushed into the high score range by the audience and pulled by Rudy, giving him a total score of 29.6.

Note 1: The crowd did go a little crazy when Dasha Kelly announced Elevated! It was a great feeling to get that kind of response in Da Lounge. We have been slamming up there for 3 years and it was always good vibes...but tonight they went bananas for us! It might have helped that we had Simply Kat, Nikki Blak, and even though Rudy is Team SD inside and out, Da Lounge is his 2nd home. Regardless, they know us up there and appreciate the talent Elevated! SD is bringing to da game.

Back to the bout: so after the 1st round Elevated SD is in first, Bay Area second with Da Lounge close behind and Walla Walla holding it down.

2nd Round: First up was the Bay Area...they sent Chas up (please don't sleep on this dude...great spirit, great writing, and he delivers...we are bringing him back to Elevated! soon!). He performed Collect Call to perfection, just like I knew he would. The judges agreed and he scored a 28.4 (nice way to start the round...the 1 is the weakest slot in a round). Next up was Walla Walla...they brought the heat with a team piece about environmental issues. Don't get me wrong, the piece was great...Da Lounge just isn't the most environmentally friendly crowd. The judges gave them a 24.9 (BOOOOO with 3 thumbs down to the judges). I sent up Nikki Blak next for Elevated! SD...she delivered This is Warning in her quiet, yet power-packed style. The judges rewarded her with a 29.4. That score put us in a great position. We were 3 points ahead of the closest team (Bay Area). Last up in the 2nd round was Da Lounge. They put up Danielle and she brought the house down (the ending of her poem...WOW!), getting a 29.6 from the judges...Round 2 ended with Elevated! SD in the lead and Da Lounge and Bay Area fighting for 2nd place.

Elevated! SD 59.0Bay Area 56.0Da Lounge 55.9Walla Walla 51.8

Note 2: All of the poetry on stage in this round was way above par. The poets were leaving the stage emotional and exhausted. It was exactly what you would want to see in a slam...great poetry from great poets being scored fairly from the judges. Kudos to Dasha for selecting a great panel of judges! Whew, I was sweating just from thinking and strategizing. Worse yet...me and City (coach for Bay Area) were only feet away from each other and I could see him watching me watching him. It was like pistols drawn at high noon. I knew round 3 would be ugly.

3rd Round: Like I said, I knew this round was going to be a living hell. This is where the other teams try to make up some ground and pull out anything they may have been saving. Since Da Lounge and Bay Area were slugging it out for the 2 spot and we were up by 3 points on them, I had some breathing room, but not enough to get comfortable.

Walla Walla was up first and they scored a 27.6, a respectable score for the the first poem of the round. In this round, going second and having Da Lounge and Bay Area go after us, I wanted to make sure we didn't lose any ground. I had an idea we would make it into the finals at this point, but it was not a sure thing. I sent Deacon up to do his ace, Job Security...

Note 3: You have to know that Deacon had driven through Friday evening traffic from San Diego to LA-3.5 hrs and had just arrived at the spot. Here I am asking him to get on stage and do his ace after 5 minutes in the building. Everyone on the team knows that I ask the impossible all the time. Deacon looked at me and said you sure. I told him I needed him to go all the way in and then he could relax from the long drive.

...Deacon delivered. He had the crowd laughing, gasping, and crying before he left the stage. The judges gave him a 27.9...good enough to hold our position and a very respectable score for Da Lounge. Da Lounge was up next and sent us a nicely wrapped surprise in the form of Kesed (we didn't even know he was on their team until he took the stage...Shihan is known for pulling rabbits from a hat!). Kesed did an unexpected love poem and scored a 27.0 from the judges (I thought the piece was better than that), which opened the door for the Bay Area. Ner City must have sensed the same thing becuz he sent up Prentice Powell next. Man....DAMN!!!! THIS DUDE!!!! He did a piece called Good Father...it was a masterpiece delivered masterfully. I've seen Prentice do his thang on more than one occassion, but this dude became his poem. it wasn't even Prentice on stage anymore...he was words and he spit! The judges melted and scored him a 29.9...the high score of the night! It was ridiculous (according to Ner City, you can find it on youtube next week...check it out!) So after 3 rounds the scores got a little tighter, but we were still in the lead! The final round was going to be Donkey-Kong-Booyah-Gangsta-ridiculous!

Elevated! SD 86.9Bay Area 85.9Da Lounge 82.9Walla Walla 79.4

Note 4: As you can see above, Bay Area made up a lot of ground with Prentice bangin out that dope piece on Good Fathers! I didn't have any breathing room. Me and City looked at each other and nodded. It was one of those Magic Johnson-Michael Jordan-Larry Bird-Isiah Thomas moments...I respect you and we are cool, but I'm comin for your blood...After its all done we will still be cool but right now we got something to do.

Final Round: I knew Ner City was gunnin and he had the drop on me. We were up first in the final round. I already told you that is the weakest position in the round. Score creep is notorious for the last round and when you go first, you don't get the boost from score creep. I did the only thing I know how to do...I swung first (he/she who does the worst damage first stands the best chance to win). If we weren't gonna benefit from score creep, then we needed to make sure no one else did. After talking with Ant Black (whom you will notice had not performed yet...I love this dude, his spirit was completely with the team...no selfishness whatsoever...all he said was get us a 30) my strategy was set. We ended the bout the same way we started...jumping on heads! I sent Rudy Francisco and Simply Kat up to smash through the scoring barrier. They performed Push...and if you have ever heard that piece, then you know it pushes people to new places, to transformation, to do something with their life. It certainly pushed the judges...they scored a 29.9, delivering on my promise to get Ant Black's request (technically). Da Lounge went next and sent up Ashlyn...this young poetess is the bizzzzznezzzz. She shut it down...literally left the audience silent! The judges heard her and gave her a 29.4...high score for Da Lounge team. Next up...the Bay Area All-stars coach called his own number. That's right...Ner City put the team on his shoulders and took the stage. After some confusion as to why he would need 2 mics it became clear that he was trying to win this thang. He started with the cord of one mic wrapped around his upper arm and then said "Some Black people talk about how they got indian in their family...I got Heroin in mine! The audience let out a gasp and it was over from there. He ripped it up. The judges hought so, too and gave him a 29.7. It was great, but it wasn't good enough to get past us!

Elevated! San Diego Slam won the bout and advanced to the finals with Bay Area All-Stars coming in second and also making it to the finals! Here are the final scores from the bout

Elevated! SD 116.8Bay Area 115.6Da Lounge 112.3Walla Walla (IDK...disrespect, I didn't hear the scores as the audience was in an uproar)

Last note: All the teams in this bout...all of them...showed their ass on stage. There was no slacking in any of the poets. It was a great bout and I am glad that San Diego participated and can be seen on the level with the poets who came, saw, and conquered. If you didn't plan on going to the finals tonight...you may want to rethink that position and get your ass up to LA. It's going to be bananas.

Holla,
CW

Allow me to re-Introduce myself...

2009-10-20T22:51:00.000-07:00

ELEVATED! Slam night featuring Lucifury!

2009-10-14T13:39:00.001-07:00

Thursday, 10/15/09 @ 9 PM

Slam Night
Featuring: Lucifury!

Lucifury is one of Denver's top ranked Slam Poets, and a founding member of Denver's Slam Nuba team. He recently slamed in the 2009 Indivigual World Poetry Slam held in San Francisco California where he stood among 12 finalist. Famous for his surreal way with words and concepts has built him one of the largest fan bases of any underground artist in Colorado. Lucifury won the title of "Most Erotic Slam Poet," in 2007 during the National Poetry Slam in Austin Texas. He is the 2 time Slaughterhouse Slam Champion, and along with the Slam Nuba team, won the Southwest Shootout Slam in Dallas, Texas in 2008.

Lucifury began his spoken word career as a rapper, crafting his style during the battle rap era of the late nineties. This quickly expanded into spoken word during his time as a full time performer in St. Louis in 2004. When he returned to Denver that year, he began to compete at the Mercury Café, where he began a nearly unprecedented winning streak that lasted until he got to the team selections for the National Poetry Slams.

Lucifury has opened for artists such as Dead Prez , Bahamadia, Universes, and The Flobots. With his Lyrical ability, he will soon be taking his career to heights unseen by poets in this era. Come on out & hear Lucifury as he will move the crowd with his aggressive writing and introspective performance!

ELEVATED! featuring Paul Mabon!

2009-09-29T10:12:00.001-07:00

Thursday, 10/1/09 @ 9 PM

A Chicago native, I am an actor/poet most skilled at being interactive, imaginative, theatrical, comedic, handsome and true to life.

No stranger to the Los Angeles comedy circuit, I have performed at Mixed Nuts, The Comedy Union, The Comedy Store, and The Laugh
Factory. A few of my television credits include NBC's It's Showtime at the Apollo, BRAVO's No Talent Necessary, HBO's Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry and the MTV TRL Awards Show.

I currently reside in Los Angeles. In 2008 /nominated for an NAACP theatre award for my participation in the play Butterflies of Uganda /opened for accomplished Hip hop artist Talib Kweli. I
also won $2,500.00 in the Flypoet.com Spoken Word and Music Showcase 'Great Debaters' movie local, regional, and national promotional poetry slam.

In 2007 I wrote and produced a live, one night only theatrical DVD and Album taping titled "Blurring the Line."
Described as "groundbreaking" the show featured 25 poets and actors from numerous poetry and theater venues performing with myself.

In 2006 I opened for Grammy Nominated Hip Hop Artist "Common" and was commissioned to perform my work by the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. Recently, after 8 months of auditioning, I became a lifetime member of the prestigious Los Angeles and New York based Actors Studio. With God's help I'll get to the big or small screen. As fine as I am.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcFcW9hX7_g
Come experience the resurrection of spoken word!
Elevated! is a creative arts experience that is guaranteed to uplift, inspire and move you through spoken word, music, and visual art.
Elevated! features nationally, internationally, and locally renowned poets. The open mic encourages up-and- coming artists to showcase their skills and talent.
Come to listen, express, and get ELEVATED!
Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
$5 at the door

ELEVATED! featuring IN-Q, and Special Guest: Taylor Mali

2009-09-15T13:44:00.001-07:00

The premiere open-mic in San Diego is giving you the best poets, singers, and musicians.
Come out and get your fix!

Thursday, 9/17/09 @ 9 PM

Featuring: IN-Q!
and Special Guest: Taylor Mali!

IN-Q has been a featured poet on HBO's Def Poetry Jam, ABC's Eye on LA, and NBC's Living Large. He wrote and performed 5 poetry commercials for Nickelodeon and a hip hop song for Wendy's Skill Drill Giveaway. He is a 5 time Hollywood Slam Team member and 2007's "Grand Slam Champion". He was also part of the team that won the National Poetry Championships in Saint Louis in 2004. This same year IN-Q opened up for Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers at LA's Campaign Fundraiser to support the Senate. IN-Q won the Urban Graffiti Contest (a pilot filmed for Warner Brothers) and The Sunkiss competition, sponsored by Power 106. He has been a regular at DA Poetry Lounge, Fly Poets Showcase, and done numerous spot dates around the country. For the last four years he has been teaching poetry to Upward Bound students in Long Beach and Art Share students in Downtown L.A.

Our special guest is Taylor Mali. He is one of the most well-known poets to have emerged from the poetry slam movement and one of the few people in the world to have no job other than that of poet. Eloquent, accessible, passionate, and often downright hilarious, Mali studied drama in Oxford with members of The Royal Shakespeare Company and puts those skills of presentation to work in all his performances. He was one of the original poets to appear on the HBO series Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry and was the "Armani-clad villain" of Paul Devlin's 1997 documentary film SlamNation.

ELEVATED! Slam for Indies, also featuring Nikki BLAK!

2009-09-01T07:26:00.001-07:00

Thursday, 9/3/09 @ 9 PM

Please join us for the Indi Slam...the winner will represent San Diego at the Individual World Poetry Slam. We will also a fantabulous feature...NIKKI BLAK! That's right...BOOM will be in the building! Don't miss this special edition slam and expolsive feature!

Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
$5 at the door

ELEVATED! featuring Korim!

2009-08-14T17:06:00.001-07:00

Thursday, 7/20/09 @ 9 PM

Featuring: Korim!

Man from the pits of poetry Poetry from God, Texas, and the Universe He is 19 years young and five years into the stage Stages in L.A., N.Y.C, D.C., and other non "letter and period" named cities Blessed east to west Voice Horse from south to north Knows he will be this forever Long Hair, Light-Skinned, Two wholes, one ear-ring He changes as often as the weather these days yes, he cares about global warming has absolute faith in this generation says we are the second coming Writer, Poet, Performer currently located somewhere between brooklyn and harlem. Holding his heart in his hands It is leaking all over the place Many need to see this mess Korimthepoet@gmail.com He'll be there Thinks resume's are rediculous A man's work is what's worthwhile record is necesarry; he gets it. So Flypoets in L.A. And Mouth off in Oakland, Nuyorican in NYC and Say Word in Richmond, Embargo in Dallas/Ft.Worth and WineUp in Charlotte, Brave New Voices in New York, San Jose, and D.C., National Poetry Slam in Austin and Madison, Featured on NPS 2008 DVD, Soundbites Poetry Slam Winner, Youngest Slam Champ in Texas? Absolutely Korim poet from the pits of a woman from Texas. Thinks often. Knows rarely. Understands nothing. He only wants to speak He only want to teach you him Learn this man Korim is quite a journey Take it from me -Jonathon Sterling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6nFkY005LQ

Bust a Lip, San Diego!

2009-08-05T09:09:00.001-07:00

Reminder: ELEVATED! IS CANCELLED THIS WEEK!

Let's wish the San Diego Slam Team GOOD LUCK at the National Poetry Slam this week in West Palm Beach, Florida!

Stay tuned for updates!

Collective Purpose presents…

2009-07-28T14:31:00.001-07:00

Thursday, 7/30/09 @ 9 PM

The Battle for San Diego will be an epic slam. Four teams will compete for the title of Best in San Diego. The San Diego Slam Team won the Battle for LA and the Battle for the Empire. Come out and see the San Diego Slam Team, Empire Mindstate Team, Inland Empire Youth Slam Team, and a surprise team slug it out in the third and final slam for bragging rights in Southern California...who will be the last team standing????

Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
$5 at the door

San Diego Slam Team Unveiled

2009-07-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

written by Tomi Barnett, Shakema Martin, & Christopher Wilson

On Thursday, July 16, 2009 over one hundred and forty people attended Elevated. Elevated serves as an outlet for creative expression and is the largest open mic in San Diego. It is a place in the community where artists from all over San Diego can come and express themselves and not worry about getting booed. The show consists of two segments: the open mic and the feature. The open mic segment is open to people of all ages and topics; people come from all over San Diego to perform or to watch the performers. The audience is always deeply engaged in the show and very enthusiastic about the artist’s performances.

On this night the San Diego Slam Team featured at Elevated. The Slam Team members are Rudy Francisco, Ant Black, Deacon Blair, Jro, and Simply Kat, who couldn’t make it because she was attending the Youth National Poetry Slam. All of the artists had an outstanding performance. Rudy Francisco’s performance made the audience look deeper into life and the way that things can be prevented. He spoke to all ages; the younger audience had a chance to experience a young person talk about things in a way that they could understand, while the older audience could relate to through their own experiences. Ant Black expressed a lot of emotion while he performed. If you didn’t shed a tear, then you weren’t fully there! Deacon Blair had a different delivery than the other poets; the tone of his voice was strong and his message was hardcore. Jro’s performance was very surprising. While he used some strong language, it was very artistic. By the end of the night the team received several standing ovations.

Elevated was created to give local artist an opportunity for self-expression and unite people in the community. Through the performances at Elevated you see that life can be different and its okay to try new things. At Elevated people from all walks of life are welcome. So, don’t miss the next show on July 30th when we have the Battle for San Diego.

Hip Hop SAVED MY LIFE!

2009-07-17T12:33:00.001-07:00

bkSOUL and Collective Purpose will take you through a journey of Hip Hop culture from its roots to today. Combining poetry and live music with contemporary and hip hop movement, the work presents a fresh view of the influential and growing global art form.

Sat. July 18 @7 pm (Open Dress Rehearsal -Suggested Donation $10)

Sun. July 19 @ 2pm and 6pm
Tickets: $15 general $10 Students

Limited Seating.

Performers:
Ant Black, Kendrick Dial, Rudy Francisco, grace shinhae jun, DJ KrazyKut, Jesse Mills, Lavina Rich, Misa Suiter, Keomi Tarver
and Guest Artists Melissa Adao and Nick Zavala

The Vine @ Bernardo Winery Suite 5
13330 Paseo Del Verano Norte
San Diego, CA

RESERVE YOUR TICKETS EARLY! SEATING IS VERY LIMITED. DON'T GET TURNED AWAY.
CALL 858-243-1402 TO RESERVE AND PURCHASE!!!!

ELEVATED! featuring The San Diego SLAM Team!

2009-07-15T03:29:00.001-07:00

Thursday, 7/16/09 @ 9 PM

Featuring: The San Diego SLAM Team!

This week the San Diego Slam Team is featuring at Elevated! The Slam Team is traveling to West Palm Beach in August to compete against 64 teams from all over the world for the coveted National Poetry Slam Championship. The members of the team are Simply Kat, Ant Black, Rudy Francisco, Deacon Blair, and Jro. Don't miss this opportunity to come out and support your local team!Come experience the resurrection of spoken word! Elevated! is a creative arts experience that is guaranteed to uplift, inspire and move you through spoken word, music, and visual art.

Elevated! features nationally, internationally, and locally renowned poets. The open mic encourages up-and- coming artists to showcase their skills and talent. Come to listen, express, and get ELEVATED!

Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

$5 at the door

2009-07-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

The San Diego Poetry Slam Team will host a fundraiser at It's A Grind located at 204 N El Camino Real #204 in Encinitas, California, on Sunday, July 19 from 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM. The funds will be used to send the winners of San Diego's Grand Slam to represent San Diego in the National Poetry Slam (NPS) in West Palm Beach, Florida in August. NPS is the largest team performance poetry event in the world and the San Diego team will have the opportunity to compete against 83 other teams.

"Last year San Diego's team ranked in the top 20 and we're excited to help support this year's team," said Sam Yago, the event promoter.

The members of the San Diego team are Simply Kat, Ant Black, Deacon Blair, Rudy Francisco and Jro. The fundraiser at It's A Grind will include live performances by members of the San Diego Poetry Slam Team and special invited guests from the Full Moon Poets. Raffle prizes were generously donated by UNIV Shop, RobustFlavor.com, Koastal Distribution, Plan B Skateobards and more! The fundraiser will include a silent skateboard art auction with handpainted boards by local artists.

2009-06-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

Please come out to support Collective Purpose at the San Diego County Fair on June 27, 2009. They will be performing in the 5th Annual Gospel Festival on the Plaza Stage at 2pm with a live band.

ELEVATED! featuring the I.E. Youth Slam Team

2009-05-19T15:36:00.001-07:00

Collective Purpose presents…

ELEVATED!

1st & 3rd THURSDAYS

The premiere open-mic in San Diego is giving you the best poets, singers, and musicians.

Come out and get your fix!

Thursday, 5/21/09 @ 9 PM

The night's feature will be the Western Regional Champion Inland Empire Youth Slam Team. These young poets are insightful, creative and wise beyond their years. Their poems are inspiring, revolutionary and at times comical. Their diverse perspectives create an all-inclusive performance that keeps audience members at the edges of their seats.

Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

$5 at the door

2009-04-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

10 POETS...5 SPOTS...1 MIC

THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2009

@SDAI: MUSEUM OF THE LIVING ARTIST

1439 EL PRADO (in Balboa Park)

doors open @ 7:30

$5 Cover

The San Diego Poetry Slam is hosting its annual Grand Slam competition in historic Balboa Park at the San Diego Art Institute's Museum of the Living Artist. The Grand Slam will determine who is crowned San Diego Grand Slam Champion for the next year. Rudy Francisco, Ant Black, Simply Kat, Gil SOTU, Jerrica Escoto, Succinct, Taili Mugambi, Viet Mai, Jro, and Deacon Blair (2008 Grand Slam Champion) will perform their best slam poetry in the competition. The top 5 finishers will make up the 2009 Slam team. The team will represent San Diego in West Palm Beach, Florida in August, competing against 83 teams from around the world in the National Poetry Slam. Last year's team ranked in the top 20 of the world in San Diego's return to the national competition. Please come out and help us select the best poets to represent San Diego, as we try to win it all!

ELEVATED! Open Mic!

2009-04-15T09:19:00.001-07:00

Collective Purpose presents…

ELEVATED!

1st & 3rd THURSDAYS

The premiere open-mic in San Diego is giving you the best poets, singers, and musicians.

Come out and get your fix!

Thursday, 4/16/09 @ 9 PM

This week will have a completely Open Mic.

No feature, no competition,

ALL ARTS!

Eveoke Dance Theatre

2811 University Ave

San Diego, CA 92104

$5 at the door

San Diego Poetry Slam Semi-Finals!

2009-04-03T01:23:00.001-07:00

Monday April 6th, 2009
James S. Copley Auditorium at the San Diego Museum of Art
6:30 pm Doors Open
7 pm Slam
Hosted by Michael Chung Klam and Christopher Wilson
Presented by the San Diego Museum of Art, the Museum of the Living Artist and the San Diego Poetry Slam

$5 general admission

Museum of the Living Artist's (MOLA) Poetry & Art Series 2009 Co-sponsors San Diego Poetry Slam Quarterfinal with the San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA). Aja-Monet Features Between Bouts, Delving into SDMA's Black Womanhood exhibition.

The event, taking place in the Old Globe's Copley Auditorium theatre in the round, features special performances by New York-based performer Aja-Monet. She will present works that, in part, explore some of the concepts and themes of Black Womanhood. The program also features a quarterfinal competition among poets for the last spots on the 2009 San Diego Poetry Slam Team, which will represent San Diego at the National Poetry Slam in Florida later this year.

SDMA: www.sdmart.org
MOLA: www.sandiego-art.org
SD Poetry Slam: http://collectivepurpose.blogspot.com/

ELEVATED! featuring Aja-Monet!

2009-03-31T12:38:00.001-07:00

Collective Purpose presents…

ELEVATED!

1st & 3rd THURSDAYS

The premiere open-mic in San Diego is giving you the best poets, singers, and musicians.

Come out and get your fix!

Thursday, 4/2/09 @ 9 PM

Featuring: Aja-Monet!

This week's feature is the incredible Aja-Monet. A Cuban-Jamaican poet originally from East NY, Brooklyn, she now resides in Harlem , NY . At 21 years old, she is the youngest Grand Slam Champion of the Lower East side 's legendary Nuyorican Poet's Café. Her work is classically surrealist, engaging altogether Hip Hop, Soul, and literary audiences. Aja-Monet dedicates her time and energy working with inner-city adolescence, providing performance poetry workshops and opportunities. Aja-Monet is currently finishing up her B.A. at Sarah Lawrence College where she is studying Writing, Theology, and Psychology.

Eveoke Dance Theatre

2811 University Ave

San Diego, CA 92104

$5 at the door

ELEVATED! Celebrating Women's Herstory Month with Dr. Sharon Elise!

2009-03-17T00:14:00.001-07:00

Collective Purpose presents…

ELEVATED!

1st & 3rd THURSDAYS

The premiere open-mic in San Diego is giving you the best poets, singers, and musicians.

Come out and get your fix!

Thursday, 3/19/09 @ 9 PM

Celebrating Women's Herstory Month!

The Feature for the night will be
Dr. Sharon Elise!

Doctor Sharon Elise is a professor of sociology at California State University, San Marcos, where she teaches courses in race and ethnic relations, gender, social movements, critical race theories, and community and social theory. Her current research interests are in the criminalization and "prisonification" of African Americans, changing racial and ethnic identities in diverse California, educational equity, postcolonial theory, and feminism. Dr. Elise writes and performs poetry with the spirit of passion and purpose, her words hold truth towards her activism through education and the community. Dr. Elise served on the first SLAM team representing San Diego and holds title of SLAM winner for the first city-wide slam held in San Diego (1998).

Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

$5 at the door

collectivepurpose.org

2009-03-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

WORLD PREMIERE IN SAN DIEGO:

~HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE~

Artistic collaboration of dance company, bkSOUL, and spoken word poets, Collective Purpose, HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE explores the power of love and Hip Hop music.

San Diego, CA – Fresh off of their successful partnership on The Movement, bkSOUL and Collective Purpose are presenting a new collaboration, HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE. Presented by Sushi Performance & Visual Art and choreographed by grace shinhae jun (Artistic Director of bkSOUL), HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE is both a tribute and a narrative to the Hip Hop experience in urban America. The spoken word poetry of Ant Black, Kendrick Dial, and Rudy Francisco (Collective Purpose) explores, through love, critique and celebration, the unique perspectives of Hip Hop music as the voice of the marginalized, global bridge-builder, and empowerment narrative.

A combination of Hip Hop and modern dance, the movements of bkSOUL’s dancers are choreographed to the poetic flow of Collective Purpose’s lyrics. With the background of beats and music familiar to the Hip Hop listener, the presentation is dynamic and moving, imploring the audience to undergo a fantastic journey from the beginning of the Hip Hop movement to its current mainstream appeal. Infusing messages of progress and hope in the lyrics and the dancer’s movement, the presentation addresses the pop-culture undertones of racism, misogyny, violence, and endless entertainment present in Hip Hop’s current form.

Hip Hop Saved My Life premieres on Thursday, March 26, 2009 at Sushi’s performance venue located in downtown San Diego at 390 Eleventh Ave. The performances run nightly through Sunday March 29, 2009. All performances begin at 8 pm, except Sunday night, which starts at 7 pm. Tickets for all shows are Pay-What-You-Can and can be purchased at the Sushi location!

Formed in 2001, bkSOUL (http://www.bksoul.com/) is a diverse community of artists who share culture, language, and soul. Grounded in rhythm and beats, and drawing from the traditions of Hip Hop and modern dance, bkSOUL redefines Hip Hop through body, sound, and spoken word. As children of Hip Hop culture, bkSOUL’s artists seek to embody social justice and activism, fighting racism and inequality collaboratively.

Collective Purpose (http://www.collectivepurpose.org/) is a group of spoken word artists. Founded in 2005, they are committed to their mission to elevate, edutain (educate & entertain), and enlighten the community through words and performance. They intend for art to do more than entertain, it has the power to affect, heal, and transform the community into a place of inclusion, tolerance, and understanding. Collective Purpose utilizes creative expression in the hopes of inspiring others to become truth seekers, truth speakers, and positive change agents.

An integral part of the West Coast cultural landscape, SUSHI-A Center for the Urban Arts, earns national acclaim for the San Diego arts community and provides a forum for artists to reflect the rich diversity of our multifaceted ethnic, cultural, sexual, and personal backgrounds. Its new home is located at 390 Eleventh Ave. at J St. in downtown San Diego. For more information on the shows and tickets, visit www.sushiart.org or call 619.235.8466.

ELEVATED! Kickin' off Women's Herstory Month with Megan Rickman!

2009-03-05T10:42:00.001-08:00

Collective Purpose presents…

ELEVATED!

1st & 3rd THURSDAYS

The premiere open-mic in San Diego is giving you the best poets, singers, and musicians.

Come out and get your fix!

Thursday, 3/05/09 @ 9 PM

Celebrating Women's Herstory Month!

The Feature for the night will be Megan Rickman!

Coming into The Spoken Word scene smoking, literally, Megan Rickman first touched down at Slam Richmond in January of 2007, She came, She Slammed, She Won...Since then she's became a staple on the richmond poetry scene, Working with Lyric Ave, Tuesday Verse's, Redemption Production, Soul fire music and many more. Now, she has started her own production company with her friend and partner Roscoe Burnems. They founded Think Deep with the plan of bringing the VCU and Poetry communities together. She is also coaching the Teen Slam team that will be attending Brave New Voices in the coming year.

Eveoke Dance Theatre
2811 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

$5 at the door

collectivepurpose.org

2009-01-12T16:29:00.000-08:00

Collective Purpose presents…

ELEVATED!

1st & 3rd THURSDAYS

The premiere open-mic in San Diego is giving you the best poets, singers, and musicians.

Come out and get your fix!

Thursday, 1/15/08

@ 9 PM

San Diego Poetry Slam Night!

Come and watch some of San Diego's most dynamic poets compete for bragging rights an opportunity to advance to the next round of the San Diego Poetry Slam!!!  

The night will also be featuring

Judah 1

At the age of twenty-three Judah1 has become an accomplished performing poet, by accident at first, now everything he does and says is filled with purpose. A 2005 and 2006 Los Angeles Slam Team member, Judah 1 is a regular at "A Mic and Dim Lights Pomona", "Da Poetry Lounge in Hollywood" and has performed at UCLA, UC Riverside, Cal Poly Pomona, UNLV, University of La Verne, Chaffey Community College, Cal State Fullerton, countless churches, youth rallies and events, Black culture festivals and interfaith forums all experiencing the multiple levels of Judah 1. Judah 1 has opened up for Tony Toni Tone, and one of Hip-Hop's purest voices, One Be Lo (formerly, One Man Army of Binary Star). He is a Podslam.org All-Star and Slam Champion. Additionally, Judah 1 can be seen in the critically acclaimed feature length spoken word documentary "Sp!t". Judah speaks to the hearts of individuals and jumpstarts the human spirit to walk in the light of truth.

2008-12-02T03:51:00.000-08:00

Our feature for the night will be Sonya Renee!

Sonya Renee is easily the most distinguished, accomplished and recognizable female in the world of Slam Poetry, and rightly so. After a meteoric rise to poetry superstardom in 2004, Sonya has redefined the role and impact of women in slam since her whirlwind arrival on the scene, consistently ranking at the top of every major national and international poetry slam every year since then. Sonya’s success can be attributed to her commitment to writing poetry that stays true to her roots as a social activist and women’s rights advocate. The socially conscious wordsmith became the National Poetry Slam Champion only 4 months into her slam career in ’04, and followed this amazing achievement with back to back top 8 finishes at the Individual World Poetry Slam Championship, a 2nd place finish at the International Poetry Slam Championship in 2005, and a 1st place finish at the Four Continents European International Slam Championship in 2006. Sonya put her socially conscious words into action by performing in front of over 1 million spectators in Washington D.C. alongside presidential candidate Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton at a historic 2004 March for Women’s Lives Rally. Her work has appeared in several publications, translated into Dutch and German and has most recently appeared in the book Growing Up Girl: An Anthology of Voices from Marginalized Spaces and Spoken Word Revolution: Redux.

Her poetry has been used as curriculum at the University of Santa Barbara, as an HIV education resource with HIV Campus Education and as Artist for Choice with Choice USA, the reproductive rights organization started by Gloria Steinem and numerous undergraduate papers, forensic and debate teams. The First Lady of Slam has also seen commercial success with appearances on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, and the hit reality series “Monique’s F.A.T Chance” on the Oxygen Network. With all her success, Sonya has still found time to devote herself to the causes she has fought for since her teenage years, even earning her Master’s in Non-profit Management. She has held every position from peer educator to trainer, to director for numerous organizations around the country confronting issues including; at-risk youth, HIV/AIDS, prostitution, incarceration, and inequality. She currently serves as the Capacity Building and Training Director for the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles, CA and serves on the National Board of Directors for the arts and activism organization, Blackout Arts Collective. All the while, Sonya has toured the globe, performed at numerous colleges, universities, public venues, and clubs as a champion of Human Rights and an International Award Winning Poet.

Sonya’s poetry is blunt, raw, and poignant. She speaks the truth with no mixed words and challenges society to face its deepest and most long-lived ills with strength, courage and sometimes a lot of laughter. In the same light, her work also reflects a checkered childhood overcoming a family riddled with drug addiction and mental illness, and dealing with the reality of living completely on her own from the age of 17. Her past has made her the beacon of strength and beauty that shines so brightly today every time she blesses a mic. Sonya Renee is not only the voice of every woman, but of humanity. From the neglected to the powerful, from the downtrodden to the triumphed, they all speak through her... and her voice will not soon fade. Sometimes all that is left is to get Real!

We voted now we watch!

2008-11-04T16:10:00.001-08:00

This up to date map shows each state as they cast their electoral votes. Click on the map for the option to view how different counties voted in each of the different states.

2008-11-02T19:59:00.000-08:00

ELEVATED!

3rd Anniversary Show!

The premiere open-mic in San Diego is giving you the best poets, singers, and musicians.

Come out and get your fix!

Thursday, 11/06/08

at 9 PM

Elevated was started by a group of individuals with a vision of providing a space were artistic expression could be used as vehicle to educate, enlighten, uplift, entertain and create discourse. Over the past three years ELEVATED has become one of the biggest spoken word venues on the west coast and one of the most coveted poetry readings in the nation.  The night will consist of a selection of artists who've featured throughout the year and the performers who come and support on a regular basis. The show's featured presentation will consist of 2 of the nation's most prolific poets. Sekou tha Misfit and Steve Connell are former members of the Hollywood Poetry Slam team, they have both featured on the HBO special Def Poetry and toured the country with their 2 man show.

Eveoke Dance Theatre

2811 University Ave

San Diego, CA 92104

$7 at the door

Listen

2008-10-21T21:59:00.000-07:00

“Listen”

featuring Rudy Francisco

Thursday, October 22, 2008

9pm ($5 at the door)

"Listen" will feature some up and coming local artists with special appearances by members of the 2008 San Diego Slam Team. The headliner will be San Diego's representative for the 2008 Individual World Poetry Slam, Rudy Francisco. I just discovered he'll be debuting the University Ave mixtape exclusively for this special engagement.

As an artist, Rudy Francisco combines activism and poetry to enlighten the minds of all those who witness his performance. Rudy eloquently absorbs the experiences of those around him, synthesizes them and converts stories into poetry in an attempt to captivate and inform those around him. Rudy Francisco has featured at numerous universities, colleges and poetry readings across the region and currently holds the record for the most San Diego poetry slams won consecutively. He was crowned the Grand Slam Champion of San Diego in 2007, competed with the Hollywood Slam team in the National Poetry Slam in 2008.

2008-10-14T22:45:00.000-07:00

Thursday, 10/16/08 @ 9 PM

San Diego Poetry Slam Night!

come see the best poets in San Diego compete to represent at the

2009 National Poetry Slam in Florida

This week's feature

2008-09-29T15:31:00.000-07:00

ISE LYFE

“…He might someday take over Mos Def’s mantle as Hip-Hop’s activist poet laureate”

–Seattle Weekly

“Four Stars!”, “If revolution had a movie, Ise Lyfe just might be theme music”

-AllHipHop.com

Rising from the streets of Oakland, California, Ise is no stranger to challenging the status quo. In the midst of an ever-growing culture of "Going Dumb" and Hyphy-ness, Ise chooses to spin off of that energy, using that same force to empower and uplift via his vocal and lyrical artillery. "Our communities are full of beautiful people that can’t see their own beauty. People look outside of themselves for anything to make them feel good about themselves, or just good period. Before all of this is over, I'd like to play a roll in influencing people to see the answer within."

Ise first got national recognition in 2000 competing in the annual Youth Speaks Poetry Slam Finals and represented the San Francisco Bay Area at the Youth Speaks National Poetry Slam in 2001, which caused his popularity to sky-rocket. He has been featured on Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on HBO. He has also shared the stage with Dave Chappelle, Lauryn Hill, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez, E-40,Harry Belafonte, KRS-One, Martin Luther, Saul Williams, Ben Harper and Erykah Badu, Zion Eye, and The Coup to name a few.

In the summer of 2008, Ise Lyfe will drop his second LP, “Prince Cometh” (7even89ine Music). The album picks up where the first left off as Ise continues to make thought provoking music, but also gives listeners a more personal perspective.

“I chose the title Prince Cometh for this album for a couple of reasons. This record is a lot more personal than my last album, (“spreadtheWORD”- 2006 Hardknock Records) and I feel like at this particular time in my life I’m really coming into myself, hence, Prince Cometh. At the same time the title reflects what I’ve been seeing as I travel and witness the current state of the world. People everywhere are coming into themselves and choosing to demand what they feel is right and good for them. That’s the theme of this project…”-Ise Lyfe

Despite losing friends and family members to drug abuse, incarceration and violence, Ise says that it wasn’t until he witnessed a murder at a concert that his outlook on life changed for the better. "I realized that I had become numb to the violence and had somehow accepted the idea of dying young. I never wanted to be that way." As a teenager, Ise had stopped writing seriously. However, at the age of 17, it was this life altering experience that would return him to his rhyme books and journals.

Regardless of where his career stands now, Ise is rooted and speaks from the childhood handed to him by Oakland, CA, relating to people and places that exist within this common experience.

In addition to Hip-Hop and Spoken Word, Ise Lyfe is an innovative businessman-The Owner, Founder, and Executive Director of Lyfe Productives. Through this company, he creates a popular culture of consciousness and finds ways to make both standard and alternative education provocative for young people growing up in the inner-city. Ise facilitates teaching residencies in 8 Bay Area schools and continues spreading his word at Universities, High Schools, Middle Schools, and various agencies not only throughout the United States, but his work has also crossed domestic boarders Having worked in both the United Kingdom and in Ghana, West Africa, he charges forward towards a global platform.

In 2007, Lyfe Productives helped design a marketing outreach plan for an agency in the Bay Area that provides free mobile HIV/AIDS testing named CAL-PEP. This plan helped lead to over 100 young people being tested at a Labor Day weekend event; more than any number in their 15 year history!

In 2003, Ise began teaching social history and Spoken Word at one of nation's most innovative charter high schools, The School for Social Justice and Community Development in Oakland, CA. He led the youth component at Leadership Excellence in Oakland, CA – A NON-PROFIT organization committed to educating black youth in the areas of social justice and cultural awareness. From 2004 to 2006 he served as Senior Arts-in-Education Associate at Youth Speaks (San Francisco, CA), the leading literary arts agency in the US. There, Lyfe continued his successful approach to blending literacy and performance arts.

In 2004 Ise co-wrote and performed in "CAUSE", a Hip Hop theater piece that fused spoken word with modern dance to address the legacy of hate in the world. Internationally renowned choreographer Robert Moses directed the dance sequences.

He continues to push boundaries and take his message to the next level. “Who’s Krazy?,” a one-man theater piece he penned himself was curetted by Cultural Odyssey of San Francisco and debuted at the 2007 National Black Theater Festival in North Carolina to a sold-out crowd and received rave reviews. In 2008, the play will gain even more recognition as it will be feature at the 2008 NAACP Theatre Awards.

The accolades keep pouring in for this young man:

City Flight Magazine’s Top 25 under 35
Honored at the 12th Annual African American Excellence in Business
One of the top “101 Black men in California making a Difference”, stood proud as the youngest honoree

Next up, as Ise Lyfe steams ahead, is the release of his first book Pistols and Prayers. This book is sure to please his current fan base, and bring some more folks on board. Nothing but great things are expected from him in the future.

2008-09-16T20:54:00.000-07:00

Thursday, 9/18/08 @ 9 PM

First ELEVATED Poetry Slam for 2009 Team

This year the San Diego Slam Team represented for us. They went to Madison Wisconsin for the national competition and competed against not only the best poets from around the nation…but the best poets from around the world. The 2008 team put our city on the map by finishing in the top 20 and now it's time to start the selection process for 2009. Come out to the first Elevated Slam of the new season where the best poets from around the city will be competing for a slot in the semi finals. The winner will be one step closer to being on the team that represents San Diego in the 2009 National Poetry Slam and will represent San Diego In the Individual World Poetry Slam!!!!!!!!

Our feature for the night will be Nikki Skies!

While in college, Nikki Skies often veered away from sharing her career goals in fear of being laughed at for not pursuing a "real job". Today, Nikki is an award winning actress, and a nationally known performance poet, lecturer, author and activist. Best known for her performances on PBS and BET’s Lyric Café, Nikki has performed at over 300 colleges/universities, conferences and festivals across the country and appeared in the documentaries “LA Underground: Tha Zone” and “Mic Gods”. Upon moving from her mid west state of Missouri to Los Angeles, Nikki quickly became a highly sought after feature performer and noted as one of the trailblazing female poets on the underground poetry and hip hop scene in LA. She has shared panels and opened for such artists and activists as Amiri Baraka, Angela Davis, Kathleen Cleaver, Jill Scott, Saul Williams, Nikki Giovanni, Gloria Steinem to name a few. Nikki is a recently selected Dana Arts Foundation Fellow for 2008.

Nikki’s community activism has partnered her work with the LA AIDS Project, workshop facilitation in LA and Orange county schools on speech and debate, cultural sensitivity and multicultural diversity as well as coalition building with community health clinics in Watts, CA addressing health disparities. She has had speaking engagements for national and international organizations such as, Doctors Without Borders, American Cancer Society, Poets & Writers, LA Arts Commission and Campus Progress in which she is a regularly scheduled speaker with their bureau as well as the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA) as a national member. Over the years, Nikki's poetry has been used as curriculum in the Oakland women's prison system and published in various poetry anthologies. She has been a featured performer at a number of the noted major poetry venues across the country such as the Nuyorican, Green Mill, Apache, Poetry Lounge, Seven and a list of others.

Her novel of short stories, “Mississippi Window Cracks”, has sold over 4,200 copies independently and accompanies the success of her poetry cd, "Moody". Nikki has also penned three chapbooks of poetry and is an accomplished playwright and director. She studied for her B.A. and M.F.A. at Grambling State University and Howard University respectively. For more information on performances, lecture topics and booking information, go to www.nikkiskies.com or contact at moodymoonart@aol.com.

Ant Black Performance @ ELEVATED!

2008-08-20T03:28:00.001-07:00

Collective Purpose presents…

Ant Black's new CD Pre-Release Show

Thursday, August 21 , 2008

@ 9 Pm

If Hip Hop and Jazz had a baby, it would be Piece de Resistance (Peace of Resistance), Ant Black's new CD. A superb mixture of hip hop, smoothed out Jazz and R&B, the new CD has been a 2 year labor of love for Ant Black. It combines the gritty realness of a society obsessed with pop culture with a faithful hope for a future of love and harmony. Ant Black gives his fans something to hear, bob their head to, cry, and think about all at the same time. Set to be released on 8/26, you can get a preview and purchase a copy at the show. This is definitely an event you will not want to miss!!!!!

Come out and support your local poets!

Eveoke Dance Theatre

2811 University Ave

San Diego, CA 92104

$5 at the door

Read on for a review and sample track from the CD!

2008-08-20T03:01:00.000-07:00

Ant Black Set to Release New CD!

Following the success of the Un-Masterpiece, Spoken Word artist and Poet Laureate of the 15 Freeway, Ant Black will release his latest body of work. Already hailed as a fresh breath in musically dead society, Piece de Resistance (Peace of Resistance) is full of the creativity, artistry, and social commentary that has made Ant Black a Southern California favorite.

Here is what one reviewer had to say about the latest project from Ant Black:
Ant Black’s Piece de Resistance (Peace of Resistance) is truly a force to be reckoned. Generously gifting his fans with a gumbo of poetry infused with funk, hip hop, jazz, r&b, rock, and soul music, this 22 track album is the best poetic album to come out of San Diego to date. Ant Black shines his light brightly on subjects such as eating disorders, drug abuse, the demise of love, and social injustice.

Artistically ushering the listener through an educational and entertaining tour of America’s past and present, Ant Black exposes the dirty little secrets that are ignored in America. The heart felt sincerity of Tallulah balances melodic instrumentation with the story of the continuous struggle for equality in America through the lens of Jena, Louisiana. And yet through the eagerness of a 4th grade girl who aspires to be a professional athlete in Tetherball or a man’s love for a woman in Dreamed of You, Piece de Resistance (Peace of Resistance) encourages listeners never to give up on a better future.

The journey through Piece de Resistance (Peace of Resistance) is an emotional car-jacking of joy, reflection, motivation, and inspiration. Ant Black is an artist who knows how to paint pictures using sound, words, and emotion…a must have for anyone who enjoys spoken word and poetry.

To hear the first single from the CD click here!

2008-08-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

SAN DIEGO SLAM TEAM'S HIGH ACHIEVEMENT!

After a week long stay in Madison (Wisconsin), the San Diego Slam Team triumphantly returned home to San Diego on Sunday night. While they did not win the National Championship of Poetry & Spoken Word, they were very successful in putting San Diego's poetry & spoken word scene on the map. While at the tournament, people constantly wondered how an virtual unknown in the game could make it past perennial power teams like New York-Urbana.

Making it to the semi-finals was more than they ever thought was possible in the first year of national competition. The team (Ant Black, Gill SOTU, Deacon Blair, Brian Debenedictus, and Slam-master/coach Christopher Wilson) credits their success to hardwork, focus, and determination. "We went to Madison to make sure people knew San Diego was on the rise," said Ant Black. In the teams intial response to making it to the semi-finals coach Chris Wilson summed up the teams thoughts in one statement, "What we ended up doing was putting a target on our back as the team to watch out for and that felt good."

In making it out of the preliminary rounds, the team racked up two consecutive bout wins. In their second bout, they went up against the powerhouse team of New York-Urbana, who eventually won the group piece championship. "We knew going into the second bout that it would be tough, but we were confident that we had enough to win," reported Gill SOTU. The team pulled out a surprising victory in the bout which put them at the top of the rankings going into the semi-final round.

In the semi-finals the San Diego Slam Team faced off against teams from Denver-Mercury, Boston-Cantab, Springfield, and San Francisco. It was a very heated bout, with a wide range of poetry performed for the judges. At the end of the competition, Boston-Cantab stood victorious over the other teams. "The team performed at the top of their game...it was just a case of not having the poetry that the judges wanted to hear," said Chris Wilson (Slam-master/coach).

Although they lost in the semi-final round, the team is holding its head high. "No matter the outcome of the semi-final bout, no one can take away the fact that we made it into the elite ranks of the national poetry scene today," said Ant Black. A sentiment echoed by all the members of the team. Chris Wilson made the point, "We came to Madison expecting to learn the ins and outs and return next year to be competitive. Instead we did all that we intended and made it into the semifinals to compete against the top 20 teams in the nation."

The group piece finals were bananas...teams really used creativity and performance to put their message out there. New York-Urbana won the competition, scoring a perfect score of 60 (30 in each round). Their first piece brought the house down. It was a musical poem reprimanding Rev. Al Sharpton about his actions during the Dunbar Village rape case (story can be found here http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19698132/page/2/). Hopefully it will be posted on youtube or available by video soon.

The team is proud of the way they represented San Diego and the mark they have made on the national poetry scene. In the midst of all the competition there were new friendships made, old friendships strengthened, and lots of pizza eaten. There were over 1,000 poets, coaches, writers, and fans in attendance of the National Poetry Slam 2008. The team met people from France and Vancouver and all points in between. The poetry was really good and gave the team lots of new inpiration.

The San Diego Slam Team would like to thank all of you for your support (poetic and financial). It has been a great experience from start to finish and the team is looking forward to representing San Diego until next spring when the new team is crowned at the San Diego Grand Slam.

2008-08-08T00:33:00.000-07:00

San Diego Slam Team Rises to the Call Again!

Earlier tonight, Team San Diego made history. The team (Ant Black, Deacon Blair, Gill SOTU, Brian Debenedictis, and Slam Master/Coach Chris Wilson) went head up against heavyweight and favorite New York-Urbana, first-time powerhouse Boston-Lizard Lounge, and soft-spoken Springfield in their second bout. The team not only held their own, they won the bout.

For the first time in the history of San Diego Slam team history, the team is undefeated in its first 2 bouts and advance to the semi-final round tomorrow (Friday). It was a hard hill to climb and the other teams made it very competitive. Once again, Ant Black, this time with Brian Debenedictis, set the bout off with the first poem of the night. It was the only team piece (Mr. President) of the bout and scored a little low (26.0), but set the team up to raise the bar in later rounds. In the second round Gill SOTU performed a flawless rendition of "Moments of Sincerity" and received the high score (28.4) of the round. Deacon Blair performed "Job Security" in the third round and had the audience on their feet by the end of his performance. He also received the highest score in his round (28.6) and was eventually the highest scorer in the bout! In the last round of the bout, Ant Black performed a very emotional poem, "Alone" and was rewarded with the second highest score (27.3)in the final round (only .10 away from the highest score of 27.4).

Over the course of the preliminary bouts, the San Diego team has only lost two of the eight rounds of competition. The hard work and preparation in San Diego and many tune-ups at Elevated! helped the team in adjusting to shifting dynamics and judging standards that all teams deal with. However, the San Diego team has discovered a brand new secret weapon. We are throwing "seven different kinds of smoke" when we take the stage. Hopefully we will continue on to the finals. Right now we are just taking it one step at a time and we are focused on the semi-final bout tomorrow.

Please stay tuned for more updates and please leave a comment. Your energy and enthusiam is greatly appreciated and is very helpful in keeping the team motivated.

HOW YA FEEL SAN DIEGO???? WE ARE ELEVATED! IN MADISON, WI.

2008-08-07T09:10:00.000-07:00

NPS 2008 Update:

The San Diego Slam Team spent another day in the poetic paradise of Madison, Wisconsin. After winning its first bout on Tuesday night, the team spent most of Wednesday getting ready for its 2nd round bout on Thursday night. We did take some time out to appreciate and support other teams competing on Wednesday night.

The bout of the night, which was the most talked about contest of the the first round, was Denver, NY-Nuyorican, Alberquerque, and Delray Beach. It was heavily attended and the teams did not disappoint the standing room only audience. The poetry was at one of the highest levels we have ever seen. Each of the teams put on strong performances in each round and the judges were hardpressed to determine the best poems of the night. At the end of the night, Denver Nuba came out on top, with Nuyoricans placing a close second.

Overall the San Diego Slam team is having a great time in Madison. It has been a thrill to meet and talk with poets from all over the world. There have been several funny moments during the team interactions. While the Hollywood and San Diego teams enjoy a close friendship, Javon Johnson is obsessed with 'clapping' on us. Rudy Francisco, from Team Hollywood (by way of San Diego), had a button made that reads, 'I am Diego'. Fortunately, the San Diego team is holding its own and wishes Team Hollywood and Rudy nothing but success because if they lose, they will have to hitch-hike home to Los Angeles. As you can see, we are having a good time in between bouts. It all makes for more fierce competition and closer ties in SoCal poetry.

Look for more updates from Madison as the team enters its 2nd round bout tonight against poetic powerhouse NY-Urbana, Boston, and Springfield.

2008-08-06T08:29:00.000-07:00

San Diego Slam Team Rises to Victory!

Last night in a small midwest town a small whisper turned into a loud roar. The San Diego Slam team let the world know that San Diego has something to say. In its first trip to the National Poetry Slam since 2001, the San Diego Slam Team enjoyed the sweet taste of victory in its first bout. Going up against very talented teams from Fayetteville, Montevallo, and Maui, the San Diego team performed four individual pieces.

With Ant Black kicking off the bout, he set the bar high, winning his round with a flawless delivery of "The Cuts." The team followed his lead, winning every round. In the second round Deacon Blair overcame the nervous jitters of a first-timer's performance in the national spotlight and performed "Mario Brothers", a brand new poem. Wowing the judges and the audience with a stellar performance of "Stars," Gill SOTU took the stage in the third round. Closing out the bout, Brian Debenedictis received the highest scores of the night for "Jack Your Mind Up."

The night was worthy of celebration and the team hooked up with the Hollywood Slam team, who placed second in their bout against NY-Urbana. It's been a good trip so far and last night made it even better. It was good for both teams to taste success in their first round bouts. Things are looking good for Southern California Poetry in Madison. Both teams are scheduled for their next bout on Thursday at 10 pm (central) and 8 pm on the left coast. Stay tuned for more updates.

Battle for Southern California-San Diego

2008-08-01T03:37:00.000-07:00

~Team San Diego defeated in 1st Annual Battle for Southern Cali~
The mic was definitely hot as Ant Black, Deacon Blair, Brian Debenedictis, and Gill SOTU (Team San Diego) defended their home turf against Team Hollywood and the SoCal A Team. It was highly competitive with Team Hollywood, represented by Paul Mabon, Aja-Monet, Javon Johnson, and Rudy Francisco, edging out the win over Team San Diego. The SoCal A Team (Jason O'neal, Jazmine, Eric Morago, and Succinct) came in a respectable third.

There were HBO Def Poets, Grand Slam Champs everywhere the eye could see, even a Nuyorican Slam Champion. This was a $20 show for the low, low price of $5 and the poets did not disappoint. The only standing ovation of the night went to Rudy Francisco and Javon Johnson from Team Hollywood for a team piece called Terrorist.

Surprise guest poet, B Young, blew the crowd away with his role reversal piece entitledQueen. The Team Hollywood coach, Slam Master, and HBO Def Poet, Shihan, even took the stage in a surprise performance. If you didn't make it out to this star-studded poetry event, ask somebody who did how it was...I promise you will be kicking yourself in the ass for the rest of the year!

You don't want to miss the 3-year anniversary show in November...it promises to be bigger than the show last night.

San Diego Slam takes holds our own at Battle for LA. Rematch is set for Thursday.

2008-07-30T05:44:00.000-07:00

Last night was the Battle for LA poetry slam at Da Poetry Lounge in Hollywood, and I'm really upset I didn't take any pictures. I don't even have any camera phone pictures. The San Diego Slam team went head to head with some of the best poets ever! That's no exaggeration. Not only did we face a Hollywood team (made up of poets who have all featured at Elevated before), but other teams included Beau Sia, Ratpack Slim, Steve Connell, Sekou tha Misfit, Azikwe, B. Yung, and so many more. San Diego held our own taking the 3rd spot out of four teams, only 2 points behind the Steve Connell and Sekou tha Misfit's team who won competition.

San Diego will have our chance at a re-match against team Hollywood, who took full advantage of their home crowd's favorable judging. Tomorrow night, Collective Purpose will host a special Elevated: The Battle for So Cal, at Eveoke Dance Theater, 9pm. Along with Hollywood and the San Diego Slam team, a special mystery team will compete. Will they be comprised of National Poetry Slam winners like the teams from last night, will they be local poets, will they be another slam team competing at nationals next week? You'll have to come out tomorrow to find out.

All of this of course is a prelude to the National Poetry Slam in Madison, Wisconsin next week. The San Diego Slam team, is in need of your support. In addition to your encouragement, we'd love to see you at the slam tomorrow night. Just by coming, you make a huge difference in helping off-set the cost of having your city represented at Nationals. We are still accepting donations to cover basic costs such as the hotel, and we can only make it with the support of the community. Even if you feel like you don't have much to donate...just coming out to Elevated tomorrow will make a huge difference! (Although I don't want to sound like I'm begging...I am)

Summer Bonfire

2008-07-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

Collective Purpose presents...

the 2nd annual

summer bonfire!

Thursday

July 24, 2008

8-10pm

at Crown Point Park

in Mission Bay

(Look for the tiki torches)

Admission is free... bring a friend!

for more information call (619) 209-8241 or

email info@collectivepurpose.org

place your mouse HERE for directions

This all got started last year when the Arts & Entertainment Center closed and we could not find an appropriate venue to have a poetry reading. We thought about canceling Elevated until we could find a venue, but some of us can't go that long without hearing some good spoken word. So we figured...why not just go to the beach? We gathered around a firepit, brought SMORES and just started sharing poetry. Before long, people started coming out with lawn chairs and blankets and really made a night out of it. People from the LA and the Inland Empire (not just Ant Black) traveled all the way down just to experience it.

Even though admission is free, this is a fundraiser for the San Diego Slam team. We'd love if you can bring some food, snacks, even barbeque if you'd like. But while you're thinking about what to bring to the beach, save a little bit to help the members of the team represent San Diego to the way our city deserves to be represented.

Political Poem Night

2008-07-03T23:15:00.001-07:00

Tonight is a truly powerful night. In honor of the 4th of July, we share our political poems exercising our right to speak in support and our concerns for the gov't, political policies, local and world issues, etc. All of the poets spoke truth tonight and the open mic was hot (as usual). Although we did not have a feature we had some incredible guest come and grace the stage.

Todd Gloria who is running for city council came in and encouraged the crowd to get involved. I enjoyed hearing him tell the crowd how much he enjoyed their poetry and would keep these words with him as he runs for office.

One of our previous featured poets, Sekou tha Misfit, dropped by with Steve Connell and Lenz. They're perforing tomorrow night at a 4th of July event on the Midway. Last year Sekou and Steve were big voices for the spoken word community in a nation wide campaign to help register voters. Sekou just released a new album and the Elevated family will be some of the first to hear it (maybe I should blog an album review of it).

Big ups to everyone who came out tonight. The energy was incredible. If you missed it...we'll see you next time. 3rd thursday- we'll be featuring the SAN DIEGO SLAM TEAM!

-Msg sent from LG Voyager

Kevin Sandbloom at Elevated tonight!

2008-06-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

Last night, Rudy and I went to LionLike MindState. We ran into Kevin Sandbloom and to make a long story short, he'll be coming through to Elevated tonight. This will be his 3rd visit and so far, every appearance has been memorable. Last time, his smooth melodies made some of the ladies holler! Listening to Sandbloom is a journey through real music and soul.

Kevin Sandbloom is a man who has one thing on his mind. Playing music. He has been doing it ever since he picked up a guitar at 16 and simultaneously fell in love with the music of Bob Marley. "All my songs sounded a little like a Marley rip-off" he says of his early pieces. They also happened to be crowd rockers, as the first band he fronted in high school, BUMP, became a local staple in his hometown Pasadena, CA. He cut his musical teeth on influences like B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Steely Dan, Prince and Sade. Of the creative culture he came up in he says, "The whole thing was to do like Bill Withers mixed with The Beatles or Parlamient meets Elvis Costello or Pink Floyd meets Steel Pulse so we were trying to mash it up from early on". It was this eclectic atmosphere that shaped his musical path as well as a local songwriter, Peter Galvin who was in a legendary band, The Bedshredders. "He showed me first hand what was possible with songs. His stuff was so advanced though he was only a few years older, my songs sounded juvenile next to his".

Fast forward to the present and Kevin's music can hardly be called childish. He is regarded in songwriter circles as an artist who operates at them top of his game. He has performed on stages from the Nuyorican Poets cafe in New York, to B.B. King's Blues Club in Los Angeles and is a fixture at music and poetry venues across the U.S. For the last five years he has been producing music at a furious pace. 4 full-length albums and an Ep under his belt, he is currently touring and promoting his latest effort, the acoustically driven "Mad Love Activate". The record documents some of the songs he has been working on over the last year and also features percussion and backing vocals by Melany Bell. Though no longer performing together, the two were touring partners for the past few years. "People were always asking for a recording that was just the two of us, and I think it turned out pretty good. The arrangements were something we developed together and I'm happy we were able to document that sound."

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2008-06-02T00:47:00.000-07:00

Mr. v.Knowledge

San Diego Slam Team and New Grand Slam Champion

2008-05-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

Last night, San Diego witnessed the crowning of a new Grand Slam Champion and the announcement of the San Diego Slam team members. The dark horse, Deacon Blair received consistently high scores from the judges and took the top honors as the San Diego Grand Slam Champion for 2008. Congratulations Deacon Blair!

Along with the Grand Slam Champion, the four top poets from last nights competition earned the right to represent SD at the National Poetry Slam in Madison, Wisconsin. Ant Black and Brian DeBenedictus who were on team San Diego last year, will make their first trip to the national competition along with Taili Lamumba Mugambi. Nikki Blak, who competed at nationals last year will make her second consecutive trip to the National Poetry Slam, this year as a member of San Diego. Rudy Francisco, who unsuccessfully defended his title as last year's Grand Slam Champion, qualified for the team, but has already committed to slam for team Hollywood.

However, the real winner of last night's competition was the San Diego poetry community. Eveoke Dance Theater was beyond capacity with people who came out to witness and support spoken word and slam poetry in San Diego. We appreciate it! Here's to representing Diego!

SLAM! San Diego

2008-05-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

The last qualifying slam for the 2008 slam season was held at Elevated on Thursday night. The mic was hot as poets from all over San Diego and a surprise poet from Los Angeles competed for the last 3 positions on roster. The judges had a difficult job pleasing the crowd and the 14 poets competing for scores and they did a great job of maintaining the balance. In the end Ms. Nikki Blak, who slammed nationally for the Hollywood Slam Team last year, took the Slam Champion title. A newcomer to the poetry scene, Succinct, took second place. Collective Purpose's own, Taili, finished third.

All three finishers qualified for the San Diego Poetry Grand Slam, which will be held on May 29, 2008 at 9 pm in the Eveoke Dance Theatre. The roster for the Grand Slam is full, with 13 poets competing for a spot on the San Diego National team. Here is the list of poets qualified for the Grand Slam:

1. Gill SOTU

2. Jason O'neal

3. Rudy Francisco

4. Viet Mai

5. Ant Black

6. Deacon Blair

7. Jro

8. Michael

9. Latasha

10. Brian DeBenedictus

11. Nikki Blak

12. Succinct

13. Taili Lamumba Mugambi

From the look of the roster, the Grand Slam is going to be a battle of the best. The top five poets will be offered a position on the San Diego Slam team and the opportunity to go to the National Poetry Slam in Madison, Wisconsin. Get there early, this show is definitely going to be standing room only.

San Diego Poetry

Grand Slam@ELEVATED!

May 29, 2008 @ 9 pm

Eveoke Dance Theatre

2811 University Ave (in North Park)

$5 @ the Door

Moving the Movement!

2008-05-17T09:18:00.000-07:00

Last night members of Collective Purpose blew the roof off of the Marina Village Conference Center. Ant Black, Kendrick Dial, and Rudy Francisco performed at the Center for Social Adovcacy Annual Dinner before a crowd of about 200 social activists, politicians, public officials, and community members. The performance included You Shoulda Been There, The Movement, and My Poem is Pissed. All three pieces challenge the state of society, the lack of consciousness, and the need for more activism. By the end of their performance the crowd was on their feet cheering and asking for more.

The highlight of the night was Ant Black's dedication of a tribute poem to Ms. Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farmworkers Union. Ms. Huerta, who provided a rousing and challenging keynote address at the dinner, was moved to tears. The poem, which told the story her life through sacrifice, struggle, and hope, came on the heels of her appearance at the Encanto Street Fair in 2007 when Collective Purpose was asked to do an introductory performance on the spur of the moment. Ant Black reported to the audience that he felt like the introduction was not appropriate for the contributions Ms. Huerta made to the movement and American society. He said that this time he wanted to give her an introduction that lived up to her place in history and her contributions to the world. He wrote the poem just before the dinner started. After the performance she embraced Ant Black with a heartfelt hug of appreciation.

The Center for Social Advocacy (formerly the Heartland Human Relations) is the oldest social justice agency in San Diego County. Their focus is on Fair Housing, Immigrant Issues, and Civil Rights.

If you missed Elevated tonight

2008-05-16T02:02:00.001-07:00

Tonight was a real hot night. IN-Q made the night with a hot feature. The energy was live from the moment he stepped on the stage until the movement he got off. If you were not there, you missed yoga aerobics, pirates, and his lost virginity...but the ladies wanted to know why he didn't do the hair flip- whats up with that?

This was also the final slam before the SAN DIEGO GRAND SLAM. Nikki Blak came through and destroyed the slam! She killed it with two monster pieces and will be competing for a spot on the San Diego Slam Team.

I also wanted to shout out Judy Holiday who came down from LA. And it was good to see some folks who ran venues and helped lay the foundation for San Diego spoken word. Elena from Brujas y Bellas and Scotch one of the founders of Reverb. Oh yeah, and I've gotta give it up to my cousin Devaughn who's back from DC. He closed the night with a dope piece.

Look to the right and there's 30 seconds of Elevated. It's a piece done by..well take a guess. Hint: He's in the collective.

-=AB

-Msg sent from LG Voyager

Mobile & Interactive Updates

2008-05-13T16:15:00.001-07:00

Blogging our website allows us to have some exciting new features. One of the most exciting is mobile updates and instant media. Now we can update the site with information and media as soon as it happens!

For example, I just got an e-mail from our feature last week, Sekou tha Misfit. He said the energy was incredible last week! Elevated is one of his favorite spots on the west coast.

Did you notice the video next to Sekou's name? Hover your mouse over the video or the name and see what happens. There's media like this all over the page. We'll be updating the site after (and during) every show with pictures, video, even news articles.

See you Thursday!

Happy Birthday Jackie & Jessica

May 15, IN-Q & San Diego Slam

2008-05-12T23:58:00.000-07:00

This week is the last chance to qualify for the San Diego Slam team. If you'd like to get in on the action, make sure you're there at 9pm to sign up. Also we've got an incredible feature

IN-Q

IN-Q has been a featured poet on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, ABC’s Eye on LA, and NBC’s Living Large. He wrote and performed 5 poetry commercials for Nickelodeon and a hip hop song for Wendy’s Skill Drill Giveaway. He is a 5 time Hollywood Slam Team member and 2007’s “Grand Slam Champion”. He was also part of the team that won the National Poetry Championships in Saint Louis in 2004. This same year IN-Q opened up for Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers at LA’s Campaign Fundraiser to support the Senate. IN-Q won the Urban Graffiti Contest (a pilot filmed for Warner Brothers) and The Sunkiss competition, sponsored by Power 106. He has been a regular at DA Poetry Lounge, Fly Poets Showcase, and done numerous spot dates around the country. For the last four years he has been teaching poetry to Upward Bound students in Long Beachand Art Share students in Downtown L.A.