What exactly is a spoken word artiste?
A person who gives a live performance with rhythm, singing and music to support that. You seem to incorporate a wide range of music into your work. Are there any styles of music or poetry, which are particularly inspirational to you? I’ve been influenced by my travels and working with South African musicians. Similarly, people such as Stevie Wonder have influenced me. Music is a big part of my life. I am also pretty open-minded. There are artistes who set standards for me such as the poet Marie Angelou, who is really accessible and easy to enjoy. I also like Gil Scott-Heron and Sonny Francese for their delivery, political awareness and conviction. Do you always prepare your poetry or do you (as in rap music) ever freestyle? I tend to be quite prepared. I like to do a mix and blend of poetry. As my career grows my repertoire gets broader. There has been a big change in my writing I will be able to pull off anything as I mature. I’ve written stories for radio. So poetry is not all I do.
