2011 Dallas Slam Team @ Deep Ellum Market
2011 Dallas Slam Team @ Deep Ellum Market
When: Saturday June 18th, 2011
Where: Main Stage, Indiana at Malcom X
WordSpace and Deep Ellum Market are proud to present the 2011 Dallas Poetry Slam Team as they warm up for their National competitions. Congratulations to Jersey, LGB, Rage Almighty, Rob D.
Jersey: In August of 1985, Atlantic City, New Jersey birthed a man who is becoming known as the incomparable, inimitable, matchless poet of his generation. Entering into the Spoken Word realm in late 2009, William “Jersey” Daughtry quickly swept away audiences locally with his authenticity and exceptional creativity. Though just a rookie, many can’t help but to see him as a distinguished artist. His passion for writing, and reactions from those patrons around him, influenced his commencement into the poetry world. Now that he is here, there is no turning back. His intricate history, passion, affection and complex personality give origin to poems his audience is sure to remember. His genuine spirit and charm provides his onlookers with a sense of inspiration, hope, and a desire to want to hear more. As an up and coming poet, William Jersey Daughtry has seen a numerous amount of victories in slams across the state, claiming victory for more the half of competitions he’s been in, it’s not hard to tell he is well on his way to become a world renowned victor. Although a winner in many areas, he shows through his humility and his faith in God that there is much more growth that is yet to come. Being talented in so many areas brings forth much hard work and expectation, but this chef, poet, father, son, brother, as well as friend to many is well on his way to showing the World how brightly a star can shine through his allocation of words.
LGB is a spoken word artist that was born and raised in New Orleans. He burst on the open mic scene in the year 2000 performing at one of New Orleans most historic open mic venues, Ebony Square. As other venues opened up in the New Orleans area such as True Brew Cafe, Rhythm City and The Hard Rock Cafe, LGB routinely performed at different locations around the city. His hardcore gritty street style with a mixture of comedy and clever metaphors quickly made LGB a household name. He went on to win several talent shows and open mic competitions with in the same year.
In 2001, 2002 and 2003, he was a member of the first ever New Orleans National Slam Team which competed in Seattle, Minnesota, Memphis and Chicago. In 2003, he was ranked 34Th in the Nation and helped the slam team rank in the top 10 at the National Poetry Slam. In 2010, he was the Dallas Poetry Grand Slam Champion and a member of the 2010 Dallas National Poetry Slam Team which ranked as one of the top 20 teams in the nation and advanced to the semifinals of the national poetry slam which was held in St.Paul Minnesota. LGB was also a member of the 2011 Dallas National Slam team. He was also crowned the Verbal Assault Poetry Champion after placing first in a competition held by Brooklyn’s Jazz Cafe. LGB a.k.a. Beezy also was given the nickname Ghetto Poet for his raw, hold no punches, street style poetry.
In 2005 after Hurricane Katrina, he relocated to Dallas TX. After getting situated in the Dallas area, he graced a few open mic spots before a two year lay off. Beezy then re-emerged on the open mic scene in the summer of 2008 performing at Sankofa’s Arts Cafe, Brooklyn’s Jazz Cafe and many other venues in the Dallas area. Since his return he has won several slams and talent competitions quietly making a name for his self in the DFW. LGB is currently working on his 4Th poetry/spoken word CD after recently releasing his 3rd album titled Poetic Thoughts of LGB. He has shared the stage with many of poetry’s powerhouses such as Sunni Patterson and Talaam Acey just to name a few. As one poet in Dallas stated, where would LGB rank if he competed and performed on a regular basis, we are about to find out!
Rage Almighty (A YouTube sensation) offers a new approach to spoken word through clever rhyme, rant and rich lyrics saturated in satire, social commentary and hip wisdom. To captivate and engage the audience during a performance, he mixes powerful wordplay with his academically trained acting abilities coupled with a unique sense of humor. Not fitting into any category of poetry, versatile is a word commonly used to describe his creative style which has been noted to be as bold as his name.
Rage has shared his straightforward verbal skills in legendary venues such as Erykah Badu’s Black Forest Theater, the African American Museum in Dallas and the famous Nuyorican Poets Café. He has also performed at engagements featuring hip hop duo/activists Dead Prez; Atlanta’s rapper TI; R&B songstress Chrisette Michele; Philadelphia’s own Kindred Family Soul and world renowned rap group Brand Nubian including community activist and leader Chairman Fred Hampton Jr.
From live performances to his popular “mixtapes,” Rage Almighty is definitely one of poetry’s divine omnipotent forces.
Rob D is a highly forgettable poet, who sometimes writes memorable poetry to inspire others to critically think and understand their surroundings. Although unremarkable in appearance, Rob D has been a member of three consecutive Dallas Slam teams, competing nationally amongst the top poets in the world. Nobody quite knows where Rob D comes from; some say he was raised by wolves, others believe he is a ninja. Suffice it to say, they are correct.
Hosted by Rock Baby and Alexandra Marie
