A.I.
A.I.
When: Friday November 18th, 2011
Where: Heroes, 7402 Greenville
A remarkable poet, emcee, photographer and leader in the community, A.I is only beginning to make her mark. Not even twenty-one years old, A.I. has already accomplished a great deal. A few of these achievements include qualifying for the 2011 Dallas Poetry Slam Team, becoming the 2011 Austin They Speak Youth Slam Champ, performing at the 6th Annual Minority Mentorship Symposium (Texas Relays), releasing her first spoken word CD entitled “Antisocial Butterfly” in February 2011, and her first mixtape, “intricate misfit.” in August of 2011.
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A.I. was born Aisha Tiara White, on August 8, 1991 in Dallas, Texas. A.I. has had it rough; growing up in the inner city with a wrongfully imprisoned father, a mother struggling to make ends meet, and siblings who were rarely there for her. The impact this has made on her is great. She describes her struggle in this quote, saying “I’m from nothing, so from it I made something.” Though A.I has faced many hardships during her childhood and adolescence, mentors such as Natasha Carrizosa, Ebony Stewart, and Juliann Faucette have been able to help her through and rise above her circumstances.
While attending David W. Carter High School, A.I. was introduced to Creative Solution’s Literary Society (LIT), which would become an outlet to develop her passion for writing. LIT is a program founded by Darius Frasure aiming to promote visual and performing arts at Carter High as well as the surrounding community. This would prove to be extremely powerful and influential. The program introduced A.I. to the under 21 open mic at Daverse Lounge; this is where she found her love for performing. In addition to exploring poetic endeavors, A.I.’s pursuit of music in conjunction with Small Time Losers Entertainment (STL) started here. STL’s aim was to artistically generate a monumental impact on the world while maintaining small time humility. Using her own experiences as well as musical influences ranging from Marshall Mathers to Lauryn Hill, it was here that A.I began making music.
Although A.I decided to take a year off from her performance career, in order to learn more about herself and the world, her first year at the University of Texas at Austin, proved to be a very productive one. During her second year at the university, A.I started performing again. In fact, since then and most recently, she has performed, competed, and hosted at a number of venues across the state of Texas (including Dallas, Houston, and other major cities). A.I has served and performed as a member of The Cipher: Austin’s Hip Hop Project and performed and at the 14th Annual Brave New Voices International Poetry Festival in the San Francisco/Bay area, where she placed 3rd (out of 50) in the MC Olympics and her team made it to the semi-finals. The Austin They Speak team was still asked to showcase a poem, conceptualized and co-written by A.I. on final stage. Additionally, A.I. became the founder of LiveLife Entertainment. LiveLife is a production company working to utilize abilities in the arts to produce, promote, and inspire creativity and positive outlets especially for inner-city youth. LiveLife also aspires to promote individuality, integrity and to combat the destructive aspects of society. “Define your own fresh” is the company’s signature motto.
Currently, A.I. is keeping herself busy working as a freelance photographer as well as completing new music and poetry projects, to follow up Antisocial Butterfly and Intricate. She is now studying Mass Communications and Theatre at Prairie View A&M University. Not only is she a full time student, but A.I continues her career as a spoken word artist and emcee to spread truth and light to her community and the world.
Co-Hosted by Alexandra Marie and RockBaby
