Double Slam Champ - curious

BBRRAAAP! curious adds another title to his name claiming a spot in the 2011 London Slam Finals.

Monday night saw the Green Note Cafe in Camden play host to a small but perfectly formed audience for Hammer&Tongue's final foray of 2010. The numbers may have been reduced but the vibes were big, fat and heavy in the place. World Slam champion and Yuke/Glok rockers Ian & Brad from Canada repped the North Americas hard with their folk/rap/poetry combos. Sick flows, deep content and a healthy splash of irreverence made this a hit with all that braved the 'Canadian' climate to reach.

Also, Captain of the Rant (Paul Case) rocked a tight and, dare I say, romantic set of poems that warmed the cockles of even the most cynical slam goers. Add to this mix, Michelle Madsen, Sophia Blackwell and a fine selection of slammers and December's Hammer&Tongue may have just sneaked the 'poetry jam of the year' award in the home straight.

Big shout to Angry Sam, Michelle Madsen, Sophia Blackwell and the Green Note crew for housing, hosting, 'promoting' and performing at, the best poetry night in London and bringing the art to the (mostly middle class, academic, affluent) masses.

NEWS: H&T National Finals featuring curious will be held in January at a London venue. More info when it exists...peaCe

Grind Time - Stainless vs Nameless

High class battling with some sickly tricky punchlines...

Future Movement - interview for The Artruists

I was lucky enough to get this clip shot by Lara Akinnawo for her blog, The Artruists. Follow the link to her site and read the interview that accompanies this poem. This piece talks about the ridiculous state of our political institutions. Enjoy.

Big thanks to Lara.

Wordamouth - Old to the New

BIG LOVE to everyone who came down to Wordamouth on 22nd November. The jam might not have been packed but the mic was busy all night. The enigmatic straight talk of Tim Wells was counter-pointed nicely by Charlie Dupre's rhythmic onslaughts and Swing-hop spitting. The open mic was live as usual. Stand-out for me was Nathan Guessask's tale of incarceration, but a shout goes out to Richard Marsh; Chip Grimm; Hayley Stevens and Catherine for representing lovely.

Here's the pics:

curious

Charlie Dupre

Tim Wells

Hayley Stevens

Richard Marsh

Chip Grimm

Catherine

Nathan Guessask

Still to come in 2010 is the Wordamouth New Years Hold Up at The Live Room on 29th December. Great line up for this one with, hip-hop spokenword supremo HKB Finn bringing his own brand of vibes; Paul Case aka Captain of the Rant will be spitting his use fire of satire and Prisoner turned poet, Chris Syrus brings his own guitarist to the party to get the party started with some positive movements. The mic will be open as ever, with the added bonus of a dj on stage for the MCs who want to drop on a beat or for those that just want to get their jam on...

2011 - Look out for more spoken word from Wordamouth as we plan a move out of North London towards a more central location as well as getting down with plans to set a sister night up in Birmingham, courtesy of Wordamout family member, Hayley Stevens. Nothing is finalised yet, but there's big ting a gwan for Wordamouth in the New Year, stay aware. peaCe

That's the true blue tune that's tooting...

I compiled this in anger at Sky News' reporting of students protesting in Parliament square today as 'just idiots', performing what a Metropolitan Police spokeswoman described as, 'wanton acts of violence'. A little historical research could have better informed their expectations...

1910

1936

1959

1981

1985

1990

2010

The true blue reality of Conservative politics in Britain.

curious: Announce The Sound

Also linked to last post, I got a new video clip up on YouTube. Its got 100 in the first week which is serious for me. If you haven't checked it yet, do so and leave me a comment on the YouTube page. PeaCe.

Human Writes Open Mic Champ!!

Went down to this event and rocked the open mic. Brought home the crown for North Weezy! Going to be doing more work with the Restless Beings, no doubt. It was nice to be rocking a hiphop crowd too. Big!!