Monthly Archives: April 2011

The Spoken World is a special evening of poetry from Ghana, Zimbabwe and Denmark.

Date: April 14, 2011
Venue: Dass Restaurant
Time: 7-10:30pm
Tickets: Kshs 300

Louise Cain, Sir Black and Outspoken are in town for some workshops in some Nairobi schools, but made time to share their words and thoughts with Nairobi’s poetry community.

There’s an Open Mic to reserve a place Call 0728 026735.

For Spoken Word artists who’d also like to have a chat with the guests catch them at Dass from 5pm

ABOUT THE POETS::
Louise Cain combines the word and the stage. She has explored poetry slam for the last four years, but is also involved in various other performing art projects. The stage is her home and she casts herself in many different roles, both on and behind the stage. She attacks and masters the words, alone or together with other artists. In her grip words are combined and intertwined in new ways in a landscape of irony and humour, where surprise and reason challenge each other. Louise Cain is a performer and a poet, who masters words and manages to exude and delegate power.
www.louisecain.dk

Sir Black is a multi-genre artist. He is a singer-poet, a creative writer, visual artist, social commentator, a culture activist and a dramatist. He calls his performances EHALAKASA meaning talk singing or songs of talk. He also is a visual artist who creates symbols influenced by Akan icons that he calls PANOPTIC ARTLOSOPHY- it is an art of drawing symbols that tell a philosophical message. PANOPTIC ARTLOSOPHY. He plays traditional music, which he plays on unconventional wood instruments. He has recorded three albums, two of poetry and one of music.
http://www.modernghana.com/news/179897/1/the-man-black-with-many-parts.html

Outspoken the alpha I is an underground emcee and spoken-word artist from Zimbabwe and is one half of the hiphop duo Dialectric Blue with rhyme partner Upmost a.k.a My Bruthaz Keepa. Known as Outspoken Alpha Intellect (pronounced eye-ntellect), he is an activist in social movements advocating for the empowerment of the Zimbabwean masses and “busts socially relevant issues in a positive-projected mind state.” He is also the frontman of his band, Outspoken and the Essence.

Outspoken is a projects facilitator for Magamba! The Cultural Activist Network, an organization created to fight social and political injustice through the spoken-word events. He has held skills sharing workshops in schools and has been a hiphop mentor in Harare for the British Council program, Power in the Voice.

He has performed at numerous Zimbabwean arts festivals and has shared stages with greats such as Pops Mohammed, Kwani Experiance, Likwid Flo, Tamika Harper, Imani Woomera, Comrade Fatso and Chabvondoka, Cajus, Bianca Williams, Kabomo, Soul Dada, amongst others.

Outspoken has toured the East Coast of the United States with his band, performing with K’naan, Poetic Pilgrimage, Wagable, Mohammed Yahya, Self Sufice, Baay Musa and Nomadic Wax African Underground All Stars.

He has started his South African tour with a performance in Johannesburg at the Bassline dubbed Make Some Noise! A Campaign for Freedom in Zimbabwe. He has also performed at The Darling Festival, Highway Africa in Grahamstown, the Arts Alive Festival, and Speak The Mind in Cape Town.
www.myspace.com/outspokenthealphai