Hip-Hop and Spoken Word are like two sides of the same LP.
All one have to do is listen to Gil Scott Heron or The Last Poets, and they would clearly see the thread between those poets and rappers like Kendrick and Nas. It is the rhythmic recitation of a beat- the drum, the dj or the sample that separates the two (or does it)?
On Saturday, April 21st, The Source magazine celebrates National Poetry Month by co-hosting the Hip-Hop & Poetry, Words Showcase and Open Mic at The Nuyorican Poets Café at 236 E. 3rd St.
If you have bars, a gifted pen or just a magnetic personality that spits that fly sh*t that people want to hear, then come down and touch the legendary Nuyorican Café.
The Nuyorican Poets Café has been a cultural icon on New York’s Lower East Side since 1973, where it provided platform for Puerto Rican and Latino poets. It was founded in the East Village apartment of writer, poet, and Rutgers University professor Miguel Algarín and his co-founders Miguel Piñero, Bimbo Rivas and Lucky Cienfuegos. In the 90’s, it took a different shift and became a destination for some of Hip-Hop’s most gifted lyricists.
Rocky Presents & The Nuyorican Poets Cafe are hosts to the longest running Hip-Hop open mics in New York City. These shows have a history of launching the careers of many well-known performers as well as providing a venue for up-and-coming artists to try out new material. This Hip-Hop Poetry, Words Showcase and Open Mic has featured Company Flow, Canibus, Mos Def, M.C. Search, Willie Perdomo, Reg E. Gaines, Danny Hoch, Saul Williams, muMS the schemer, and Suheir Hammad, among others. In fact when Russell Simmons launched his hit HBO show, Def Poetry Jam, many of these poets were scooped right from this scene.
Will you be the next? Come through and test you skills… or just come through and enjoy the set.
