“A story of poetry, graffiti, and medicine for all you who have ever felt abused by discourses so damaging and boring, when what we need is beauty.”

Cuban-Jamaican, Brooklyn born, Paris-based. Poet, activist, teacher, Aja Monet’s beautiful, inspiring video with Cam Be.

New video from Australian poet Omar Musa. “A beautiful moment of clarity I experienced in Amsterdam.” Only two minutes of your time, a meditation from a rapper with a tender heart.

Just dropped from Benin City, video by Charlie Behrens and free downloads of new single My Love:

Just found this, hot track! (thanks to Groovalizacion for the heads-up on this album tonight!) Trinidad-born, UK-based poet Anthony Joseph (featured in last December’s Caribbean-flavoured La Danza Poetica) collaborates with Andrea Benini (Italy/Berlin) and Mop Mop, funk/afro/jazz/Italo band.

Please take some moments to watch this. This is more than spoken word ‘artistry’ – though there is such artistry in this, such command of the art of storytelling by this Canadian poet and such incredible animated emotion by many different artists. But this is more than art. This is the best example of why storytelling is one of our most necessary crafts, as well as one of our most powerful healers…

“São blogueiros, escritores, cantores, dançarinos, atores / Djs, médicos, artistas plástico, palhaços, cineastas de guerrilha.Poetas / Porque a palavra não tem fronteira.”

I’ve been remiss in not linking to this, a video dropped in November. Melbourne-based spoken word artists Luka Lesson and Omar Musa in Istanbul transcending, produced by Tenicee. 

Out of Vancouver, Tanya Evanson brings her third ‘spoken wor.l.d’ music album exploring concepts of family, mythology, dialect, silence & technology…

Take some time to listen to Mutombo Da Poet, from the city of Accra in Ghana West Africa. 

The artists formerly known as the Belfast Poets who kicked down some great poetic collaborations in Melbourne way back when … Scream Blue Murmur are now kicking poetry around inside musical grooves and it’s really cool to hear these artists pushing their form so decisively.