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BLACK
POETRY
New Album of HANIFAH WALIDAH aka SHÄ-KEY
(from the BROOKLYN FUNK ESSENTIAL), produced by EARL BLAIZE
(from ANTIPOP CONSORTIUM),
featuring the poets
SAUL WILLIAMS,
MUM'S (from OZ serie),
NIMFLO NINE
& SKAMZ.
www.trustlife.net
HANIFAH WALIDAH
Discovered in 1994 as SHÄ-KEY in her astonishing album « A Headnadda’s Journey to Adidi Skizm » (Imago rec.), Hanifah already shoes a vocal and performance style that is rooted in the midnight of blues, the backrooms of house, the silent moments of soul and the unshaken will of hip-hop.
In the early 90's she spearheaded and laid the foundation for the hip-hop poetic revolution in New York with collectives Vibe Khameleons and The Boom Poetic (mainly at the Nuyorican Café) joined later on by The Roots, Rahzel « the Human Beat Box » and those who will form Anti-Pop Consortium (DJ Earl Blaize & MCs Priest, Sayyid & Beans).
In 95, after the demised of her contract with Imago, she goes on tour with the Vibe Khameleon and then the Brooklyn Funk Essential with whom she’ll stay for 6 years, recording 3 albums. Meanwhile, she also records with Alex Kid (« Bienvenue » / F-COM) and appears in the compilation « Connected » (3-2-1 Rec.).
Along with music, she develops her skills as a comedian, revealing a great talent, as testifies her last one-woman show: « Black Folks Guide to Black Folks », where she describes characteristic « cats » from her neighborhood.
Writing (above all), singing, rapping, dancing & acting are those many expressions Hanifah Walidah handles with sensitiveness and determination to show off the tribulations of the afro-american people.
ADIDI – THE UNROCKED STORY
Keeping up with the themes evocated in their shinning album “A Headnadda’s Journey to Adidi Skizm”, Hanifah Walidah (aka Shä-Key) & Earl Blaize offer us a mini-opera counting the quest of the real hip-hop roots.
Each fondamental element of the hip-hop culture is developed :
- the original beat, the heart, the pulsation
- body movement, dancing arts
- writing, the power of the words, preaching
- the image, the graff, public and direct expression
- and the spirit, gathering all the individualities
They come on stage as characters of the journey such artists-poets as :
- Saul Williams, powerful preacher deeply engaged (as testifies his single « Not in our name »), soundscape composer for his own flow (cf his album « Amethyst Rock Star »), he also published various poetic books (some of them being studied in US universities) and directed the movie « Slamnation »
- muMs the schemer, writer, actor, poet and MC, he appears with Eryka Badu, The Roots, Saul Williams, the Last Poets, and on screen, under the direction of Tom Fontana (for the HBO’s OZ serie), Martin Scorcese (« Bringing out the dead »), Spike Lee (« Bamboozled »), and in the documentary « Slamnation ».
- Nimflo Nine, poet from New York
- Skamz, MC from MiamiEarl Blaize compositions hold the MCs flow in atmospheres either groove, electro or rock, with all the subtlety which defines his style, as we noticed in his diverses collaborations (Antipop Consortium, Rahzel, KRS-One, Priest, muMs, …).
LYRICS
www.saulwilliams.com
www.sirmumsila.com