Since 1998, POEM-CEES have combined rhyme, prose and community activism to emerge at the cutting edge of the vibrant Washington, DC Arts Movement. Naturalaw-dp & Black Picassos talents were forged in the crucible of the spoken word movement; as founding members of the now defunct Generation 2000 poetry collective, they toured and performed at colleges and universities as well as recorded songs for BET & Emerge magazines nationally distributed Strength of a Woman cd. Invitations to open for such acts as the Roots, the Fugees and the Last Poets led to the addition of DJ Stylus and the band, and thus the lean and mean POEM-CEES unit was formed. The year 2000 brought forth their debut album, I.O.U. Street, a whirlwind tour through the open mic, hip-hop, drum & bass, and funk scenes along DCs historic U Street corridor.
The Spring 2003 release of Paranoia continued the POEM-CEES tradition of pushing the boundaries of contemporary hip-hop music. Conceived prior to the 9/11 tragedies, Paranoia avoids clichés yet remains amazingly prescient by focusing on the various manifestations of paranoia in our lives. From casual conversations on cold feet in a relationship (SIWBY) to hilariously extreme outbursts & episodes ("Cheatin on Me" & "Fat White Men in Suits") the Paranoia project runs the gamut of emotions, ultimately standing as the rarest of the rare: a well-executed, non-self indulgent concept record that may be digested in segments or as a whole (translation: its a very, very good cd).
The past five years have seen NatLaw, Pic! & Stylus grow as artists, as people, & as businessmen, having released their 3 Piece/Extra Mambo Series and launched SPP WAXWORKS together with their comrades Storm the Unpredictable & Priest da Nomad. Now 2008 will bring them right back to the forefront with their newest CD release "EVERYTHING YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED" and their legendary live performances that showcase their strengths - making good music and telling the common story in uncommon ways.
VOTE FOR POET BAR for PHOENIX BEST 2008 in the following categories:
BEST BAR CONCEPT BEST BAR/CLUB NIGHT BEST VENUE FOR NATIONAL ACTS BEST VENUE FOR LOCAL ACTS BEST BAR FOR CONVERSATION BEST PLACE TO BE SEEN and Special Write-In Category: BEST SPOKEN WORD & POETRY
Thanks for the approval homie. Take a proverbial walk with us through green, orange, yellow and brown words and sounds. Surround yourself with the leaves of spokenword and neosoul. Dare to loose yourself in the crisp feeling of Autumn Daze.
Paths cross and bridges grow, no doubt, Meanwhile, you might want to know what This Slamophone trip is about.
It all started with the idea Poetry's too live, too diverse, each syllable - unsellable, every ephemerical verse being too fierce to be coerced Speech is the one right we have left Tongue slamming, spinning, tables turning, and France cannot be left for deaf.
So with a camera in hand, we've taken the country by storm videalistic is the spirit, originality the norm. We started out with 50 vids, now we are up to 360, from Montreal down to Marseille, from Pointe-à-Pitre to Gai Paree.
Take any door and come on in. Be curious, you will be served : 360 clips around our way, 360 clicks around the word …
Shit ain't the same since Alpo snitched on Wayne Back 2 DC where the strippers sniff cocaine Niggas'll split yo brains, heroin addicts tryna hit those veins And the politicians get no blame Back 2 serial arsons and city snipers The kid behind me's actin' pretty hyper plus he got a shitty diaper With a nasty smell, leavin' New York where I seen cousin Raphael Also Oginga and Miguel I see 2 men talkin', 2 fat bitches hawkin' and gawkin' Aztect Planets in my walkman This Greyhound is dirty, the windows in this bitch ain't sturdy Spanish mami actin' kinda flirty What the fuck is U lookin' at U fish-faced faggot? I think this muhfukka got guns in his jacket Should go 2 Oklahoma with my Moms and my brother God damn, I see detonator bombs in his cover He looked like an Iraqi hijacker So I tackled his ass like a linebacker and showed him I'm a nine packer B4 he could move, I threw his bombs out the window And made sho I kept the firearm 2 his temple His plans was 2 crash the bus thru The White House Those 2 fat bitches threw him down, stomped his lights out Everybody on the bus started kickin' him This old lady pulled out her walkin' stick on him 3 Coke bottle dime models just swayed thru and said "Hey Boo" Multiple Man U saved us, how can we ever re-pay U......
