It is not finished

First things first (I’m the realest),

Thank you Abba Daddy for teaching me how to love, think, talk and blessing me with the ability to put it all together in 3 minutes.

Y’all I am the first runner-up of the FCNPS 2018 and I did it with a Jesus piece!

I wanna talk about two things real quick: Growth and Support.

Growth-  I’ve been using my slam track record as a marker for development as an artist/ human (not recommended for the weak). Why? Because the National Poetry Slam is an ancient God that demands human sacrifice. She takes everything from you. What is required is not just your absolute best as a poet but inventiveness, resilience and straight up HARD WORK.

My game plan is simple, every single year… do better. ‘Better’ may not always be reflected in the results but certainly in the process and quality of your pieces.  Check it,

2015– I auditioned and made it to semifinals (poems were mediocre, got a few chuckles and ‘good jobs”). 

2016– Made it straight up to finals and placed 2nd! Though my poems were complete flames I felt unfulfilled and so did a lot of people who knew what they were talking about. (Follow the link to check out my semis and finals pieces)

2017– MASHUP SEMIS, wrote my first honest poem for finals. Looking back, it’s at this stage, audiences started seeing pass my brazen humor and a real community of people who believed in me and my work began to form.

2018– I topped semifinals and placed 2nd for the second time! Hundreds of people all over the country, students, fellow poets, family and fans (I guess) genuinely rooted for me. I’m talking social media posts, prayers, posters with my face on it, gifts and just straight up positive words of affirmation. Check out my semifinals poem here.

This, my friends/enemies is the reason I am at peace with placing second because above it all…… I have grown.

For the above mentioned, I’d like to mention the one above (#poet),

Support- God, I’m not sure if you read my blogs but I am so grateful. I have seen your face in Ashlee Burnett, the entire 2 Cents Team, my camp family, my actual family, TENOFUS, Freetown Collective, CAISO TT, Rio West Tribe, Chance The Rapper, and meh Grandmother and meh Mother who never see me perform spoken word till 2018 finals.

Mad respect to all the poets who touched the slam stage this year and for the people who seem to have traded their brains for a loud mouth, screaming, “slam was rigged”,

Ah comin for alyuh next.