Spoken Word Apex
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center
Experience a transformative performance poetry concert encompassing a visual performance artist, dj, live band and many of the world’s top spoken word artists: Taalam Acey, K-Love the Poet, Narubi Selah, Ed Mabrey, Mr. Food4Thought, RADI, Kween Moore, Obbie West, Georgia Me, Positive Gunter, Black Chakra, and James C. Ellerbe.
Taalam Acey, with his 17 albums and 8 books, is considered the “Godfather” of Spoken Word’s digital age. Acey has been featured at the Essence Music Festival and the Black Congressional Caucus. He has won awards in the US, UK and Germany, and his work has been covered on BET, the Documentary Channel, TV One and two Sundance Award winning films.
K-Love is one of the most viral poets of our time. Few other Spoken Word artists have garnered her level of social media celebrity, internet influence and live emotional impact.
Narubi Selah has written and co-directed plays as well as starred in a number of off-Broadway productions. She was the first NJ Poetry Slam grand champion and her work has been featured on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, New Jersey Network (NJN) and at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans.
Ed Mabrey is an Emmy nominated actor and the most winningest poet in the history of poetry slam, earning several world championships and hundreds of other slam wins. Mabrey has been featured on ABC, FOX, HBO, CNN and TV One.
Oshea Luja, creatively known as MrFood4Thought, is an acclaimed poet, spoken word artist, and cultural architect, captivating audiences for over two decades with his profound expressions. Honoring the legacy of greats such as the Watts Prophets, The Last Poets, Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, and Kamau Daaood, he has bestowed lifetime achievement awards upon each of them at his production he founded in 2007, StillWaters.
RADI is an artist and award-winning writer specializing in spoken word & slam poetry. Her work covers topics such as Civil rights, body positivity, sex positivity, colorism, sexism and more, all while reflecting her real life experiences as a proud Black Fat Lesbian. She reigns as the 4x Poetry Slam Champion & now Coach of one of the top ranked Poetry Slam Team in the Nation; New Jeru Slam Team.
Curator, Interdisciplinary Artist, Poet and Arts Educator, Kween Moore, leads a life dedicated to the arts and its communal impact. As a Cooperative Arts & Humanities Magnet High graduate, with a B.A. in Art Therapy Psychology from Albertus Magnus College, Moore serves Newark and surrounding communities through creative arts programming, poetry, performance art and visual arts with specific content for all creatives.
Edward Wilson, a.k.a. Obbie West is an international spoken word artist, advocate, and author. Originally from Los Angeles, California. Edward is a retiree from the United States Army. He began writing in 2011 and later published his first acclaimed book of poetry entitled “Blossom.” He travels the world as an educator, trainer, and speaker using poetry to tackle tough topics such as sexual violence, prevention, and awareness.
Tamika “Georgia Me” Harper is a proud “Ghetto Belle” and decorated verbal powerhouse known for starring in Russell Simmons’ Tony Award winning, “Def Poetry Jam on Broadway” and appearing in the box-office favorite, “Madea Goes to Jail.”
Positive Gunter is a living example; not expert on life. Transforming her life experiences into performance art, poetry, and wisdom as she redefines what it means to grow. It is her daily intention to plant a seed of consciousness within every person that she encounters. Encouraging them to turn their shame into shine and reclaim the authority over their time and mind.
Black Chakra is a spoken word and hip-hop artist whose talents have been showcased on stages across America. He has been a national poetry slam champion, Texas Grand Slam champion, 4 Time Southern Fried slam champion, Rustbelt Slam Champion, Black Arts Matter Slam Champion, Exit 36 Slam Champion, and a plethora of others too long to list.
James C. Ellerbe is a New Jersey native and resident along with his wife. The couple own Not Enough Words LLC founded in 2014. He has appeared on BET’s Buy The Book and Showtime at the Apollo showcase. He has also conducted workshops on writing poetry and self-publishing for students (and future authors). He is also the founder of NJPoetryEvents.com –a central hub for poetry events, festivals, and workshops in NJ.
DJ Doughboy has toured Africa, Europe and Mexico (with some of the most popular names in the music industry) and been featured on BET, MTV and Showtime. He also holds a B.S. in Television and Radio Broadcasting Communications from Fairleigh Dickinson University and spins for 50 million listeners on Music Choice.
https://www.njpac.org/event/spoken-word-apex-2/
