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What’s in a name? Poet Yaw Kyeremateng reveals the depths and impact of colonialism seen through a West African lens during “Threads and Lines.” We review our former guest Meccmorphosis during the ‘2 Piece Combo’ giving her high praise before Dan literally laughs out loud at the #poetry piece. Yaw brings a soft & sweet landing to the ‘5 For Ya Eye’ Prompted poem leaving the clique breathless.
[EPISODE INDEX (VIDEO)]
- 0:38 – “The Name is YAW- Get it Right” -Yaw Kyeremateng
- 4:12 – “Threads and Lines”
- 18:22 – 2 Piece Combo | “Duck You Auto Correct” -Meccamorphosis
- 30:43 – 2 Piece Combo | @hischosenone_
- 41:50 – 5 For Your Eye
The first time I met him, I was hit with his strong accent and always impeccable attire; I was immediately intrigued by Yaw Kyeremateng. Later that night I’d watch with amazement as he spit a poem about Emmett Till, not only hitting all of the performance high marks I hold for poets but also using his talent for captivating an audience to teach them something about themselves and the reality of the world they live in. He left the room amazed, and watching a black man from Africa express his feelings about Emmett Till was truly inspirational. Yaw and his poetry acts as a reminder that by using poems to express and empower ourselves, we may be bettering the world around us.
Coming in hot to the Pen Clique, Yaw kicked a spicy poem about someone correcting him about his name pronunciation, adjusting its pronunciation to fit a duller, American tongue. Framing the experience around a brief history lesson about Ghana and the cultural effects left over from colonialism, Yaw explained how colonizers took valuable resources from the Ghanaian people, offering education and white Jesus in exchange. Giving our audience a whole new context and world view to peep through, this was a discussion I am really proud of. Yaw gave the “Why” of some of the struggles we face, delivered with charm and patience like Yaw does; it’s something I hope can help change people’s hearts and minds towards tolerance. The fact that all the questions in the world are but a Google-search away, Yaw points out that ignorance is not because of a lack of information these days, and to combat this, advises people to correct others immediately when they say your name wrong to prevent both misinformation while re-establishing equal ground. Give em an inch, they take a mile; so keep a tight leash on wandering intentions.
The ‘2 Piece Combo’ poetry review was extra fun and special to watch, as Yaw reviewed his friend and our former guest Meccamorphosis’ poem. Giving us the inside track on slam culture, Yaw would give her a 9.9 out of 10, givingreal answers and critiques for Mecca’s near perfect performance. The 3 of us sitting in amazement of another poet was fun, but knowing Mecca was wearing Yaw’s shoes in the slam video, and would later perform the exact same piece live on Pen Clique was a moment for me. It’s as if the stars are starting to align, one poet leading us to another; it makes me realize how far we had taken this show, and brick by brick (or pixel by pixel), we’re building a platform to both act as a megaphone for poets to reach new audiences, and as a bridge for people to access dope new poetry.
Surprisingly, Yaw entered the poetry game later than a lot of us. He found the LA poetry scene after graduate school and I think his work benefits greatly from this. Educating through his work, Yaw’s intellect and strong spirit shines through his poetry. He fits a description I could not have anticipated when planning this show; a West African Poet who got bars, always performance-ready, and fashionable AF! I could never have guessed, but we are all so proud to bring to you Yaw Kyeremateng.
Write-up & Audio Podcast by Daniel Hees
Video Podcast & Social by Kuya David
Photos by Aubrey Rowe
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Episode 06 Ft. Lyrically Twisted
Lyrically Twisted takes the stage as the Clique’s first and only rapper of the season! The whole clique delve deep into loneliness while staying LIT AF during the “2 Piece Combo” and LT aka Tyrone Stokes spits his “5 for ya eye” prompt off the top.
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Off Page: July 2020
This time around we got Kae Cee representing Columbus with poetry love, Localcolor bringing the neo-soul vibes, the Pomona family and shwavy one himself Jonnie Bars who always is in fact bars, the songbird poet and Pen Clique family Brian Oliva with the music magic tricks, the slam god and hip hop hero Matthew Cuban bringing heat off his newest album Ivanna 2, and model, actress, author, and poet Arielle Estoria with all the love and healing you can fit into a single poem to close.
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Episode 11 Ft. Bess Kepp
Get hit with 20+ years of Poetry wisdom! Cory “Bess Kepp” Cofer cliques up, bringing with him his deep bag of poetry tricks and hip hop clout. Bess illuminates black struggle and pain like Big Daddy Kane during “Threads and Lines” and the boys dive deep into the poetic pond and get salty and sweet during the “2 Piece Combo”.
