Spoken word in Ghana begun to see growth in Ghana from 2010 through Bless The Mic and Ehalakasa. [1] [2]
Spoken word in Ghana begun to see growth in Ghana from 2010 through Bless The Mic and Ehalakasa. [1] [2]
As is the case in the global spoken word space, in Ghana, this art form is considerably more than a means of entertainment or individual self-expression. Established and emerging players in the country continually use spoken word as a channel to bring awareness to issues across all aspects of Ghanaian life. [3]
The poetry group Ehalakasa, led by Sir Black, holds monthly TalkParty events (collaborative endeavour with Nubuke Foundation and/ National Theatre of Ghana) and special events such as the Ehalakasa Slam Festival and end-of-year events. [4] [5] [6] This group has produced spoken-word poets including Mutombo da Poet, Chief Moomen, Nana Asaase, Rhyme Sonny, Koo Kumi, Hondred Percent, Jewel King, Faiba Bernard, Akambo, Wordrite, Natty Ogli, and Philipa, Megborna. [7] [8]
The spoken word poets in Ghana are improving spoken word by combining it with 3D animations and spoken word video game [9]
In Kumasi, the creative group CHASKELE holds an annual spoken word event on the campus of KNUST giving platform to poets and other creatives. Poets like Elidior The Poet, Slimo, T-Maine are key members of this group.
A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats can vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation, cheering and dramatic delivery.
Performance poetry is a broad term, encompassing a variety of styles and genres. In brief, it is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience.
Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of recitation and word play, such as the performer's live intonation and voice inflection. Spoken word is a "catchall" term that includes any kind of poetry recited aloud, including poetry readings, poetry slams, jazz poetry, pianologues, musical readings, and hip hop music, and can include comedy routines and prose monologues. Unlike written poetry, the poetic text takes its quality less from the visual aesthetics on a page, but depends more on phonaesthetics, or the aesthetics of sound.
Beau Sia is an American slam poet.
The Canadian Festival of Spoken Word is an annual festival produced by Spoken Word Canada and planned by a local Festival Organizing Committee in each host city.
Dwayne Morgan is a Canadian spoken word artist, motivational speaker and event organizer based in Toronto, Ontario.
Andrea Gibson is an American poet and activist from Calais, Maine, who has lived in Boulder, Colorado since 1999. Gibson's poetry focuses on gender norms, politics, social reform, and LGBTQ topics.
Sarah Kay is an American poet. Known for her spoken word poetry, Kay is the founder of Project V.O.I.C.E., a group dedicated to using spoken word as an educational and inspirational tool.
Ian Keteku is a poet, musician and freelance journalist. Born as Ian Nana Yaw Adu Budu Keteku, his birth name mimics his diverse talents and interests. Raised in Canada and of Ghanaian heritage, Keteku earned the title of World Slam Poetry champion in France in the summer of 2010.
Bassey Ikpi is a Nigerian-born American spoken-word artist, writer, and mental health advocate. She has appeared on HBO's Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry five times and her poetry has opened shows for Grammy Award-winning artists. She's also the New York Times bestselling author of I'm Telling The Truth But I'm Lying. In 2020 she judged the Indiana Review Creative Nonfiction Prize. She also features on the OkayAfrica's 100 Women campaign 2020 honoree list, which celebrates women building infrastructure for future African generations.
Dike Chukwumerije is a Nigerian spoken word and performance poetry artist and author. He has eight published books, including the novel Urichindere, which won the 2013 Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Prize for Prose Fiction and a poetry theatre production made in Nigeria. In October 2018, he traveled to nine Nigerian cities: Abuja, Lagos, Enugu, Benin, Ile-Ife, Maiduguri, Yola, Bonny, and Jos.
Rudy K. Francisco is an American spoken word poet and writer. He has won several poetry slams and written six books of poetry: Getting Stitches, Scratch, No Gravity, No Gravity Part II, Helium, and I'll Fly Away. He made an appearance on TV One's Verses and Flow and performed his spoken word poems "Complainers" and "Rifle" on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Alyesha Wise, aka "Ms. Wise" is a poet, teaching artist and co-founder of Spoken Literature Art Movement (S.L.A.M). From Camden, N.J., Alyesha currently resides in Los Angeles where she also serves as a teaching artist for Street Poets, Inc. She previously served as the head coach of Da Poetry Lounge's slam team and a co-coach for the Get Lit Youth slam team. Wise co-founded and was a co-host of The Pigeon Presents: The Philadelphia Poetry Slam. She has been featured in a speaking engagement on the TEDx Talk series in which she dedicated the talk to her younger sister and Camden. While in Philadelphia, Wise was a co-host of Jus Words, the longest running weekly open mic in the city at the time. She also founded the organization Love, Us, a Philadelphia-based organization and annual production which worked to spread unity and self-love through the arts. The production was a large attraction in the Philadelphia poetry scene and a Twitter trending topic in 2010. She is currently the founder and organizer of Black Women Necessary, a safe space for black women. Wise also served as a former teaching artist and volunteer coordinator at New Earth, and continues to teach and mentor in Los Angeles youth detention centers. In 2017, she authored the book, Carnival. Ron Howard once said about Alyesha's performance style, "Very Powerful."
Javon Johnson is an American spoken word poet, writer, and professor. He is the director of African American and African Diaspora Studies in the Department of Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the author of Killing Poetry: Blackness and the Making of Slam and Spoken Word Communities.
Sabrina Benaim is a writer, performance artist, and slam poet. Benaim was a winner of the 2014 Toronto Poetry Slam. She is best known for her poem "Explaining My Depression To My Mother."
Serwaa Amihere is a Ghanaian broadcast journalist and news presenter who currently works with GHOne TV. She won the Television Female Newscaster of the Year Award at the 2018 Radio and Television Personality Awards.
William Du Bois Yaw Sakyi Kumi, popularly known as Koo Kumi, is a Ghanaian spoken word artist, photographer, slam poet and mixed media visual artist. He is known for his blend of Twi and English languages. He adopts a traditional sound as well as an alternative hip hop feel. He appeared on the literary scene in 2012.
Asaase Radio is a privately owned radio station in Accra, the capital of Ghana, broadcasting on 99.5 MHz from Cantonments. It began official transmission on 14 June 2020. Among the shareholders and board members of the company are Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko(chairman; senior partner, Africa Legal Associates), the senior journalist Elizabeth Akua Ohene, the advertising consultant Reginald Daniel Laryea, Nana Adjoa Hackman , Kojo Opoku Agyeman, Nkiru Balonwu, Joseph Ofori-Atta and Ebow Brew-Hammond . The station operates under the tagline “The Voice of Our Land”.
Philip Boakye Dua Oyinka, popularly known as Nana Asaase is a poet, literary coach and writer. He is also a member of the National Folklore Board. He was born on 12 December and comes from Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Nana Asaase, a name which means "King of the Earth" in the Akan dialect Twi, was conferred on him by his grandmother. He blends English with Twi.
Abdul Moomen Muslim known professionally as Chief Moomen is a Ghanaian poet, playwright and creative entrepreneur. He is best known for creating the Ghanaian historical epic - WogbeJeke: Our Journey, a theatrical reenactment of the history of Ghana from ancient to modern times, directed by Joyce Anima Misa Amoah. In March 2017, the play was chosen as the official theatre showpiece to celebrate Ghana’s 60th Anniversary.
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