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Tag Archives: Expression

World Poetry Slam Champion Shares Urgent Address at Climate Summit in Scotland

The 2015 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion, Sudanese-American poet and activist, Emtithal ‘Emi’ Mahmoud once again echoes the voices of the dispossessed at the 2021 climate summit in Scotland. The incredible ‘Emi’, whom took home the crown of World Poetry Champion in Washington, D.C., six years ago, is back with her palpably impassioned and thought-provoking style of poetry, delivering another heartfelt poetic address before world leaders at this year’s climate summit. Emtithal, herself a refugee and witness to the dire situation in Darfur (a region in western Sudan) has used her voice to call for urgent action, while concomitantly raising awareness to the efforts made by refugees to adapt to their habitats. On Monday afternoon, Emtithal took to Twitter to explain the inspiration behind the poem ‘Di Baladna’, which she wrote for the summit, citing, among other things, the village her father was born in no longer existing due to climate change and the conflict in Sudan. “I wrote this poem to open the door to our truth, the urgency & lasting change,” she wrote in the short yet apropos Twitter post, providing a straightforward and simultaneously profound summary of the urgent need to break ground and pave the way for long-lasting change. For years, the veteran poet has voiced her concerns over the plights of the dispossessed refugees she has met, determinedly bringing attention to the hardships endured by Syrian refugees in Jordan and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh; struggles she once experienced as a child before escaping from Darfur. “How will the world end?” Emtithal expresses rhetorically. “I don’t know. And I don’t want to find out. Not in our generation, and not in the next.” To see the full video for ‘Di Baladna’ and more pertinent content from Emtithal, head over to her official Twitter page. Written by: Liam Spencer

The Creative Evolution Of Leyenda Speaks

As Black History Month draws to a close, we introduce the brilliant Leyenda Speaks to end it with the bang it needs. The 25-year-old spoken word poet and creative from South London launched his latest EP, Metamorphosis this year, and already has his eyes set on new heights. Since accepting that art and creative expression was going to be a major part of his life, Ley has become “obsessed” with documenting the journey along the way and we’ve had the pleasure of being along for the ride. Metamorphosis – ‘A change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one’. Where did it all start for you? Ley Speaks’ area of South London had a big influence on his work as he used his personal experiences and how they have shaped his mentality as a foundation for the work that he creates. Like most writers, he found his love for his craft studying English in school, but wanted to explore how he could combine words with other forms of creative arts. Music has always been a passion of his, and when asked about how he felt about fusing spoken word with music he said: I’ve always loved music, combining my poetry with music felt like a natural process to me. Ley Speaks How did your first EP ‘Spring Baby’ come to life? Released in 2020, the themes of Spring Baby are centred around new beginnings and nature. The EP encapsulates his journey up until a certain point whilst highlighting the rebirth he was experiencing in both his personal and creative life. Spring Baby descended when mother nature gave birth. Metamorphosis – Lion Cub He doesn’t hold back on confronting his emotions head on as he shares his truth on the world around him with effortless flows that you can’t help but relate to. The entire body of work is its own little world that anyone would want to take a mini escape to. Ley has mastered how to weave his interests and intellect together with ease, whilst drawing upon his ups and downs to bring you spoken word poetry in his own unique form. Working on Spring Baby allowed me to express different aspects of what I’m about. My lyricism, quirkiness, and creativity. Ley Speaks Stream Spring Baby here Tell us more about your latest project ‘Metamorphosis’? Ley openly expressed that he followed his intuition when creating this project, and once it was finished, he instantly started to think what was next. He likes to think that Metamorphosis takes you through an experience of accepting ones self and acknowledging the process of growth as an individual. Each track features raw and honest wordplay, and storytelling, yet doesn’t compromise on the beautiful sounds that come together to create something truly exceptional. Being ahead of what the body understands is one of the reasons I launched Metamorphosis when the pandemic had settled. Ley Speaks He named one of his tracks on the EP Lion Cub because there is a line from his track Equinox that features on his Spring Baby EP – ‘Birth of a dandy lion, raw determination’, which highlights how Ley meticulously ensures that his work is a true representation of his evolution over time. What would you say your favourite tracks are from your projects? Asking any artist what their favourite tracks are from their projects is always a difficult one for them to answer, and it’s no different for Ley Speaks. Having produced two brilliant projects in less than two years in addition to singles that are just as great as the collections, we got him to break them down for us: If I HAD to choose I would say that March 20th, Vincent Van Gogh, and Why Does Bad Come Fast But Leaves Slow are probably my favourites from Spring Baby. They each tell their own individual stories. It’s really hard to choose a favourite from Metamorphosis. I love Lion Cub for so many reasons. One being the Lion King references but also the references linked to my Spring Baby Ep. My second single Hearticulate is definitely one of my favourites, not only because of its lyrics, but it allowed me to explore my creativity when releasing its official video. Ley Speaks What is next for the great Ley Speaks? It shouldn’t come as a surprise that there is more on the way from our poetic genius Ley Speaks. He is currently working on another detailed project which has more soul undertones in terms of genre. I love musical poetry so I’m really excited to work with soulful-ish instrumentals, guitarists, and pianists etc. Before that I’d like to try a few other things including facilitating workshops and releasing more visuals. Ley Speaks We know first hand that Leyenda has so much more to come regarding musical spoken word, but until then you can stream both Spring Baby and Metamorphosis on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, and various other streaming platforms.