The Signature: A Poetic Medley Show & The Human Race Theatre Company Presents
Season 5 Opener
"Celebrating National Poetry Month"
Featuring
HBO Def Poet Black Ice/ Scorpio Blues/ The Flex Crew Reggae Band
The Signature: A Poetic Medley Show is a live production that has earned a reputation across the Midwest for being edgy, thought provoking, vibrant, ground breaking, funny, engaging, sexy, racy, diverse, and very spontaneous. The production features all forms of performance arts. The season-opening performances will be a celebration of "National Poetry Month". The show will feature Tony Award Winning HBO Def Poet Black Ice & the SOULtry song & spoken word of HBO Def Poet Scorpio Blues. It does not stop there... the theme is a tribute to Jamaican and Caribbean culture and will feature the legendary live Reggae Band "The Flex Crew". The season opener will be a melting pot of pleasant musical vibes with an authentic reggae twist. This month's Guest Emcee will be local celebrity Spoken Word Artist I-Witness Life. This 2 hour production will also include a variety of local poets, singers and visual arts. Come out and enjoy the season opener of The Signature: A Poetic Medley Show at the Loft Theatre. The Full bar opens at 8:30pm show starts at 9p.m.
De'Lish Cafe, located across the street from the theater, will offer special Jamaican and Caribbean menu items and drinks to celebrate the Season 5 Opener.
For More Information visit us at www.tripplecroxxent.org
Venue: Loft Theatre, 126 North Main Street, third floor – downtown Dayton
Performance: - Friday, April 20, 2012 from 9:00pm - 11:00pm (Doors Open at 8:45pm)
Prices:
Before April 1st: $15.00
Starting April 1st: $20.00
Black Ice
Black Ice began spreading his words of revolution back in 1993 when he was known as Lamar Manson. He is a captivating performer with a motivational pro-family, anti-establishment
message. Black Ice worked Philadelphia's coffeehouse and
poetry slam circuit hard, earning a loyal local following along
the way. It wouldn't be long before he was taking his performances on the road.
At a gig in New York City, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons caught his act and the
poet's quest for nationwide recognition kicked into overdrive. Black Ice went on
to appear on six consecutive seasons of the Simmons-produced Def Poetry Jam
on the HBO network, which led to a starring role in the Tony Award-winning Def
Poetry on Broadway; the New York Post rated his performance as "diamond
brilliant".
It was 2004 when he made his breakthrough into hip-hop, appearing on projects by Method Man ("Tical 0: The Prequel"), Pete Rock ("Soul Survivor II") and Fabolous ("Real Talk"). In 2006, he teamed with producer and drummer Eric "Booty" Greene to release his debut album, The Death of Willie Lynch, on the Koch label (now E1 Entertainment). That same summer, he opened for R&B superstar Mary J. Blige on her World Tour. He continues to be approached by local and international artists and labels alike to appear on their albums.
Black Ice has lent his genius and impelling yet inspiring voice to world renowned and historical events such as; the Live 8 concert in Philadelphia, and then by personal request of Minister Farrakhan performed at the annual Saviorsʼ Day Conference in Detroit Michigan, as well as the One Nation Rally. He continues to give back to the community by running a repertoire of writing, poetry and theater programs for youth through the Idea Arts Center in Camden New Jersey.
He has made feature TV appearances on HBO, BET (Live 8 Concert Special, Rap City the Basement and 106th & Park) and NBC (Showtime at the Apollo). His video for the single "Lone Soldier" remains in rotation on VH1 Soul and other channels.
He has voiced national advertising spots for Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Heineken, Phat Farm, Courvoisier and Vitamin Water. Black Ice is also the exclusive voiceover artist for the audio versions of the Russell Simmons books "Do You: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success" and the 2011 release "Super Rich: A Guide to Having It All". Black Ice continues forge on and push the envelope with the art form, having recently written the mantra for Under Armours' basketball line as seen in "Slam", "Kicks" & "Sports Illustrated magazines as well as online commercial spots.
Black Ice tours venues across the country and Internationally for performances and speaking engagements. He has headlined at The Attic in D.C and Baltimore, B The Art Sanctuary as well as the long time host of the monthly Soul Sounds Extravaganza; just to name a few. The gamut extends to his college and university tours, which changes themes each year. "The Mightier Than The Sword Tour" has already hit SUNY Plattsburgh, Penn State, Tennessee Tech to name a few schools. He has just returned from Guyana, South America where Black Ice fully amerced himself in the people and the culture, which took the tour to new heights. The next stop on the tour is Belgium & Amsterdam. Black Ice continues to hone his skill and progress in all aspects of his gift; he is now working on a mix tape, which he hopes to release early Summer 2012.
- Rapper CHUCK D "Black Ice is Diamond Brilliant!"
- Singer JILL SCOTT "He is the voice of the black mans crisis inside the black man's world."
- "He's the reason I decided to do Def Poetry." RUSSELL SIMONS, "Black Ice does poetry that the street could understand."
- DRES from Black Sheep, "Since a very young age I've understood the power and beauty of words. That said, my brother is amongst the most powerful men to ever walk."
- CARRIE CARLON at University of Texas in San Antonio (UTSA), "Black Ice had the audience totally captivated with his skillfully thought out poetry. Keeping them sitting on the edge of their seats for over an hour."
Scorpio Blues
Wholly unique, sassy, and profound, Scorpio Blues is a rising star singer and poet, whose selfexpression
has won over fans around the world. Once a nationally-ranked slam poet, the Oakland
native has performed on HBO's Def Poetry, in addition to releasing two albums. Her third
and latest album, Scorpio Rising, is a tremendously personal and evocative work that has won
rave reviews and taken her all over North America.
Born Brandy Walker, Scorpio Blues has been writing and performing for as long as she can remember. While studying at San Jose State she participated in various university poetry events, and in 2000 was invited to an Oakland slam. "My grandmother was sick," she remembers. "It was an emotional time, and I was looking for an outlet." In 2003, she traveled to the national slam competition in Chicago as a member of the Oakland Team, where they collectively placed fourth and she was individually ranked 16th in the nation. Though she retired from slamming, in 2004 she was invited to appear on BET's Lyric Café in the Bahamas, and a year later gave a powerful performance of her work "Second Guessing" before millions of HBO viewers on Def Poetry. The poem - both humorous and poignant - spoke on themes of love and denial. "It's not that I really had any intentions of becoming a stalker," she recited in her performance, to laughs. "I guess I just kind of crept up on it."
The appearance came on the heels of her first album, Blue Blushin', an acclaimed poetry work that continues to sell to this day. In 2006, she became the first female - not to mention the first African-American - to win the Ill List Poets championship.
Her latest CD, Scorpio Rising, contains some poetry, but it's mainly an uplifting piece of soul music that demonstrates the power and range of her voice. The album concerns the last few years of her life, during which time she left a relationship, spent time getting to know herself, found the man of her dreams, got married, and started a family. "You can catch me hop-scotchin' on moons and stars," she begins on "Big Dreams," which speaks to her aspirations. "I'm a blatant constellation/ Can you see that far?"
"It really tells a story from start to finish," she says of the album. One of its highlights is "Daily (sp)," an ode to her husband's tender and supportive nature. (His name, after all, is Daley.) "I'm very pro-woman, but that's not to be confused with anti-man. I believe in strong self-love, getting to know yourself, and taking responsibility for your own actions." Scorpio Rising was so successful that she became sought after world-wide for concert appearances, and toured everywhere from Hawaii to Canada to Europe. All told, she has graced the stage with everyone from Mos Def and Goapele to Smokey Robinson and Cornell West. "When I do things I do them big," she says. "I don't throw pebbles in pools, I throw boulders."
After becoming pregnant with her and her husband's first child, she didn't perform as much, but a second pregnancy didn't stop her from recently filming a beautiful video for "Daily (sp)," which begins with clips from her Def Poetry appearance and segues into scenes of her current domestic bliss.
As if all of this weren't enough, in 2005 Scorpio Blues also launched her own spoken word and music entertainment, management, and promotions company, called Hot Water Cornbread. "I had just come back from a year living in New York, and there weren't a lot of events happening in Oakland," she says. "So I wanted to create something that would revive the scene and bring some energy back." The organization's affiliated artists include Sunni Patterson, Ise Lyfe, and Scorpio Blues herself, and it sponsors events like "Mouth Off Wednesday," which is Oakland's longest-running spoken word and music open mic. Another highlight is quarterly music series "The Soul Cypher," a sort of melodic gumbo for the senses which features underground and mainstream talents performing spoken word, art, and live music.
Additionally, Hot Water Cornbread also creates marketing campaigns and puts on events - anything related to entertainment or music. Its name comes from the famous recipe used by her grandmother. "Hot water cornbread only has a few ingredients but is difficult to make, and it's rare to find anyone who can do it," she says. "I thought it was amazing to take just a few ingredients and make something so grand out of them, so that's why I gave my organization that name."
She's also active in an Oakland non-profit called Creation Cocoon for Girls, which offers creativity-focused afterschool workshops for female students, including everything from writing to crocheting.
It's all part of the fulfilling life's work of Scorpio Blues, who is focused on sharing her blessings and creativity with others. With her live performances and recorded works she has become an inspiration to anyone who crosses her path, and she's not shy about sharing her gift. "I'm a lot!" she exclaims. "I'm a force, in many forms."
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