Know your place? Or know your audience?
I take a course called Reviewing the Arts that challenges us to dive deeper into analyzing performances, arts, and entertainment of all types. Last night’s course explored the genre of poetry as a performance art. One poet that stood out to me was Sekou Sundiata. I was drawn in not only by his use of intelligent word play but his use of tone and vocal expression.
Now, one thing that also stood out to me was something that I have heard debated in the black community time and time again. (Now mind you, I think he is awesome and what I am about to say is simply playing devil’s advocate). With that said, watch the two videos below and notice the stark differences in accent, wording, content and tone in these two performances. The first is his reading at the Dodge Poetry Festival which is a literary festival for poets who are well respected in the academic world. The second is his performance on Def Poetry Jam.
Do you notice that the poem on Def Poetry Jam has simpler “punch lines” has a chorus and generally follows the form of a rap song. His performance at Dodge is much more eloquent, has wordplay that takes a little more thought and time to piece together, and is read in a completely different voice. Maybe because I am in marketing and PR I understand the need to tailor your message or voice to the audience you are reaching, but do you think he jeapordizes his art and content by doing so?
