Are you ready for the King?!! The King of Slam Poetry that is. Born Jamaal Robert St. John in the quaint town of New Rochelle, New York, this performance poet/spoken word artist has been honing his literary craft for fifteen (15 years). Jamaal is a graduate of New Rochelle High School and attended Northeastern University majoring in Criminal Justice.This poet’s lyrical style is like no other. Jamaal’s poetry is a cross between old school hip-hop rhyme schemes with cunning wordplay, accentuated with relevant social, political, cultural and economic topics. Jamaal manages to layer these aspects with a comical dexterity that only few poets can match.Jamaal has many accolades to his credit. He is a three (3) time Nuyorican Poets Café Grand Slam Finalist for years 1996, 1997, and 2000 (he is the only poet in Nuyorican Poets Café history to do so) and has won the coveted title of Nuyorican Slam King (December 2000). Jamaal highly contributed to the success of the Nuyorican National Slam Team placing third in August 2000 as a member along with fellow teammates Bryonn Bain, Helena D. Lewis and Tehut-Nine. Jamaal has had the auspicious title of Captain of the Poetic Battles Slam Team at the World Famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem, New York. He currently is the poet with the second most wins at the acclaimed Hottest Poets slams based at Jimmy’s Uptown Restaurant in Harlem, New York. Jamaal taped for Russell Simmons’ Def Jam Poets during the second season. He has also had the illustrious title of New Jersey Grand Slam Finalist at Serengeti Plains in Montclair, New Jersey.Jamaal has performed on various stages and colleges throughout the northeastern portion of the United States and Canada to enthusiastic crowds. Jamaal has won the Toronto International Poetry Slam two years in a row (2004, 2005). A few of these venues comprise of Nuyorican Poets Café (where Jamaal got his start), Brooklyn Moon Café (NYC), Lizard Lounge (Cambridge, MA), Christiana Cultural Arts Center (Wilmington, Delaware), The Apollo Theatre (NYC), Justin’s (Sean “Puffy†Combs’ establishment - NYC), The Pulse Theatre (NYC), WordStock @ Prospect Park (NYC), Teaism (Washington, D.C.), Silver Shadows (Maryland), Serengeti Plains (Montclair, New Jersey), Bogie’s (New Jersey), Verse 4 Verse (hosted by Ras Baraka- New Jersey), The Circle Theatre (Toronto, Canada), The Comfort Zone (Toronto, Canada), Harbour Front (Toronto, Canada), St. Laurence Centre for the Arts (Toronto, Canada), Russell Simmons Presents DEF POETRY (NYC), WLIB (Radio Station –NYC), WBAI (Radio Station – NYC, Spitfire Poets segment), Vibe Theory (NYC), Rich Forum (Stamford, CT) and The Schomburg Library (Harlem, NYC).Some of the colleges Jamaal has been welcomed include Rutgers University (NJ), Columbia University (NY), Yale University (CT), NYU (NY), Hunter College (NY), Temple University (PA), Morgan State University (MD), Princeton University (NJ) and William, Hobart and Smith University (Upstate NY), James Madison University (West Virginia), Southern Connecticut University (Conn.), Brown University (Rhode Island), College of Mount St. Vincent (New York), SUNY Binghamton (New York), Forham University, (New York).Jamaal belongs to several poetic collectives such as the Spitfire Poets, A Mortal and His Goddess and Melanin Flow. He has shared stages with some of the most dynamic and influential poets known. Some he has the pleasure to know personally. These persons are Roger Bonair Agard, BoogieMan, Mums da Schemer, Saul Williams, Jessica Care Moore, Liza Jesse Peterson, Helena D. Lewis, Sarah Jones, Steve Coleman, Jerry Quickley, Mayda Del Valle, Vanessa Hidary, Reg E. Gaines, asha bandele, Stacey Ann Chin, Flowmentalz, Bassey, Kayo, Kirk Nugent, Taylor Mali, Beau Sia, Twin Poets, Dr. Haki Madhibuti, Suheir Muhammad, Ras Baraka, Abiodun Oyewole (The Last Poets), Talib Kweli and Sharif Simmons and countless more.Jamaal has had the pleasure of performing in the off-Broadway show “Snippets: Which Way To Broadway?†with Helena D. Lewis, Vanessa Hidary, Daniel Beatty, Yolanda K. Wilkerson, Harlym 125 and others.Currently, Jamaal is an actor/poet in the play “The Male Ego†presented by Urbintel Productions starring Akil Dasan, Anthony Morales and Buddha Love Jones. He is working on a one-man play discussing his personal experiences of life, love and poetry.He is currently the Reigning Grand Slam Champion of the world famous Nuyorican Poets Cafe, NYC 2008.Jamaal is the author of a collection of poetry entitled The Horror and the Hype as well as CDs "Enterlightenment", "Won’t Catch Me Runnin’" and his most recent release " The Southpaw Stance".He is a partner and Creative Director of his production company, A Mortal and His Goddess.For additional information please contact Jamaal St. John at
[email protected].
