Armen Rah

Armen-Rah’s Bio
Armen Rah is the khemetic/ Egyptian name for God, this is the name this ghetto griot from the Southside of Chicago chose because he says it represents the events that lead to the transformation of his life. Armen means the darkness Rah means the light, together it means coming out of the darkness to be revealed into the light. This is the story of a revolutionary poet, emcee and activist who uses his past life experiences to raise the mentally dead.
In 2006 he was nominated for a Truth award in Chicago for Spoken word artist of the year. Armen’s militant rhymes and in your face battle ready metaphors earned him 3 nominations for a Black Theatre Alliance Award. He won in 2005 for best performance in a music/dance program for the poem “Chains and Whips”. In 2000 he started the mentoring program P.O.E.M. (Poets Organized to Educate through Mentoring). In 2001 he toured the east cost and the Midwest with Frontline magazine.
As a member of the Runaway Wordsmiths, Armen Rah featured along side Triple Black, Momma Brenda Matthews and many of Chicago’s best spoken word artist. In the spring of 2003 he opened for the revolutionary Hip Hop artist Dead Prez at the Dragon room. Later that year he opened for Common and Erykah Badu At Union Hall. Also in 2003 he won 1st place in Giovanii’s spoken word competition. He also emceed and stared in the poetry/dance presentation “Tell it like it is” with the world famous Najawa Dance corp.
Currently, Armen Rah is making the rounds throughout the Chicago poetry scene - you never know when and where you'll catch him seducing the audience with his stories and imagery. His next project is a poetry mixtape called "Only Play This at Night," featuring the Al Green collaboration "America the Beautiful" to be released independently on Only at Night Records.