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MWALIM *7)

Check The Grooves

About Me


MWALIM *7)

The Voices of A Black Wampanoag Warrior

One day, back in the early summer of 2001 in New York City, a trio of friends met for lunch in a Brooklyn eatery. Their conversation switched to arts happenings around the city. One friend talked about seeing an interesting little experimental play up in Harlem a couple of weeks earlier; another talked about a soul artist and his band that he saw at a club in the Village over the past weekend; and the third mentioned a poet that shed heard at a spot on the Lower East Side during the week. It turned out that they were all talking about the same person, a cat named Mwalim. - 2001, Ronnie Gilman. Freelance Journalist

Considered by critics and peers alike to be one of the true modern masters of the oral tradition, Mwalim is a multifaceted, Black Wampanoag performing artist, writer, filmmaker and educator. Once asked what he considers to be his main art form, his answer is communication. When asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, the answer would sometimes change from day to day or minute to minute: a writer, a singer, a musician, a composer, a playwright, a filmmaker, a director, a lawyer the last notion bit the dust otherwise, Mwalim has done it all. Mwalim first emerged to public attention in the mid 1990s in the east-coasts growing spoken-word and storytelling scene, appearing in coffeehouses, lounges and various poetry venues.

As a fourth generation musician on his mothers side, Mwalim was exposed to all kinds of music: jazz, blues, soul, classical, opera, Calypso, rock, and funk. At the age of 12when he snuck out to a park party in the Bronx, hearing hip-hop in its rawest form. Reminding him of his godfathers jazz records, the young musician heard a sound in his head that would become a central influence in his musical style. His first instrument was the viola, but as a freshman at Music & Art High school his interests in composing led to his taking up the piano, taking lessons with his grandfather, noted big band leader and arranger for the stars, Allan Nurse. In his junior year of high school, Mwalim joined a band that played covers of pop and R&B tunes as well as original music. Co-writing several songs for the group, Mwalim gained his first studio experience producing the bands demo tape. While the band didnt go anywhere, the tape did land in the hands of a few folks in the industry who encouraged Mwalim to continue his efforts, advising him on how to form a publishing company to protect his music. Over the years, Mwalim continued writing and producing music for a variety of artists, as well as film and theater projects until early 2000 when he released a solo CD-Single Thief in the Night (Midnight Groove/OTC Records) which became an underground hit, followed by a limited edition E.P. called Jazzy-Soul Club Grooves in 2001, which became a favorite among dance music DJs in the USA, Canada, the U.K., Germany, and France.

As a kid, Mwalim wrote stories to amuse himself in school during boring classes (Which were most of them). In high school, a teacher confiscated one of his writings and turned it in to the English Department's writing competition and it won. After that, he started entering and winning citywide and regional short story competitons for high school students. As a student at Boston University, he joined the Black Drama Collective, a student theatre group, as a stage band musician, but soon ended up writing sketches for the collectives coffeehouse presentations. The collectives faculty advisor, actor, director, and Black Arts Movement pioneer, James Spruill, too Mwalim under his wing, bringing the young artist into New African Company. Here, Mwalim received formal training in theater arts, while finishing his BA in Music and earning a MS in Film Production at BU.

He soon distinguishing himself as a playwright, director, actor and arts teacher winning awards, grants and fellowships throughout the region for his work in theater and film. In 1998, Talking Drum Press published his first book, A Mixed Medicine Bag, a collection of his original Black Wampanoag folk-tales. The book quickly became a sought after piece of literature by multicultural studies and native literature courses and enthusiasts worldwide.

As a filmmaker, a lot of his projects consisted of producing experimental shorts for museum and gallery installations, combining music and spoken-word with visual images, as well as his freelance work as an editor for various production companies throughout the country.

His award-winning one-man show A Party at the Crossroads is subtitled the tales and adventures of a Black Indian growing up in a Jewish neighborhood, has been presented at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum in Connecticut and as a part of the Indian Summer series at the American Indian Community House in New York City. His performance piece, based on memories of Mashpee of the past, "Backwoods People" was presented at the 1999 National Black Theatre Festival in Winston Salem, NC. His romantic comedy, Working Things Out was a hit at the 2005 festival. Mwalim is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Oversoul Theatre Collective, a professional Black and Native American arts and education organization formed in 1994.

Mwalim earned his MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College in July of 2006. His focus was playwriting, where he studied under the award-winning and legendary playwright, Leslie Lee. His thesis project is entitled Wetu In The City the story of a tribe of Black Indians whose territory was once the entire Bronx, now reduced to a triple-square block in the South Bronx which a real estate develop is now trying to take out from under them.

Mwalim is still actively engaged in music, theater, and film. His plays are regularly produced and presented throughout the country. He was recently named Filmmaker-In-Residence by WGBH, Bostons PBS television station. He will be the residency programs first narrative filmmaker, where he will be producing a film adaptation of Look At My Shorts, a collection of Mwalims short plays exploring contemporary Black Indian experiences in Massachusetts. His album Bronx Jazz is due for release in early 2007. He is a professor of English and African/ African American Studies at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he teaches courses in drama, digital filmmaking, and Black Aesthetics & Folklore, with a strong emphasis of the roots of Hip-hop culture, the Black Arts Movement, and the Harlem Renaissance. Mwalim currently lives in the Wampanoag National Territory in Massachusetts with his son Zyggi.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 12/12/2005
Band Website: mwalim.com " mwalim.com
Band Members:

From Talking Drum Press Available February 2, 2007: Directly from TALKING DRUM PRESS ; at Amazon.com ; Lulu.com ; or Order it At Your Favorite Book Store!!!

A Mixed Medicine Bag, Original Black Wampanoag Folklore, by Mwalim *7) (Second Edition) (ISBN 978-0-9662428-1-2, Paperback $15.00 USA/ $21.00 Canada, 156 pages)
Mwalim - Vocals, piano, keyboards, percussion

Click here to sign my Graffiti Wall! (Powered by PicLibs.com)


Influences: Thelonius Monk
Charlie Palmeri
Gil Scott Heron
Oscar Brown, Jr.
Marvin Gaye
Ray Charles
Celia Cruz
Nat Turner
Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Hendrix
Duke Ellington
Jimmy McGriff
Nina Simone
Bernie Worell
Dr. John
Ishmael Reed
August Wilson
Edward Albee
Alexander Crummel
Geronimo
Hiram Abiff
King Solomon
El-Haj Malik Shabazz
Clarence 13X
Prince Hall
Mettacomet
Louis Hayden
Marcus Garvey
Ralph Ellison
The Seven Jewels
David Walker
Woodpecker Cider
Occassional Green Leaf

Adivine cuyo meciendo el partido, un funky dreadlocked, guerrero Negro de Wampanoag.



Get your own countdown at BlingyBlob.com
Sounds Like: Mwalim, sounds like, Muah-leem ("Muah" as in a kiss, and "Leem" as in... well... "Leem").

Mwalim, sounds like, a bunch of folks, all at the same time. Which makes him unique.
Mwalim, sounds like, a Musical genius

Listen to Freedom Path Radio On-line Keep Black Radio Alive!!!!!

Next Out The Gate: THE BASS MINT BROS!!! SPRING 2008
(Liberation Records/ Midnight Groove Multimedia)



Record Label:

Midnight Groove Records


Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Twizzlers, Opium & The Dust of a Moths Wings

She flys in on wingsgraceful and delicatebut stronger then a butterflyStill beautiful to those who pay attentionAlone sits the poppy fieldvast, and lushfull of pretty flowerscalling to the moth to com...
Posted by MWALIM *7) on Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:52:00 PST

An Easter Side Poem

An Easter Side Poemby Mwalim *7)Okay,The church, in spreading the word, would absorb and adapt pagan beliefs and practices into those of Christianity.A lot of these practices were written into the sea...
Posted by MWALIM *7) on Sat, 22 Mar 2008 01:45:00 PST

Tagged... Ten Bawdy Facts Revealed!!!

After being lured into Hershey Dread’s blog, I found myself tagged. This tag is apparently a new tag game called The Naughty Bawdy ten, where you have to give up ten bawdy facts about yourself. ...
Posted by MWALIM *7) on Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:17:00 PST

Vote For This Band, Please!!!

Greetings All!!Remember that you can vote each day for The Bass Mint Bros in the First Track competition.Those of you with multiple e-mail addresses can vote once a day with each address.Please take a...
Posted by MWALIM *7) on Thu, 06 Mar 2008 05:55:00 PST

Manchild in Single Mother’s Land

This is tricky water to navigate as the title alone will bring up all kinds of defenses.Note: my context is as the single father, raising a son. I know a plethora of single mom's raising boys , my mot...
Posted by MWALIM *7) on Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:36:00 PST

Mwalimoku 356

You said I don't knowWhat love is, maybe it's that I do, and you don'tBronx Jazz Coming Soon...
Posted by MWALIM *7) on Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:46:00 PST

Artificial Light For A Parasite

Funny thing, My given name means "sunrise" or "new day" in Welsh. My tribe's name translates to people of the first light. So, I guess it was supposed to hurt when you told me my light was artifi...
Posted by MWALIM *7) on Sat, 02 Feb 2008 07:50:00 PST

The Bass Mint Bros score TRACK OF THE DAY 1/16

Greetings Family!As a result of some very enthusiastic reviews from GarageBand.com members, "Valley Park Groove (18th Anniv Re-Release)" will be Track of the Day at GarageBand.com.For 24 hours on Wedn...
Posted by MWALIM *7) on Wed, 16 Jan 2008 05:58:00 PST

Introducing The Bass Mint Bros

THE BASS MINT BROS.Peace, Blessings & Happy New Year!Please check out my latest project, THE BASS MINT BROS. Mwalim *7)What do you get if you take a jazz organ trio, some music software, and some old ...
Posted by MWALIM *7) on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:39:00 PST

So I Get Another Message...

Apparently, as predicted, she read the last blog and left me a message.What does she say? "First of all, I was drunk." Gee, well if that's how you act when you're drunk: ,SUMMIT MEDICAL GROUP: Drug & ...
Posted by MWALIM *7) on Mon, 07 Jan 2008 07:20:00 PST