The seeds sown by the likes of pioneering jazzman and spoken-word poetry forefather Gil Scott-Heron 30 years ago are still alive today, taking root and sprouting calls for consciousness and revolution across America and globally.One of the most promising emergent voices heeding this clarion call is D-Revolution, a poet and spoken-word artist whose mounting buzz is catching the ears of entertainment insiders and recruiting fans throughout the nation.The Chicago native's upbringing and segue into manhood have not been the "crystal stair" so aptly described by Langston Hughes. D-Revolution's biography is rife with adversity, pain and despair, against a backdrop of street hustling, a family history of addiction and the very makings of what could have made a tragic government statistic.But coincidentally, D-Revolution bucked the trend laid out before him, and became a player turned poet, a prospective pimp turned lay-prophet, a probable statistic turned realistic role model.D-Revolution comes from the Windy City, a hotbed that continues to churn out unparalleled urban art – and one that planted the seeds of his gritty storytelling style and eye for clarity amidst the brine of life."Chicago is a city with no mercy. The streets are honest; when I say honest, I mean thereis code, and if you break the code then you can pay with your life," D-Revolution says."People in Chicago are straight up with you – no pacifying. Chicago is also political city and the streets have the same politics. When you have that type of combination, it makes for good music and a passionate artist."When the pressure cooker of Chicago, with its traps and temptations, threatened D-Revolution's well-being, he left for the more restful environs of Nashville, Tennessee. "I moved to Nashville months after my mom passed away," he says. "It was a turning point in my life. I had to make a change."The urban poet, influenced by other Chicago natives like Def Poetry Jam poet J. Ivy, musicians such as Bob Marley, rappers Tupac and Ice Cube, and a slew of local spokenword artists, found his voice in this unlikely Music City. Digging into the trenches, D-Revolution began performing at open mics. He eventually began hosting his own poetry night and also became a go-to poet for feature performances, bookings and headlining shows.With his latest recording project, spoken-word artist D-Revolution has produced the 21st century soundtrack of America's neglected cityscapes and the people who inhabit them. On Cause & Effect: Da Art of Storytelling, D-Revolution synthesizes the hopes,woes, politics and pains of the quintessential urban dweller, from the perspective of a man battling against becoming a statistic in mediocrity or a standard of manhood.Frank, blunt, direct and equally poignant, personal and sensitive, Cause & Effect is an unlikely study in black masculinity. It is one that brings to the fore the voices of millions behind theheadlines and the hype."The entire series is about the struggle to become a man, with all of the vices, entanglements, lures and limitations of the world coming at you," says D-Revolution, whose coming-of-age inthe grit and grime of streetwise Chicago formulates his material.I can't repeat myself/'Cause I'm born through everyone else/Change is a must/I'm searchin', searchin', searchin'/But, damn, it's rough-RewriteD-Revolution is a fitting griot for this tale. He is the father of three daughters. He dropped out of college to pursue a life of quick cash. He is the son of addiction, the child of parents who themselves succumbed to the vices he profited from. He left the big city behind for the slower South, to change not only his life but that of his family's destructive inheritance.Once I started speaking my mind/And opened my third eye/I became wise …/But wise to ignorance is nothing but troubleIt's hard to humble when you know the truth …I dropped out of college because I had coke to sell/I sold crack to my mother's friends/I knew she was smoking/But I needed the ends-Truth & LiesThe project features 13 tracks backed by reggae-inspired rhythms, hip-hop beats and straight-soul stylings, produced by some of Music City, USA's hottest up-and-coming producers. On acappella selections, D-Revolution's words take both center stage and supporting roles. Cause & Effect is the capstone project in the One Chance to Be a Man trilogy, but by no means marks the denouement for D-Revolution, a poet who has performed alongside megapoet Saul Williams, Def Poetry Jam poets Georgia Me and Abyss, and before notables such as actress Kimberly Elise."One Chance to Be a Man was the challenge. When I released A Simple Ghetto Life, it was about expression, expressing myself as a poet and really accepting the fact I'm a poet. Cause and Effect brings everything full circle from the previous CDs, I really came to grips with so much pain when I recorded Cause & Effect. Anyone who listens to the entire trilogy will hear it."..
