Poetry slam at BAM features hip hop-inspired poets
One person’s poetry can be another’s reason for wanting to take a nap. It’s all about relevance. Wordsworth and Keats may not reach many young people today, but hip hop artists from Jay Z to Notorious B.I.G. — poets in their own right — do.
The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) presented a collection of hip hop-inspired poets at “Poetry 2015: Speaking Truth” Thursday evening, combining music, dance and an urban aesthetic with words of social relevance. BAM’s Fishman Space was packed, and the crowd was racially diverse and largely under 40.