Describe yourself in 3 words
Hip Hop Poet (easy)
What inspires you?
The love, support, energy, and goodwill of my friends and family, and the people in the artistic communities I’m in.
Then a guy physically took the mic and said “leave it mate”. Traumatising.
Tell us about your worst ever gig?
Not strictly a gig, but I’ve died spectacularly in some cyphers. First-year of uni, house party in Mitcham, the beat started off on smooth head-noddin’ backpack rap (home turf) and switched to a skippy 140bpm grime beat, and two bars in, I was done for – stumbling on words, out of my depth, then a guy physically took the mic and said “leave it mate”. Traumatising.
What’s your number one poetry pet peeve?
Poetry awards that are actually popularity contests, and that judge audience engagement and reach, not poetry.
Whose words do you love at the moment?
I’m currently reading Hanif Willis Abdurraqib’s Notes To A Tribe Called Quest, it’s a seamless mesh of memoir, reportage, letter-writing, poetry, essays, centred around an iconic group in Hip Hop. Other than that, I stan Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan and everything she’s doing,
What piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
My advice to my younger self is ask for help. You’re not weak for asking, you’re not lesser for needing people around you, you’re doing fine, and it’ll get better.
What’s one material thing you couldn’t live without?
#nosponsorship but I love my Minirig speaker, I’ve had it since 2014, and it’s been the material embodiment of music for me, couldn’t live without it.
Photo Credit: Perry Jonsson