UW-Madison on the cutting edge of spoken word scene

By A. David Dahmer

People are surprised to see the tiny town of Madison looming big on the urban hip-hop and spoken-word map. But it's true, due in no small part to the work done by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI).
"We're the only university in the country — and I think in the world, too — that has an office that is dedicated to using not just spoken word, but hip-hop arts as a vehicle for outreach, improving campus climate, and recruiting young students onto campus," says OMAI Director Willie Ney. "What we're finding by the presence of this office and First Wave is that it's actually attracting other students that wouldn't necessarily come to UW-Madison."

(l-r) Adey M. Assefa, coordinator for African American Student Academic Services with the office of Pathways to Excellence: OMAI Director Willie Ney; and Toua Thao, academic advisor for TRIO Student Support Service

And as the OMAI prepares to host the sixth annual Wisconsin Teen Poetry Slam, it has received some great news: The finals competition in the Wisconsin Union Theatre will feature and be hosted by renowned artist Will Power.
Will Power is a dynamic actor, rapper, playwright, and spoken word artist whose work is internationally recognized as a vital voice of his generation and as a pioneer in the emerging genre of Hip Hop Theatre. His performances, workshops, and lectures have been seen in 25 states and over 55 cities abroad.
Ney is just fresh from a visit to the New York City, where he witnessed the New York Knicks Poetry Slam at the Grand Ballroom in the Manhattan Center. Thirteen finalists were drawn from 1,200 students throughout New York City. Two of those will become First Wave Scholars.
 "We literally are recruiting the top poets from New York City; we've got the top two," Ney says. "It's pretty amazing, to be honest."
Spoken word began to surface as an art form in the United States and around the world over 20 years ago, but in the past few years Madison has emerged as a leader of the spoken word movement.
"UW-Madison is the hippest place in the country. Right in the Big Apple," Ney says. "They're thinking, 'Why Wisconsin?' But the kids were flocking to us … asking us questions [like] 'How can I get into First Wave?'
The First Wave Spoken Word and Urban Arts Learning Community is a cutting-edge multicultural artistic program for incoming UW-Madison students that is administered by the OMAI. It brings together young artists and leaders from across the U.S. and is the first university program in the country centered on spoken word and hip-hop culture. First Wave offers students the opportunity to live, study, and create together in a close-knit, dynamic campus community.
"We're in the right place at the right time. Universities are really outdated in terms of arts. It's really sad, and it's tragic that our arts departments don't integrate youth culture within them," Ney says. "But whenever you take a risk at an institution, you're going to benefit. We took the risk, and now we're looking good.”
In the next two weeks, youth will compete to represent Wisconsin in the Youth Slam Finals, where the Wisconsin Brave New Voices Team is chosen. This event goes beyond competition and encourages community, voice, and representation for youth across Wisconsin. The Youth Slam has evolved quite a bit in its short six-year life.
 "It's grown exponentially," Ney says. "We always have great judges. This year we're going to have the vice provost and maybe the chancellor [and] Chief of Police Noble Wray.
"The first one was in Lathrop Hall, and we did it tied to another event in what seemed like another life," adds Ney. "We were at the Barrymore Theater, the Union Theater, the Orpheum, and now we're back to the Union Theater. "We draw 700 or 800 people," Ney says.
Ney also emphasized that it's one of the only events where you get these kids coming in from inner-city Milwaukee schools to see art. "It's not sports," he says. "Usually they come in to see [Milwaukee] Rufus King play at the Kohl Center. But this is busloads of kids coming in just to see their team compete for poetry."
And this is not the only popular OMAI event. The Just Bust! monthly open mikes — a spot for poets and performers to try out new work in front of a lively, supportive crowd — draw about 300 people each time. "The word is out," Ney says. "They're driving from the 'hood in Chicago and Milwaukee to come in and do [their] three-minute piece."
The OMAI also brings us Line Breaks, a festival highlighting today's powerhouses in the realms of Hip Hop theater, Hip Hop poetics, and artistic development and pedagogy from across the country. Over the last few years, Line Breaks has presented groundbreaking performances from artists like Goldie Award winner Marc Bamuthi Joseph; dance legend Rennie Harris; HBO director Kamilah Forbes; guest lecturers like Chuck D of Public Enemy and founder of The Hip Hop Theater Festival; and more.
"It's an underground movement and a popular youth movement, but I think it's soon going to be where people are like, 'Wow! This is something that is really important. The beauty of it is that it is a literary form, and it really does cross over to academic success. They are brilliant writers, and it's cool and hip to be a poet."
Spoken word gives a voice to today's youth like not much else can or does. And the lessons of spoken word are more than just literary or performance techniques. The students learn to listen and support their fellow poets. Any subject is fair game — gangs, abuse, suicide, rape, trauma — there is nothing that isn't tackled in spoken-word poetry.
"This is therapy … It's total therapy, therapeutic for both the students and the audience, because we're all crying," Ney laughs. "You can't help it. The poetry is so powerful."
The poets do not hold back emotion as they pour their hearts out. Ney says only three of his 30 First Wave students come from "intact" families — two-parent households. "They consider this to be their family," Ney says. "And they consider the open mic to be their safe place."
Has a rivalry developed between the Madison and Milwaukee kids?
"Not when we did it last year at the Orpheum,” Ney says. “The youth is noncompetitive. [With] the adults, it gets a little more competitive. The youth is all about community and all about love. When the youth get off the stage, everybody embraces them. You'd have a tall, lanky suburban White kid get done, and all these kids from the 'hood will be giving him hugs and love."
It's an open competition, but it's all about linking these communities and making friendships. "The top six winners are selected, and they work on team pieces for the national competitions," Ney says. "Our Madison youth[s] go to Milwaukee every other week, and then the Milwaukee kids come here every other week."
"Locally, we have clubs in all of the major high schools. Between 10 and 15 students from each school participate in the semifinals, and then two or three are selected to go to the finals."
In Spoken Word in the Schools, First Wave Pre-Collegiate clubs meet once or twice a week. They are part writing circle, part freestyle cypher, and part vibe session.
"OMAI has really gotten involved with the Madison high schools," says Adey M. Assefa, coordinator for African American Student Academic Services with the office of Pathways to Excellence, who is working on the Poetry Slam planning. "I wanted to get involved, because we're really trying to strengthen the collaboration between different communities on campus."
And that is exactly what Ney and OMAI are trying to do — get as many people involved as they can in this exciting and fresh phenomenon.
"We don't want it to insular," Ney says. "We don't just want to create First Wave rock stars, [so] that it becomes differentiated from the other communities on campus, particularly communities of color. Partly, it's a collaboration that works with all the students.
"What's so beautiful about hip-hop culture is that it's multiracial," Ney says. "You have the Hmong students, the White kids from the suburbs, the inner-city kids from Chicago and Milwaukee. It brings together such a nice rainbow coalition, in a sense.”
The general excitement from both the kids and the community is what makes Ney so optimistic moving forward.
"It's a transformative thing. It's about developing leadership … the future Obamas of America, the orators," Ney says. "It's a great time right now to be involved with what we're doing."  

     For more information on the sixth annual Wisconsin Teen Poetry Slam, visit the website www.omai.wisc.edu.