Poetry and spoken word turn private feelings into words other people can carry with them. London Real has interviewed some of the UK’s best-known spoken word artists, along with rappers, writers and fighters who use verse to make sense of their lives. They talk about finding a voice, the line between rap and spoken word, education, struggle, self-love and what a well-chosen line can do for someone who needs it. Every full interview is free to watch.
From spoken word artist Suli Breaks, Ondaatje Prize-winning poet Anthony Anaxagorou and performer Scroobius Pip to rapper and author Akala, Humble The Poet, Inward author Yung Pueblo and Black Vikings founder Klaus Yohannes: the power of words spoken out loud.
Suli Breaks, born Sulaiman Adebowale in London, talks about his hit video Why I Hate School But Love Education, why he sees spoken word and rap as completely different genres and why he looks to Michael Jordan for inspiration. He returns in Spoken Word, having first come to London Real as an ambassador for the violence prevention group Surviving Our Streets. Anthony Anaxagorou, a British-Cypriot poet and educator, discusses the social commentary at the heart of his poetry. Scroobius Pip explains how he keeps moving between genres. Akala, the rapper, poet and journalist, brings his deep reading of history to the conversation.
Humble The Poet, an author, rapper and spoken word artist, shares stories from his book Things No One Else Can Teach Us about learning from losses. Yung Pueblo, the writer Diego Perez, who moved from Ecuador to Boston as a child, talks about self-love, inner peace and mental clarity. Klaus Yohannes, an athlete, fighter and poet, founded the Black Vikings to embrace struggle and master suffering. British MMA fighter and writer Pete Irving says the physical pain of fighting is nothing next to the emotional pain. Voice-over artist Johnny B.A.N.G. Reilly describes years of writing letters and poems to help people tell loved ones how they feel.
Get every new episode free: watch the latest London Real interviews.
Who has London Real interviewed about poetry and spoken word? Brian Rose has interviewed Suli Breaks, Anthony Anaxagorou, Scroobius Pip, Akala, Humble The Poet, Yung Pueblo, Klaus Yohannes, Johnny B.A.N.G. Reilly and Pete Irving, among others.
Is spoken word the same as rap? Not according to Suli Breaks, who argues they are completely different genres. Others, like Akala, Scroobius Pip and Humble The Poet, work across both.
Are the full poetry and spoken word episodes free to watch? Yes. Every full-length interview on this page can be watched free on londonreal.tv.
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