Episode 1 | The Art of Listening
“They thought they took
The power of our words
But I guess they never knew
And I guess they never heard
You can’t take our talk
Cuz our utterance
Femifests from our soul.”
Spoken word is an ancient form, a Black form, with origins from our ancestral storytellers—spoken word emerged from Black jazz poets, using African riffs, rhythmics, and beats to accompany the core of the stories being told.
In “The Art of Listening”, we talk about how listening and being listened to is critical for Black thought, counterculture, revolution, and myth-making. Drawing on its predecessors dub, jazz, toasting, beat, hip hop, protest, and more, this episode is a sonic adventure in honour of the everyday poet.
Featuring Mahlikah the Moonrise Poet and Michie Mee
About Mahlikah the Moonrise Poet:
Nationally recognized and award-winning, 2019 CFSW Poet of Honour Distinction recipient and TEDTalk Speaker, Mahlikah The Moonrise Poet moonrises wellsprings of revolution, rest and resistance within liminal space. Mahlikah cultivates social change through spoken word, arts education, performance art, futurist writing, digital art, mindfulness, and the mysticism of cosmology and star divination healing practices.
Mahlikah is the acting Director of Programming for Neighbourhood Impact at the Centre of Learning & Development, in Regent Park, Art Educator with The Art Gallery Of Ontario,
Faculty Member for the Wildseed Centre’s Black Arts Fellowship, and a 2022 Institute for Radical Permission Fellow led by transformative thought leaders Sonya Renee Taylor and adrienne maree brown.
Northern Star Mahlikah’s artistic contribution to Hush Harbour Press’s Speech Sounds Episode One: The Art of Listening: Spoken Word’s Black Origins, was inspired by their reverence for the medicine we carry in oral utterances, threaded in poignant pauses of deeper innerstandings. This is our memory; this is our magic.
Art that Influenced this Episode:
Spoken Word: A Gesture Towards Possibility
Essay by Andrea Thompson
Album by Lillian Allen
Interview with Room’s 2022 Poetry Contest Judge, Lillian Allen
Interview by Lue Palmer
Michie Mee on Legacy, Community, and Writing Memoir
Interview by Micah Killjoy
ROOM Magazine Issue 45.2
The Story of Kigwa: Sharing Rwandan Ibitekerezo
Story by Lisa Ndejuru
And The Little Black Girl In Glasses Says I’m A Bad Bitch You Can’t Kill Me
Poem by Dakotah Jennifer
About Michie Mee:
Michie is the first Canadian Hip Hop Recording Artist to sign an American Major Record deal and is the recipient of the 2012 DJ Stylus Hall of Fame Award, 2013 CUMC Lifetime Achievement Award, 2014 Black Canadian Award for Best Female Rap Act, and made History in 2014 winning the Toronto Arts Council Roy Thomson Hall Award.
Michie Mee is known within the music industry for her unique rap style of combining reggae and dancehall with hip hop. Many successful artists have followed in Michie's footsteps using this gifted technique. With over two decades in the entertainment industry, the Juno-nominated rapper and actress is not only an inspiration for female musicians, but also all artists nationwide.
Aside from her life as an entertainer, Michie is also a mother who makes it one of her duties to keep involved with today's youth. Knowing first hand the twists and turns artists often face in entertainment, Michie is an avid supporter of children striving to achieve a good education. Michie herself left university after her music career began to soar and has always spoken openly about the importance of education. Michie continues to enhance her abilities to attract diverse roles on television and film. She was featured in the 2011 CBC hip hop documentary “Love, Props and the T. Dot,” this trailblazer's saga still continues. Michie Mee's reign as Queen is far from over.
About the Writer:
TK Matunda is a Toronto-based writer and producer. Her work has been featured on Racist Sandwich, Heavy Flow and CBC. Most notably season 3 of Secret Life of Canada.
About the Audio Series:
Speech Sounds is a 5-part audio-series showcasing sound artists, griots, and poets working while engaging in a conversation around memory and culture for those within the African diaspora.
Speech Sounds is funded by the Canada Arts Council and the Ontario Arts Council. Speech Sound has received financial and in-kind support from OCAD University, Writing While Black collective, ROOM Magazine as well as our donors. Thank you to everyone who believes in our project.