For Release 9 a.m. PST
January 20, 2010

Emet Productions Announces New Album “The Messenger: Chapter One”


HONOLULU — January 20, 2010 — Today the independent artist known as Tshombe (the Poet) announces his intention to release his new album “The Messenger: Chapter One” this coming February. It has been two years and few hundred poems since his last solo project. In the early months of 2009 Tshombe released his first collaboration project free to the public as an appreciation to the supporters of his art. Tshombe’s second solo project has been long awaited and has been kept quiet in regards to a definitive release date, but the wait is over. The Messenger is scheduled to be released on Tuesday the 23rd.

Chapter One is the beginning of a series of releases under the title of The Messenger that will focus on Tshombe’s new prospective on purpose driven poetry and the "spoken word/performance poetry" art form. This new outlook and transformation began with a deeper look at the arts of “spoken word” poetry, its history, and the rapidly emerging generation of pseudo-poets in today’s highly expressive atmosphere. After three long years of interviewing prominent poets/artists on Freedom Verse Café, studying the works of poets from Amiri Baraka to the young Autum Ashante; His strong messages and tonality will indeed rock your thought process, and you will feel the strength of his faith and convictions in delivery. So be prepared for the release of The Messenger: Chapter One coming this February 23rd.

I recently participated in an online radio show conversation with the host of “Lyrical Divas”, MzSpoon, a poet in her own right sharing in her discourse regarding “lascivious” poetry and the poetry community. I decided to attend this session for a number of reasons, but the primary was to learn what I could from her discourse.

As one poet so eloquently put it, we are in a time of “poetic illiteracy” (U’Nek Reality) when it comes to this new era. We cannot spend so much time leaning on our own understanding trying to define and confine art to fit our own convictions or writings. In doing so, we do more harm than good to one another mounting campaigns to disprove/discredit a segment or subgenre of art; this would be as cutting of the face in spite of our nose.

In a weekend relaxation I took sometime to reflect on on the artform of spoken-word poetry and what my view of how an artist should define themselves as artist; I came up with four basic yet complex questions that should encompass the definition by which one presents their art.

These questions are meant rhetorically or non; however, they must be answered to defines one's true purpose in art. Why do I say in art? Well, art is revolutionary (define) in nature, therefore needs a purpose of cause. Before we get to the four questions let's lay down a baseline for rational response.

Let's start with purpose. Whether you have an idea of a poem or guided by spirit to deliver a message, it must be driven by a purpose (reason if you will), otherwise there is no need for the creation—the creation is a reaction of purpose. Now, understand that the purpose is not defined by its side effects (responses by readers/listeners), but by its reason for creation. Note, this is not to be confused with what one perceives from the work, for that is another uncontrollable factor. If the purpose is strictly to entertain, then that is its purpose; if it is to educate, then of course the artist must know the purpose of the lesson before delivery. No matter the purpose understand the premise and prepare for the results.

Cause and Effect. Once the purpose is defined, one must then define the methodology and vehicle/medium for delivery and the desired outcome. If the effect does not meet the satisfaction of cause, then one must solicit insight of purpose, and re-examine the methodology. Know this, there must be a cause and effect to all things no matter the defined purpose; for your words permeate and are subservient to your thoughts.

Impact. This is by far the most rewarding if the cause and effect are met with satisfaction. The impact of your work is defined by the receivers; however, if not carefully examined it can be the most poisonous. If one is driven by praise delivered sycophantically as a measure of impact there will be no growth or true impact. This type of purpose creates a facade and is deadly in nature to growth in art. However, if one can measure the impact of his/her works based on the change they create within those they reach, then they have indeed mastered the purpose of their creation.

Incited Revolution. In the beginning I mention that all art is revolutionary. This is a true statement no matter the way one defines revolution; I define revolution, for the purpose of my creations of art, as the "transformational change" of the mind, body, and spirit. When you can speak in a way that causes change in another's existence, it reformats the tabula rasa, and the transformation is reciprocated and multiplied in a contagious manner to incite further change beyond your expectations; you have truly sparked a revolution. This should be present in all purpose of art.

Relevance. There is nothing worse than spoon-feeding someone something that is not necessary to them. Yes, I know that one man's trash is another's treasure, but what happens when trash is just that...trash? Not every discourse has value to the general populous, and this is something that must be considered when one prepares. Not every idea is a great one and we can't always hope that someone will eventually connect with the discourse simply because we said it. Considering the relevance is as important as the purpose, so one must take careful consideration when it comes to content and its cause, effect, impact, incitement, and relevance to all who will patron their creations.

These are my views and understanding of Art and how one defines them as artist.

Answer the following four questions:

1. What is the cause and effect of your "spoken-word"?
2. What impact are you striving for when one takes in your words/life?
3. What revolution (define) are you inciting?
4. How relevant are your words to someone who doesn't know you?

Note. I find these questions to be the apogee of defining yourself in this artform.

Yesterday I was invited by my wonderful and divine sister Tantra Zawadi to read an essay titled "A Lot of Thinking Lately" authored by poet/writer Shanna Melton. Now I am not sure if its in the water, air, or just in the uniVerse, but it seems that poets are tuned into the same energy. A few day ago I posted a blog "Against Bourgeois Art" which was sort of on the bring of this essay and had I read it first, I probably would have cited it in the post. Anyways, back to the essay. I read through this rattling post by Shanna several times and it was like the sound of a memory reverberating down my consciousness telling me its time for us to remember and reconnect with one another and re-tune ourselves with the spirit of the art in efforts to preserve a culture. Why don't we take a look at some of what she says in this wonderful essay:
"There was a time when I would anticipate gathering with my friends/fellow poets for ciphers. It was sure to be a night where I learned, wrote, and connected with like minds. All the new work we created would fill the room and we would talk about what we enjoyed and needed to fix in the poems...I never questioned the loyalty and love we share as fellow poets who are building a community and network of support."

This indeed was an all too familiar picture of the poetry scene, I thought. What happened, where did the poetry go wrong, did it make a wrong turn down a unlit street? Or did the poets lose sight of what poetry was meant to be? Did we lose all the love, the HUMAN connection to us all, family, and knowing when to support each other without needing to ask. We're letting all the good ones slip away without ever really knowing them...

"If I refer to someone as my friend or family it is not about being nice or shallow. It is because I found beauty inside of them that can be compared to none and it is imperative to surround yourself with beauty...All we do may never be perfect, but it is part of who we are no matter how ugly and/or beautiful. It is an individual decision to love it or leave it alone".

Thank you Shanna for sharing and reminding us who we are. Read Shanna Melton's essay here

Even today many poets are trying to find themselves or their voice as they write their poetry, says renowned poet and author Nikki Giovanni in her interview with BlogtalkradioTM host Joy Keys. Poets of the newer generation are definitely discovering new ways of expressing the way they see life and all of its tragic anomalies, they are exercising their personnel strife, and giving their inner-self a voice. Today there is an incredible need to be heard, a need to feel like we are the center, that our words are the truth and all that matters, but as we all know not all that speak need be heard. Imagine the analogy of two people, victims of a hit and run, both will indicate pain. However, depending upon each victim’s pain receptors and threshold one will be sure to exclaim that he/she are in far more pain than the other, but the others pain is truly no less, yet this is our way of making the world understand us. It is only when we forget ourselves, unlearn ourselves of being the center of focus and pay attention to the cosmos that surround us that makes us who we are, only then is when poetry will matter, and the experience (life) will connect and be understood as the sweet sounds of a well conducted orchestra.

What are we to do with the disposable poems? Yes, I said disposable due to a lack luster attitude that exists in the development of poems. There is a rapidly growing community of illiterate poets today that is filled with self-indulgence, egotism, and the worst of all patronage for the sake of fan accumulation and a myriad of reasons, but that is another matter and blog post. Today, with all of the venues like blogs and twitter apps have made it possible for one to expose their raw feelings before they have had a chance to process them, or even a chance to seek resolve prior to writing them into a poem or dirge if you will. Author and poet Dana Gioia wrote in his essay “Can Poetry Matter” that American poetry now belongs to a subculture. No longer part of the mainstream of artistic and intellectual life. The divorce of poetry from the educated reader has had another, more pernicious result. Seeing so much mediocre verse not only published but praised, slogging through so many dull anthologies and small magazines has created a riff between poets and would be readers—to paraphrase. In his essay he speaks a great deal on how we as poets can develop to improve our place in the literary verse, but of course it has to be read for you to understand how to improve.

But I guess that leads me to the point of what I meant by “illiteracy” in the poetry. What I hear/read from many poets, are personal and sometimes fictional (fantasy) works that lack investigation into the purpose of the write. For example: if a poet sits down to write a poem regarding 9-11 and only uses news media (television reports) as the source and basis of the material without reading—let’s say the “9/11 Commission Report”; how deep and valuable will this poem be for an intellectual reader? This is just a small example of the importance of reading to develop the skills and increased substance for ones works and verse, but this is only relative to the purpose of ones’ poetry. Where have all of the critics gone, poetry without its critics can really deminish what we call art. What are we afraid of when it come to hearing and providing feedback to the author...

Now let’s hear your thoughts… agree or disagree, all opinions are as important as the poetry we all write.

This post was incited by the words of Amiri Baraka in his poem “Against Bourgeois Art”, Buffalo 1978. In this piece I am reminded that history repeats itself, let's be the change!