#mikethepoet

[irisdeanda]

Tonight we celebrated #mikethepoet #poeticsoflocation #writlargepress 😎 (at Kaleidoscope Kollective)

[therootsandwingsproject]

Blessings! Thrilled to be coming into our I LOVE MYSELF GOLDEN release this Saturday night.

The line-up of artists performing original work created for the event is powerful starring Gloria Basulto, Jesse Bliss, Laura Caustic, Romi Dias, Mike Sonksen, Ella AyitiTurenne, Patricia Zamorano, and Live Music by Tyalana and William of the Concentr8s. This event is supported in part by Poets & Writers through grants it has received from The James Irvine Foundation and the Hearst Foundations. Location : Espacio 1839 in Boyle Heights Date: January 16, 2016 E 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90033 *Take the Gold Line to Mariachi Plaza After party next-door at East Side Love Chapbook and Companion Book Release Los Angeles, CA― Writer Jesse Bliss and Visual Artist Alfie Numeric unite forces with the chapbook I LOVE MYSELF GOLDEN. After a decade of teaching Creative Writing at Central Juvenile Hall through the Inside OUT Writers program, Miss Bliss found it critical to create a book specifically to cultivate self-love and respect in the young women she encounters in the halls. The book was made to size to fit in their bras and is bound with no staples allowing it to circulate and not be counted as contraband. The pages illuminate, through words and illustrations, the light and love in the hearts of each young women underneath the very difficult life-circumstances they face. The chapbook is a love letter, speaking piercingly to all young women in and outside of the walls. The Roots and Wings Project teams up with Espacio 1839 in Boyle Heights near Central Juvenile Hall, Inside OUT Writers, and KPFK 90.7 FM’s THINK OUTSIDE THE CAGE Radio to bring an evening of theatre, poetry and music that will elicit transformation, elevating the minds and hearts of audience and performers alike. The work will explore the role self-respect and self-love play in dismantling The Prison Industrial Complex, patriarchy and misogyny alike. Excited to see you there! In Appreciation, Jesse

[mikethepoetla]

My album

"I Am Alive in Los Angeles"

is now available

on iTunes...

12 Tracks on Los Angeles.. 

Also featuring PhiLLHarmonic

& Beats made by David Wittman

aka DJ Dave.

"I Am Alive In Los Angeles is the perfect title for this collage of lush production and the slick stylings of Mike The Poet. His approach to each track is in the purest form of futuristic poetry..." -DJ Josh One “This cat has the ability to not only speak as a poet’s poet- in metaphors, cadence, and description- but also articulate the smells, touch, and taste of the world around him in such a fundamental manner you leave the listening session excited about re-touching life. Get re-inspired about existence in L.A.! Viva Mike the Poet!” -Raashan Ahmad (Emcee, Crown City Rockers) “Working over tracks that are a little bit hip-hop and a whole lot of drum 'n bass, Mike Sonksen speaks for the new breed he's part of on "The Best Minds of My Generation" only to turn around and give props to all who came before on "L.A. Authors." He glories in the melting pot that is today's Los Angeles with a spy satellite's eye for detail, yet doesn't shy away from describing all who get boiled to death on that stove. The masterpiece is "L.A. Love and War," which begins: "L.A. love and war/People want to settle the score/Between the haves and the have-nots/Country clubs and the crooked cops/Range Rovers and the bus stops/L.A. love and war/What are we fighting for?" Sonksen answers that question with a fierce poetic fury, presenting a jaw-dropping panorama that just keeps rolling, rolling, rolling like a river.” -Lee Ballinger (Rock & Rap Confidential) “The appeal of I Am Alive in Los Angeles is its effortlessness. It’s political without telling you to wear a badge or jump on any bandwagon and its funny wihout the neon-colored punchlines. All lovers of intricate wordplay, add this to your list.” --Straight No Chaser

Short review by Nicole Sconiers:

Mike the PoeT is a Los Angeles lyrical street soldier making his vibrant debut with "I Am Alive in Los Angeles." The hot rhymes on this album are accompanied by a cool minimalist fusion of hip-hop and jazz, smoothed by the light touch of electronica. Squeaky clean production throughout is provided by Berkeley born, DJ Dave.