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"Don´t give in to the confines of space and time/Climb out of our corrugated box/Lock all boundaries in the closet/All limitations in safe deposit/Lose the key/Go on a thinking spree/Free your mind/Free your mind/Free your mind."
- From Q & A, Silver or Lead

Philly-born poet, Ursula Desiré Rucker knocked 'em out of the box with her debut album, Supa Sista. Intricately weaving words with music on her sophomore effort, Silver or Lead, she cracks her whip on unsuspecting and complacent ears worldwide. Kicking knowledge on everything from womanhood to slavery, to love, sexism, politics and more, Ursula redefines spoken word with her trademark socio-political urgency and sweet "song-speak." As one of the architects of Philadelphia's poetic revival, Ursula landed in the spotlight far before slams and Def Poetry Jam made headlines. Following in Supa Sista's acclaimed footsteps, Silver or Lead boasts even more provocative music and word fusion.

With song after poem after song - the two become one as Silver or Lead proves that poetry has never been this head bobbing. On the Jazzanova-produced "What A Woman Must Do," she offers a biting testament on the complexities of what it means to be "She" in this world. With "Release," Ursula flexes her lyrical muscle as she rides the up-tempo, Congo-driven smash by Masters At Work's Little Louie Vega. "What he did is amazing. I
have never ever done anything like that; it's very musical. It's Afro-Latin, like whoa!," Ursula explains. Tit for tat, Ms. Rucker delivers the intro to Vega's new Latin album. Bumping soulfully through the speakers, the John Wicks produced "Lonely Can Be Sweet" and "Damned If I Do" both host a melodic, hypnotic Ursula.

Although she's globe trotted with innovators like 4 Hero and The Silent Poets, it was her coveted album-ending slot on The Roots first three studio LP's that made her go boom. Under the direction of Roots drummer, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, Ursula crafted "The Unlocking," a disturbing account of sexual exploitation, the crack-mama tales of "Alice in Wonderland" and the tragic, "Return To Innocence Lost." "He [Ahmir] was of the belief that having a poem at the end of the album and having a woman do it was important. He believed in me and wasn't afraid to make that choice each time," Ursula reflects. Her last poem with The Roots, "Return To Innocence Lost," fittingly returns to close Silver or Lead. "That's one of my most personal poems I've ever written in my life. It's mine," Ursula explains, of the lyrical documentation of her older brother's life, and, violent death.

Drawing on influences from prestigious Black Arts Movement activist poet and icon Sonia Sanchez to Frida Kahlo, Zora Neale Hurston and even Prince, the Temple University Journalism graduate balances motherhood, activism and artistry with aplomb. With her rhythmic stories of struggle, she's confident, never preachy. Explaining her quest to rouse people from the dismal depths of the matrix and dish verse on subjects that society often keeps in the closet, she keeps it simple: "I am driven to deal with real
issues." In 1994, Ursula stood up for the very first time and faced an audience with her stunningly genuine verse at Zanzibar Blue in Philadelphia. Almost a decade later, Ursula is happily married with three sons. She's transfixed audiences from Tokyo to Capetown alongside the likes of Gil Scott-Heron, Mos Def, Macy Gray and even the late great Nina Simone. When Ursula - timid at first - grips the microphone tightly, all ears hone in. Don't bet on this veteran to ever sit down and be quiet. Her words are power.