 SAUL
WILLIAMS
only Austria, former
Yugoslavia & former “Eastern Block countries”
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In an age where boundless
lea ps are being made in communication, Saul
Williams is evolutionary proof that age-old concepts
can be fused with new age precepts and expressed
with mind opening precision.
Never before has
the power of word and our ability to dictate
our reality been expressed so c lea rly and creatively,
at once. Williams' poetry represents an evolution
of thought, artistry and spiritual consciousness
delivered with the lyrical fervor of hip-hop
and the grace and linguistic mastery of Shakespeare.
Williams channels the voice of the New Age, yet, allows a wide ranging stream
of consciousness to distort the melody like some sort of lyrical Hendrix.
Williams'
debut performance and featured poetry in the film Slam, which he co-wrote and
starred in, brought audiences to their feet across the world. Winning the Grand
Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998, the Camera d'Or at the Cannes
Film Festival, along with the Audience Award for Best Picture and the World
Distributors Award for Best Picture, Slam goes down in history for exposing
the universal truths that one must grasp in order to escape imprisoned mind-states.
Along with his co-star, Sonia Sohn, Williams was personally awarded the Perry
Ellis Breakthrough Award by New York 's Independent Film Project (IFP) and
was also nominated for a Spirit Award for best performance. Marc Levin's idea
to direct this poetic masterpiece came about after seeing Williams recite his
poetry in the Grand Slam Championship at the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe, where he
became the Grand Slam Champion for 1996.
Williams' love of language
which is rooted in his love of hip-hop has come full circle as he
now takes his lyricism back to its music al roots.
Songwriting has become Williams' latest endeavor.
He envisions a hip-hop that is as music ally
evolved as his lyricism. Collaborating with six
band members, he is composing a sonic soundscape
for his already rhythmic and expansive poetry.
His music has been featured on a number of CD's,
including: Lyricist Lounge, the Slam soundtrack,
Black Whole Styles, Eargasms and Krust's Coded
Language. His album, Amethyst Rock Star, was
co-produced by Williams and Rick Rubin.
Williams'
work has been featured in The New York Times,
Esquire, Time Magazine, Elle, Details, Detour,
Premiere, Entertainment Weekly, Vibe, Essence,
Source, Paper,Rolling Stone, and countless other
periodicals. His first book, The Seventh Octave,
was published by Moore Black Press. His last
book of poetry, She, was published by MTV/ Pocketbooks
and is now in its third printing. His current
book , said the shotgun to the head , published
by MTV/Pocketbooks will be re lea sed in September
2003. Williams is also featured in a number of
poetry anthologies: Listen Up, Catch The Fire,
Slam and In Defense of Mumia.
Williams
has performed all around the U.S . , Canada ,
France , Germany , England , Scotland , Sweden
, Belgium , the Netherlands , Turkey , the Czech
Republic , South Africa , Brazil and Japan .
He has been featured at the Whitney Museum ,
the New Museum , Boston 's Museum of Fine Arts
, Chicago 's Museum of Contemporary Art and the
Museum of Contemporary Art in Stockholm , Sweden
. Saul performed on HBO's Def Poetry Jam III
in the spring of 2003 and is a recurring character
on UPN's hit show, 'Girlfriends.' His
poetry has been added into the curriculum at
a number of universities and high schools across
the country where he has been asked to recite
his work, lecture, and/or teach workshops, including:
New York University , American University , Morehouse
College , Oberlin, The New School, George Washington
University , Cornell University and Harvard. |
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