Rhyme Summit Aotearoa

This Thursday, the first ever Rhyme Summit Aotearoa takes place. If you know anything about NZ music or poetry, you’ll realise this is a formidable lineup. Some names such as King Kapisi are well known; many others, such as Simone Kaho and Jai MacDonald, are rising stars of the poetry underground.

The show’s organizers, Darryl Jones and Kiri Piahana-Wong, talked to Renee Liang.

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Darryl and Kiri were inspired by the Def Jam movement in the US, particularly its ability to move, inspire and entertain. Significantly, the show is being recorded for later broadcast by Maori TV – one of the first times in my knowledge that mainstream media has paid attention to poetry in this country.

Blending hip hop, spoken word and poetry is not new – come to any of the poetry/spoken word events now regularly on offer around the country and you’ll see how closely related they are and how people are pushing and blending the forms. (None of it has to rhyme either, although when rhyming is done well and with reason, the effect is amazing). Anyway my pedantry should not take away from the significance of this event – in my experience the biggest and most star-studded line-up I’ve seen yet, and testament to the commitments of its organizers. I spoke to Kiri and Darryl about their reasons for doing the show.

How did this start?

Darryl: We were having a few drinks at Kiri's ex boyfriend’s house and Kiri’s cousin Daniel was playing a whole load of Def Jam Poetry clips on Youtube. When I got home I decided to watch some more and I literally stayed up all night and half of the following day watching every single clip I could. After that I knew that this was way too entertaining to not have something similar in New Zealand.

Kiri: Darryl came up with the initial concept and then approached me with his idea. He had been managing music events in Auckland for over three years, and asked for my input because he knew I was a performance poet and had some experience running poetry events. I was immediately taken with his concept. I've always loved Def Jam poetry, I think that it has a powerful message and taps into some deep universal concerns, like family, politics, and what it means to create art. I'm also proud of the fact that this is the first time an event like this has been run in New Zealand. It's good to be breaking new ground.

What is the reason for bringing together poets, spoken word artists, hip hop and reggae musicians?

Darryl: I think deep down I love to experiment. I suppose it is an undertaking in chemistry. And while some poetry and some hip-hop is a million miles from each other there is definitely some space that they co-exist within.

Kiri: I've always had a lot of love for hip hop, but I think that as genre it is widely misunderstood. The average person on the street associates hip-hop with the generic superficial American stuff that plays on Juice TV. But true rap artists are lyrical masters, what they do is poetry even though it’s not widely recognized as being that. It's going to be magical to see hip hop and reggae musicians take the stage alongside poets to perform spoken word. I hope it will give people who don't normally like rap music, a fresh perspective on what rap artists do. And for hip hop fans, who may have felt that poetry only belongs in the ivory tower, I’d like them to see some of our best performance poets in action, and to realise that contemporary poetry is both accessible and vibrant. So to me the event is about all these different groups coming together on the same level.

What are some of the acts you're most excited about?

Darryl: Personally, I am looking forward to all of them. I think there will be some surprises. If I had to choose one... I am very excited to be seeing Silva MC and Lapse. I know Kiri is looking forward to Glen Colquhoun’s performance a great deal.

Kiri: All of them, but I'm particularly excited that NZ’s most beloved doctor/poet Glenn Colquhoun will perform. He lives on a remote beach on the Kapiti Coast and rarely performs in Auckland these days. I had to pretty much stalk him to get a ‘yes’!!

What do these art forms have in common?

Kiri: Both groups have important meaningful things to express about our lives: what moves us, what angers us, what inspires us, what holds us back. Hip hop came from the ghettos of NYC, it was a way for people to express their anger and disenfranchisement. There is a rich tradition of political poetry too. The two have much in common.

Darryl: They both tend to ‘Rhyme!’ They both have Rhythm, they have both been used in the past as a means of expression in good times and bad and they are both valid forms of communication when used properly. They have also in my opinion both been abused by fraudulent participators who have sought to use them for ill.

Do you think this event could have been held five years ago? What do you think of the idea that Poetry/Spoken word is undergoing a renaissance in this country?

Kiri: Hip hop has had a huge following in this country for many years, possibly at the moment it’s struggling with the commercialisation of its image. But I think that poetry, particularly spoken word is truly undergoing a renaissance. Just in the last year there has been an explosion of poetry events around Auckland in particular. Finally people are coming along to poetry events who wouldn't normally enjoy “poetry”. This is a wonderful change.

Darryl: This event could have been held at any time during the last 20 years and been a success. Many people, myself included think that hip-hop has degenerated although that is more to do with commercial proponents cherry picking themes that go with their capitalist imperial ethos. Poetry/Spoken word will always be present, perhaps people need to recognise it when they come across it and stop expecting poems about Autumn and the horrors of War written by pretentious middle class dreamers.

Is this about 'exchange' or 'showcase'? What are you hoping to seed?

Darryl: I have thought of it more in terms of a showcase but Kiri, my partner in Rhyme seems to me to have regarded the exchange element more. I had not originally given that idea much thought, but I think it’s a beautiful thing. Perhaps each side can dispel certain misconceptions.

Kiri: To me it's more about exchange. I have a passion for each group to discover what the other has to offer. It's a magical night when you have the father of Aotearoa hip hop, King Kapisi; followed by goddess of Pasifika poetry, Karlo Mila; then up pops The Literatti’s Christian Jensen; then South Auckland’s queen of hip hop Queen Shirl’e; NZ’s most beloved Maori poet, Robert Sullivan; Bill E-Fluid; Tyson Tyler, etc!! Can’t wait!

This is possibly the first time an event like this has been televised on a mainstream channel. Will this lead to 'mainstreaming' of spoken word in NZ, and do you think this is a good thing?

Darryl: I disagree that Maori TV is a mainstream channel. Spoken word could be more mainstream as far as exposure is concerned with such an alliance.

Kiri: I’ve always hoped for spoken word to move more towards the mainstream, just so that more people can be aware of its existence and appreciate its power and sheer entertainment value! It's great that Maori TV has come on board.

Would NZ benefit from an event like Def Jam poetry?

Darryl: Yes!

Kiri: Absolutely.

You have a high proportion of NZ-based international artists performing. What do you think this says about the event?

Kiri: We wanted to bring a variety of different voices together. People from different cultures look at life in different ways, opening our eyes to different worlds and experiences.

Darryl: We are simply reflecting reality and bringing people, expression and art together. Variety is rarely a bad thing.

Where do you see this event going? Are there potential spin-offs?

Kiri: We have planned for this event to be an annual one, hopefully getting bigger every year. Personally I also hope it will also be part of the spoken word renaissance we are seeing here in New Zealand, and that it will contribute to raising the profile of spoken word.

Darryl: It should become an iconic annual event that grows in size year by year. There are potential spin-offs but my ideas are closely guarded until underway.

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Rhyme Summit Aotearoa, Auckland, 20 October 2011, 7 pm start

Studio, 340 Karangahape Rd, Auckland (R18)

Tickets:

Online from 1 Night