Live From 215

things i didn’t know about def jam poetry (2002-2007)

i have a folder on youtube with my favorite def jam poetry performances. today i was rewatching them and got curious about the show, so i did a little research and this is what i found…

- it premiered on hbo in 2002, executive produced by russell simmons and directed by stan lathan (the same duo behind def comedy jam)

– the first episode opened with mos def reciting langston hughes’ “harlem sweeties” and naming him a “def poet” (which is how the concept was introduced)

– the show was filmed at the supper club in new york city, with a live audience

– the idea of a “def poet” wasn’t explained. it became clear through the range of voices on stage

– the poems focused on love, race, sex, politics, family, sexuality, and feminism, not academic forms

– the show drew from slam poetry and spaces like the nuyorican poets cafe

– the lineup mixed poetry legends (nikki giovanni, sonia sanchez, amiri baraka) with musicians, actors, and comedians (jill scott, alicia keys, dave chappelle, kanye west)

– the series expanded to broadway, winning a tony award, and later received a peabody award

i’ll probably do a whole substack on this because there’s more and this is already too long lol

You get the whole walk cycle and the little sprint at the end.

Sometimes her sprints last for like 4 or 5 seconds and she can shoot herself off the couch or into a wall if she gets a grip with her back claws. If she does it next to a wall, her head smacking into it sounds like someone is trying to break into the house. She doesn't wake up.