“Brave New Voices:” F*** Off American Idol

Ok, I realize I might offend some Idol fans, and that is not my intention. Let me say that I do not watch most prime time television, in fact, I usually don’t. If I come across a show I really like, I wait for it to come out on DVD and watch the series as I would a movie. I hate commercials, and if I really like a show, I hate waiting for a week to find out what happens. I also really hate getting into a show in the middle of something. I prefer to watch a season from the beginning, and no matter how much I like it, I can’t get sucked into weekly airings full of commercials.

So that is my rant about TV I do like. Most of my favorite shows are cable shows. I love Dexter, Californication, Weeds, and The United States of Tarah. I also love 24 and Law & Order SVU. I loved Meadowlands, and was pissed when it didn’t air a second season. Ok, so point is, I watch TV, but I don’t follow all the mainstream, need to know shows. I don’t watch anything on prime time but the Simpsons and Family Guy, and lately I have been paying attention to Rachel Maddow, and incidentally Keith Olberman. Again, I tangent.

I have been involved in a blog on this site about the value of beauty pageants, albeit that wasn’t what the blog intended to be about, but what it essentially became about, and realized that while I have a lot of negative feedback for mainstream media, every once in a while there is something that breaks through, that catches my attention, and that screams, “Progress.” Actually there a lot of things like this, its just that for me, I find myself wandering down little divergent paths unexplored by most of modern society, Rarely does something from the media strike me so strongly as to be compelled to share it, save with a select few who are already my members of my little underground, or fringe community. To be honest, this is the first time this has ever happened to me.

I have enjoyed watching Def Poetry Jams for the past 4 years, and every now and then I am inclined to post a you tube link featuring a really great poem I liked either here, on ProU, or on my fb. Well, today I am inclined to promote a show that I have just discovered, though I am know it is at least in its second year, and I don’t know what season.

The show is Russell Simmons “Brave New Voices.” If you are not familiar with it (as I realize many people who don’t have cable, or HBO aren’t) it is a reality series showcasing young people (ages 16 through 25? I think) working in teams across the United States toward competing in a National Poetry Slam.

I realize this will make for a long post, but I honestly can’t edit this down. The About page of “Brave New Voices” states:

"All over the United States, a new generation of poets is emerging. This new HBO series captures teenagers picking up the pen and taking hold of the microphone with passion, intelligence, creativity, honesty and power. These voices of 21st Century America transcend race, class, gender, orientation, and red state/blue state politics as they show us all what the next generation of leaders looks and sounds like.

Brave New Voices is a new seven-part series that features teenage poets and their mentors from San Francisco, Philadelphia, New York, Santa Fe, Ft. Lauderdale, Honolulu and Ann Arbor as they prepare for Youth Speaks' 2008 Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Finals.

These young poets represent a growing national movement featuring thousands of teenagers writing and performing spoken word as a way to have voice in their communities and in the nation as a whole. These are the Brave New Voices and the organizations that support them.

The youth represent an amazing blend of spoken word, hip-hop, poetry, music, power, voice, imagination, and more. Brave New Voices sheds light onto this largely unseen world, putting an honest spotlight on some of the most dynamic young adults in the country.

The 2008 Brave New Voices Festival was held in Washington, D.C., just three months before the presidential election. In the shadow of the White House, America's youth challenged each other with words and ideas.
For five outspoken days in July 2008, over 500 talented teen poets and spoken word artists from teams around the country joined together for workshops, poetry readings, late-night cyphers, political organizing, and of course, to vie for top honors at the National Youth Poetry Slam. Their backgrounds were diverse, yet they shared a passion for opening minds and hearts - starting with their own.

For many of the poets, the Brave New Voices Festival was an eye-opening, life-changing experience. They left their family, got on a plane, performed in front of a crowd of thousands and found new opportunities for growth and friendship beyond borders. Equally life-changing was the four-month journey to get ready for the festival.
Eventually, one team rose above the rest to become the 2008 National Youth Slam Poetry Champion.”

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Russell Simmons is a genius, and has found a way to create opportunities for some of our most talented youth, not to mentioned, oppressed youth to make their voices heard.

Russell Simmons On Innovation and Business
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pFcwQbmLso&feature=related

Here are some the voices that touched me deeply:

“Brave New Voices” is
“1893” by Jamaica—
The voice of a powerful woman from Hawaaii, home of many of my ‘Ohana.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HFY1s2g070

Watching the show, I saw this young man battle himself, and his teammates, as well as his coaches. At times it felt a little too “dramatic,” but when I watched him onstage, I was blown away. Here is:

“Change” by B Yung
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqERbsQlcBI

This kid is for all intents and purposes a bit of a “nerd,” with a noticeable lisp, and an unimposing physique, but his rhythm is strong, and his words are sharp.

“Dream of a Ridiculous Man” Josh Bennett
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHTHOe5ekaY

Joshua Bennett, HBO Profile
http://www.hbo.com/bravenewvoices/poets/philadelphia_joshuabennett.html

Watching this young woman on the show, I am even more impressed by this performance. She voted herself as the weakest performer of her team.

Britney Wilson, HBO Profile
http://www.hbo.com/bravenewvoices/poets/newyork_britneywilson.html

So what does “Brave New Voices” have on American Idol? For one thing, these people are not singing other people’s songs, nor are they reciting someone else’s poem. These people have written from their souls, and are speaking from the same place. They are truly unique, in that their voices are their own. This is what I call “progress.”