“On and on and on and on,and my cypher keeps rolling like a rolling stone”-E.Badu The world keeps turning..and so must we..Listen…not one damn person promised you that this aging thing was gonna be dope. Not ONE ya hear me? Shiit..yesterday,today and tomorrow ain’t promised fo sho.. We didn’t know we’d be above ground contemplating […]
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Orator.Wordsmith.Producer.Lyricist.Motivator.Animator.Philosopher.Performer.Author.Artist.Hum an.Architect…He is many,many things-He loves many things and detests few,he is complex but simple,he is kind yet may appear cruel. He is brilliant but can feign ignorance.He is a sort of walking palindrome… Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more pal·in·drome /ˈpalənˌdrōm/Learn to pronounce noun What did you expect??? Hell,he is a POET. I chewed the fat with […]
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First published in 2015, Between The World And Me was written as a letter to Coates’ teenage son, and recounts the author’s experiences growing up in Baltimore’s inner city and his growing fear of daily violence against the Black community. The narrative explores Coates’ bold notion that American society structurally supports white supremacy. Based on the 2018 […]
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One of the most powerful performances! Santan Dave Live at The BRITs 2020 We at Nevahblackdown relish when an artist takes his/her stage and speaks not only from the heart but to the heart of the world. We take pride in sharing this video and believe that with art (music and performance in this case) […]
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Lessons from Ahmaud Arbery’s killing — that you already knew. The killing of black jogger Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia on Feb. 23 has punctuated what many African Americans already feel: Fear changes black bodies into threats. CLICK IMAGE TO WATCH VIDEO This rendition of the poem ‘Black 101’ memorializes the innocent lives that poet Frank […]
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We are proud to present and share this illuminating and beautiful ode to Black Women from Canadian artists Director: Jude Anthony Written and Performed by: Nigel Birch Nevahblackdown
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Ok, so I am immensely inspired to write a little bit about Mustafa Shakir. He has been on my radar to share his light with you, the readers of Nevah Black Down for some time. I’ve personally known him because of the whole spoken word scene in NYC over the years. I’ve always thought he […]
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I wrote this piece some years ago when I was trying to navigate the terrain of a new environment. Moving from Toronto to NYC gave me a window into things and ideas I had never been privy to. Just a border kept me disconnected with a part of myself that longed to experience both the […]
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This piece is absolutely amazing! SAMUEL KING is talented and powerful! It was posted some years ago and of course it is still relevant today, it addresses questions about black history month! Check it out! Nevahblackdown
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Black Girl, they say you ain’t ‘posed to be here Much of what twenty-first-century culture tells black girls they are not pretty: Don’t wear this; don’t smile at that. Don’t have an opinion; don’t dream big. And most of all, don’t love yourself. In response to such destructive ideas, internationally recognized poet Mahogany Browne challenges […]
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A Live Musical Documentary with spirituals, protest songs, and current popular music performed by an 18-piece orchestra, created by Brooklyn’s Soul Science Lab. From the painful conditions that ignited the 1963 Civil Rights Movement to today’s Black Lives Matter Movement, and much triumphant progress in between, music has always strengthened outcries for justice. This concert […]
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I AM THAT LITTLE GIRL CLOTHED IN BEAUTIFUL BROWN SKIN SMILING FROM BEHIND GROWN UP EYES WANTING ONLY TO ERASE THE TIES TO THE DECEIPT THAT CAUSES HATE AND A DESTRUCTIVE RISE – ING ON HIGH NESTS ABOVE THE REST — WITHIN THIS TIME LOVE IS WEEPING FROM THE UNTYING THE COMPARING COLOR OF SKIN […]
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Click here to watch Stand For what?! You want me to stand for a song that continues to remind me of all the harms that have done me wrong? Stand for what?! For your Army that none of our sons truly belong Stand for what? The 100 years it took them to convince Congress to […]
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Nevah Black Down is about using your art, your gift, your words and your image to speak your truth! Creative Direction: Karen Gibson Roc Photography: Cisco ‘Street Lenz’ Collaboration: Plinth & Scratch Clothing (featured bandanna) Music: J Dilla ‘Life’ instrumental #NEVAHBLACKDOWN
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i dress in black to match the color of my skin the skin i live my life in i am black angel fractured but never broken with wings on my back i know that i can fly i rise from beneath these noble streets paved in struggle i am eager to sit in the […]
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Every so often an image and a few words will draw you further into a story that needs to to be shared. Tara Ngozi Mixon and her new book “YOUR MOTHER WAS A PANTHER – Stories in Verse” is one of those stories. I came across her through social media. I followed her and contacted […]
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Yes, I know this guy and proud of it. We have shared stages and shared non-conversational moments of the poetic kind. I have respect and admiration for the continuous presentation of his gifts. He speaks in ways that hold us accountable as human beings. He is in your face with that confident wordsmith kinda power. He […]
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Since 1999, Ainsley Burrows has been a lean, mean, poetic machine, having toured at least eight to nine months of the last eight years; hitting almost every state in the United States, as well as several venues in Canada, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Germany. He has released several books, musical albums and most recently […]
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These two young ladies “ALIXA + NAIMA are at the forefront of using art to speak, to inspire and to share thoughts on the state of affairs in the world at large. They have inspired me for a few years now. As a poet and mother of a young lady, I am thrilled to share the […]
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“If New Haven’s hip-hop community has a Renaissance man, it just might be Baub Bidon.”— Jim Shelton, New Haven Register Yes! I am finally sitting down to share with you an artist that I feel is keeping it real. Baub speaks to the times, he speaks from the heart. His pen is littered with truth. He holds […]
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