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Born in Newburgh, N.Y., 1972, Saul Williams has been considered as a powerful voice of the hip-hop generation as a poet, preacher, actor, rapper, singer and musician. He is most known for his blend of spoken word poetry and hip-hop and for his leading role in the independent film Slam.
Biography
Williams was born Newburgh, N.Y. in 1972 to a preacher father and school-teacher mother. "My mother was rushed from a James Brown concert in order to give birth to me ... At that concert, he sang 'Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud,' and that shit came out in my bloodstream. I was born with that in me." As a child he learned to love the spoken and written word.
After graduating from Morehouse College with a B.A. in philosophy, Williams moved to New York City to take a Master's Degree at New York University in acting. Here he found himself at the epicentre of the New York cafe poetry scene. By 1995 he had become a talented open mic poet and in 1996 he won the title of Nuyorican Poet Cafe's Grand Slam Champion.
Fame of the spoken-word circuit led him to the lead role in the 1998 feature film, SLAM, which won both the Sundance Festival Grand Jury Prize and the Cannes Camera D'Or, introducing Williams to international audiences.
Williams was at this time breaking into music. He had performed with such artists as renowned hip-hop artists The Fugees, Erykah Badu, KRS-One, De La Soul, DJ Krust, as well as legendary poets Allen Ginsberg and Sonia Sanchez. After releasing a string EPs, in 2001 he released Amethyst Rock Star and in September 2004 his self-titled album with producer Rick Rubin.
As a writer, Williams has been published in The New York Times, Esquire, Bomb Magazine and African Voices, as well as having released three collections of poetry.
Williams has toured and lectured across the world, appearing in dozens of universities and colleges. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Bibliography
- The Seventh Octave (Moore Black Press) - 1998
- S/he (MTV/Pocketbooks) - 1999
- ,said the shotgun to the head. (MTV/Pocketbooks) - 2003
Discography
Filmography
- Slam - 1998
- SlamNation - 1998
- I'll Make Me a World - 1999
- Underground Voices - Unknown
External Links
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