By Joseph 'JP' Patterson
Let's face it: spoken word artists are the underpaid and less-celebrated lyricists of our time. It's a downright shame, I know, but that hasn't stopped them from inspiring, encouraging, and uplifting people for the last four decades (see: Gil Scott-Heron). While they may not be as blinged-out or referenced in pop culture as their rap brethren, these modern-day poets have always preferred to let their words do all the shining.
In the UK, especially, more and more young people are yearning for lyricism that tackle their day-to-day hardships. I mean, there's only so many times you can listen to rappers brag about how many £300 True Religion jeans they owns when you're struggling to pay rent and uni fees, but I digress. Fusing their introspective rhymes with hip-hop, grime, dubstep, soul, jazz, and indie backdrops, British spoken word artists are building up quite the alternative scene—taking their craft from the poetry café's to the blogosphere and the airwaves. Today, we meet five wordsmiths who are blowing up the spot.
Head over to MTV IGGY to see more: H E R E
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