Well, ladies and gentlemen, this is what the North Carolina born and bred, self-proclaimed Black poetry writer-turned MC, Eric D.Graham, is attempting to accomplish with his yet to be released project Pocket Full of Ghetto Poems: The Making of A Hip-Hop Classic.
"This album captures the moment we are living in right now" Graham said.
"Yet, it also connects us to the past, while allowing us to take a peek into the future."
With a level of confidence, which many may mistake as a form of cockiness, the Magnolia native feels he has produced one of the best Hip-Hop album's of the year-if not the best.
"My brother and I laugh-when I say, 'I killed rap. I brought Hip-Hop back!' he said.But, on a serious note, no laughing matter, with Graham's level of aggression and vocal tone, as well as, his unbelievable ability to write meaningful songs, with catchy hooks, he oddly, might have done just that.
For these very reasons, his highly anticipated album has an old school Hip-Hop feel to it.
Plus with an extensive Facebook and Sound cloud campaign currently creating a buzz on the Internet, his popularity is starting to grow, as people beyond the "closed" borders of Duplin County, slowly begin to listen to what the album Pocket Full of Ghetto has to offer.
And, shockingly, what it has to offer, is, a musical smorgasbord of songs on a variety of topics from the mind of a "so-called" Black intellectual.
With that said, many have already begun to ask, why did this "so-called" Black intellectual/ slash wannabe rapper-name his debut album Pocket Full of Ghetto Poems.
His answer to this question, oddly enough, might shock you.
"Well, intellectually, the album title: Pocket Full of Ghetto Poems... actually comes from a line I ead in one of Maya Angelou's poem. May she rest in peace." Graham explained.
"So, in order to honor her legacy as a Black Poetry Writer, I named it after her-"
"But, not only her,...all great Black Poetry Writers, who have influenced me-like Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni, Countee Cullen ,Gwendolyn Brooks, Amiri Baraka, Gil Scott-Heron, The Last Poets, and especially Sonia Sanchez."
Graham went on to say that while in college at Winston-Salem State, his English professor encouraged him to attend a Creative Writing Workshop taught by Sanchez..
"During my freshman year at WSSU, I had an opportunity to attend an extensive workshop with Ms.Sanchez on the art of Black poetry. However, she completely destroyed my mundane creativity and later showed me how to "really" express myself through words from a Black Revolutionary perspective " the Mass Communications mayor and History minor admitted.
"As a result, I prefer to describe my self as a Black Poetry Writer instead of a rapper or a MC"
"Why? Because, rappers are simply glorified poets, who speak words over African drums."
"However, as the scripture states clearly, "There is life and death in the tongue...So, we, all must be careful what we say, and how we say it."
With Graham explaining his album title, and professing himself a poet, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist Carl Yung, who founded analytical psychology stated that "The poet has plunged into the healing and redeeming depths of the collective psyche, where man is lost in the isolation of consciousness and its errors and sufferings, but where all men are caught in a common rhythm which allows the individual to communicate his feelings and striving to mankind as a whole...this re-immersion in the state of participation mystique.
With such a deep definition, one can only hope Pocket Full of Ghetto Poems lives up to its meaning.
And, shockingly, what it has to offer, is, a musical smorgasbord of songs on a variety of topics from the mind of a "so-called" Black intellectual.
With that said, many have already begun to ask, why did this "so-called" Black intellectual/ slash wannabe rapper-name his debut album Pocket Full of Ghetto Poems.
His answer to this question, oddly enough, might shock you.
"Well, intellectually, the album title: Pocket Full of Ghetto Poems... actually comes from a line I ead in one of Maya Angelou's poem. May she rest in peace." Graham explained.
"So, in order to honor her legacy as a Black Poetry Writer, I named it after her-"
"But, not only her,...all great Black Poetry Writers, who have influenced me-like Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni, Countee Cullen ,Gwendolyn Brooks, Amiri Baraka, Gil Scott-Heron, The Last Poets, and especially Sonia Sanchez."
"During my freshman year at WSSU, I had an opportunity to attend an extensive workshop with Ms.Sanchez on the art of Black poetry. However, she completely destroyed my mundane creativity and later showed me how to "really" express myself through words from a Black Revolutionary perspective " the Mass Communications mayor and History minor admitted.
"Why? Because, rappers are simply glorified poets, who speak words over African drums.""However, as the scripture states clearly, "There is life and death in the tongue...So, we, all must be careful what we say, and how we say it."
With Graham explaining his album title, and professing himself a poet, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist Carl Yung, who founded analytical psychology stated that "The poet has plunged into the healing and redeeming depths of the collective psyche, where man is lost in the isolation of consciousness and its errors and sufferings, but where all men are caught in a common rhythm which allows the individual to communicate his feelings and striving to mankind as a whole...this re-immersion in the state of participation mystique.
With such a deep definition, one can only hope Pocket Full of Ghetto Poems lives up to its meaning.
