Write Free + Speak Free + Live Free

The first season of Sneakers & Stanzas is dedicated to classics. Classic poems from Dasan Ahanu and sneakers with a classic history. One episode a week for 10 weeks! SUBSCRIBE to Dasan’s YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/dasanahanu to stay tuned for each episode.

At the 1995 Source Awards, André 3000 proclaimed, “The South got something to say.” To understand the depth of that profound truth, you must spend some time with the brilliance brewed below the Mason-Dixon line. Join Dasan Ahanu as he explores Southern Hip Hop’s deep and enduring artistry and the qualities that define its most daring wordsmiths. A rich and distinctive tapestry of oration and storytelling, there is something special about the way pen meets page down bottom. Let’s dig into what made what came out of the Dirty South so compelling and dynamic. This presentation is an adaptation of Dasan’s research as a Nasir Jones Fellow with Harvard University’s Hip Hop Archive and Research Institute.

Art and culture a representative force in our society. It is an outlet for artists and the things they have experienced or are facing. It is also a reflection of the society we live in, for better or worse. We can use art and culture and its artifacts to spark necessary conversations and gain a deeper understanding of the world around us. This project unpacks what Hip Hop and pop culture say to us about the relationships we form and the impact they have. What do they look like when they are healthy? What can happen when they aren’t? What the subtle narratives in the music and videos we interact with regularly and what do show us about us? How can this interrogation raise our awareness and understanding? When it comes to our relationships, what are we choosing to ignore and what do we need to change? Through multimedia presentation and deep discussion we will talk dive into this and more…WHEN THE BEAT DROPS!

Variations of this project address intimate partner violence, rape and sexual assault, healthy sexuality, and issues of consent. This project focuses on college age young adults, but can be adapted for older teens. It can also be presented to adults in partnership with community organizations and initiatives.

Art and culture a representative force in our society. It is an outlet for artists and the things they have experienced or are facing. It is also a reflection of the society we live in, for better or worse. We can use art and culture and its artifacts to spark necessary conversations and gain a deeper understanding of the world around us. This project unpacks what Hip Hop and pop culture say to us about the relationships we form and the impact they have. What do they look like when they are healthy? What can happen when they aren’t? What the subtle narratives in the music and videos we interact with regularly and what do show us about us? How can this interrogation raise our awareness and understanding? When it comes to our relationships, what are we choosing to ignore and what do we need to change? Through multimedia presentation and deep discussion we will talk dive into this and more…WHEN THE BEAT DROPS!

Variations of this project address intimate partner violence, rape and sexual assault, healthy sexuality, and issues of consent. This project focuses on college age young adults, but can be adapted for older teens. It can also be presented to adults in partnership with community organizations and initiatives.

This show is a unique live band and spoken word experience led by award-winning poet, spoken word artist, and emcee Dasan Ahanu. Each poem is blended with new and recognizable grooves to create a performance experience unlike anything else. Stories are brought to life on stage to a dynamic backdrop of jazz and soul instrumentation. Dasan and the band take audiences on an eloquent musical journey of joy, hope, love, resilience, and courage.

Spoken Word is the art of performance poetry. It can be emotional, inspirational, educational, creative, and expressive as the artist’s imagination. The art form can also be a beacon of healing and growth. In this show, Dasan Ahanu uses the art form to deepen our understanding and raise our awareness of what’s happening around us.

This live music experience is based on Dasan Ahanu’s poetry chapbook, a brilliant uncertain rebellion. Dasan is an award-winning poet, spoken word artist, and emcee, continuing a long tradition of music and performance. A student of craft. A speaker of truth. A griot looking to bring his words to life on stage. Each poem will be blended with clever jazz interpretations of Andre Benjamin’s (aka Andre 3000) musical catalog, including Outkast songs and guest appearances, to create a performance experience unlike anything else.

a brilliant and uncertain rebellion is a celebration of self-determination and will. It is a declaration of joy and resilience. It is a battle cry and a call to all who have ever faced unnecessary expectations. In this performance, we seek to establish that we decide the truth of our lives, and we determine the direction our lives take. All we have to do is give ourselves permission.

Get two award-winning artists in a room. Add a serious band or just a microphone; then put them in a room full of folks. Have their poetry, rhyming and singing address some personal woes, community challenges, life’s beautifuls and the universal wonders found in the modern age…

…Wrap it in the past of the ascended masters Gil Scott-Heron and Oscar Brown, Jr., before adding the original works crafted as next steps in the timeline.

Sample Sale Music is both a tribute show and live mixtape. The project focuses on the works and lives of Gil Scott-Heron and Oscar Brown Jr via their poetry and their music. The ascended masters are considered two pioneers in both genres. Their contributions to American culture can be witnessed through conscious rap music, acid jazz, neo-soul, spoken word/performance poetry and any art that promote progressive thinking or action.

Dasan and Tai are both observant students of the giants. Their own career arcs benefit from the lanes the two masters created. So this live mixtape experience is a celebration of the influences of the two masters and a showcase of Dasan and Tai’s additions to a rich artistic tradition.

Featured at BAM Cafe (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Brooklyn Museum, National Black Writer’s Festival, Blue Note Jazz Club, Beyu Caffe, Durham County Library, and American International College.

The HeavyLight Experience is a collective of creatives that came together from careers as solo artists, deejays, producers and collaborators. Their fusion of hip-hop, R&B, house, jazz and spoken word, combined with their experience, travels and regional sensibilities takes listeners on a well-rounded musical journey. The group consists of Dasan Ahanu (National radio and television, Poetry Slam Champion, Harvard Fellow, College Professor), Tai Allen (Indie soul artist, music curator, published poet, creative director at Vibe Vixen, Uptown and YRB), producer and MC/Poet Mic El, (Colette, Eric Roberson, Jarrard Anthony), and DJ CEO (Fuse TV’s United States of Hip-Hop, Brooklyn Beer + Wine Festival).

Their first project, resulting from marathon sessions in the studio, is Ocean’s Eleven. The aptly titled EP seamlessly stitches their diverse talents together in a string of songs that’s reminiscent of the Native Tongue collective.

Founded in 2008 by Church DaPoet and Dasan Ahanu, BPT creates and presents original poetry and spoken word based theatrical productions. Black Poetry Theatre seeks to expand the understanding of spoken word and foster greater appreciation for the power of contemporary poetry by presenting it in traditional theatrical settings, raising cultural awareness through the use of the performing arts and telling necessary stories from within our communities.

In 2005, The Jambalaya Soul Slam started at the Hayti Heritage Center in Durham and has been supported by the St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation ever since. Each month the slam brings together the best poets in the area to compete for a cash prize and an invitation to Grand Slam Finals where the Bull City Slam Team (BCST) is picked. The Jambalaya Soul Slam also features some of the best poets from across the country each month. The Jambalaya Soul Slam has been highlighted in the News & Observer, Herald Sun, and other media as one of the area’s most successful arts programs.

The Bull City Slam Team (BCST) is sponsored by the St. Joseph’s historic foundation and represents the Triangle in regional and national competition each summer. The team has had great success at the Southern Fried poetry slam, an annual festival and competition featuring teams of poets from across the southeast. It is the largest regional poetry slam in the country and is run by Southern Fried Poetry Slam, Incorporated. The team finished second at the 2009 Southern Fried Poetry Slam held in Durham, NC. In 2010 the Bull City Slam Team won the Southern Fried Poetry Slam in Knoxville, TN. In 2014 the team won the Southern Fried Regional Poetry Slam for a second time in Greenville, SC. In 2015 they finished second at the Southern Fried Regional Poetry Slam in Little Rock, AR. In 2018, the BCST finished third at the Southern Fried Poetry Slam in San Antonio, Tx. The team has also had success at the National Poetry Slam (NPS), a national team competition run by Poetry Slam Incorporated and held in cities across the country. The BCST finished 3rd in team finals at the 2010 NPS in St. Paul, MN and second in Group Piece finals at the 2012 NPS in Charlotte, NC. The team has made semi-finals at NPS three times, in 2007, 2010, and 2016. The Team has also had individual representatives make final stage at the Individual World Poetry Slam (IWPS) and Women of the World Poetry Slam (WOWPS); both events are also run annually by Poetry Slam Incorporated.

BCST members are chosen each year through participation in the Jambalaya Soul Slam, a monthly poetry slam series held at the Hayti Heritage Center in Durham, NC. The members also participate in other creative writing and performance programming at the Hayti Heritage Center throughout the year. They help facilitate community programs with local partners through the foundation. One of the goals of the slam and the team is to not only be a representative for the community but also an active participant in the community.

The Pen 2 Paper Shop Talks are a series of conversations with NC poets about navigating life and business as an artist and professional. Each session features poets who have carved their own way in the arts and are pushing the possibilities of their craft. The conversation will be followed by a live audience Q&A and a performance by each artist. Hosted by 2023 Piedmont Laureate Dasan Ahanu.

Urban Folklore is a spoken word showcase featuring dynamic poetic storytellers. The showcase features established and emerging poets whose work and backgrounds represent the diversity of the voices across North Carolina, especially those from underrepresented communities. Moderated by 2023 Piedmont Laureate, Dasan Ahanu, Urban Folklore not only provides an opportunity for community members to see and hear these poets at work, but the event also holds space for a talkback with the poets to give insight into their process and the inspiration behind their poetry.

In this series poets will be invited to gather to look at various examples of performance art from independent artists that seeks to address social issues. They will also gain valuable insight through engagement with guest speakers from initiatives and organizations working actively on this issues in the community. Participants will get to discuss strategies for building off of these examples with their own art. Artists are often creating from within the circumstances and obstacles they are addressing. Being able to explore these experiences with each other will not only allow poets to be seen and heard, but also help them sharpen their craft for use as a tool of community engagement. Each of these happenings will be a peer workshop, strategy session, and an affirmation. Participants will craft and share poems that will be used as a part of a campaign to bring greater attention to critical issues facing marginalized, distressed, and overlooked residents in Durham, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill, NC (also known as the Triangle).