April 6, 2025 • 35 mins
Check out Amanda's conversation with Shay.thepoet !
Shataysha Byrd was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Shataysha originally started poetry in fifth grade but did not get the courage to perform in front of an audience until 20 years old. After the first performance, she knew the stage was her home from that moment on. Then the pandemic took a different turn in the world that stopped many different artists from performing and or producing. This did not stop Shay.thepoet, it instead has opened up a new world for her. Since the pandemic, she has performed in Atlanta, Los Angles, Florida, Ohio, and many other states. Shay is the first Poetry Me Please grand slam champion and has many goals and aspirations for the future.
Shay's Links:
@shay.thepoet
CHECK OUT AMANDA'S NEW TV SHOW: The Poet Speaks with Amanda Eke! Now airing on the Archaeology Channel and Roku!
STREAM HERE:
https://heritagetac.org/programs/the-poet-speaks-with-amanda-eke-i28z2vn9bsc?category_id=65263
Be sure to check out The Poet Speaks Podcast on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/thepoetspeakspodcast/
And listen to,The Poet Speaks Podcast, on the go on ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS WORLDWIDE!
Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/1cM1rdF...
Did you know The Poet Speaks is also Amanda's touring global workshop? She teaches people all about how to make, create and the history of Spoken Word and Indigenous oral traditions! To make a booking for The Poet Speaks Workshop with your organization, apply for mentorships with Amanda, book interviews, as well as writing consultations, please use this link: https://www.amandaeke.com/services
Music by: Buzu Buzu
https://www.instagram.com/bbuzu/
Shataysha Byrd was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Shataysha originally started poetry in fifth grade but did not get the courage to perform in front of an audience until 20 years old. After the first performance, she knew the stage was her home from that moment on. Then the pandemic took a different turn in the world that stopped many different artists from performing and or producing. This did not stop Shay.thepoet, it instead has opened up a new world for her. Since the pandemic, she has performed in Atlanta, Los Angles, Florida, Ohio, and many other states. Shay is the first Poetry Me Please grand slam champion and has many goals and aspirations for the future.
Shay's Links:
@shay.thepoet
CHECK OUT AMANDA'S NEW TV SHOW: The Poet Speaks with Amanda Eke! Now airing on the Archaeology Channel and Roku!
STREAM HERE:
https://heritagetac.org/programs/the-poet-speaks-with-amanda-eke-i28z2vn9bsc?category_id=65263
Be sure to check out The Poet Speaks Podcast on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/thepoetspeakspodcast/
And listen to,The Poet Speaks Podcast, on the go on ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS WORLDWIDE!
Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/1cM1rdF...
Did you know The Poet Speaks is also Amanda's touring global workshop? She teaches people all about how to make, create and the history of Spoken Word and Indigenous oral traditions! To make a booking for The Poet Speaks Workshop with your organization, apply for mentorships with Amanda, book interviews, as well as writing consultations, please use this link: https://www.amandaeke.com/services
Music by: Buzu Buzu
https://www.instagram.com/bbuzu/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Join us on the poetic Odyssey, a celebration of voices, cultures, and.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
The power of words. I'm Amanda Ecking.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Welcome to the poet Speaks, where every syllable ignites inspiration
for get you involved with what stories are on these tracks?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
This idea of the Bronx. Now, boogie down Bronx. That's
what people say, right, don't become someone's subway story.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Medicate me with a lick of the like.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
I am not afraid to love you.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
All of us have a story.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Microphone magnifying, notick.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
No one want to listen. So I think that's what
made me write.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
In writing the writing disco.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
You ready, amazing poetry O, It's hell everyone, Welcome back
to the poet Speaks podcast. Now. Our next guest was
born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Originally started
poetry in the fifth grade and did not get the
course to perform in front of an audience until about
(01:19):
twenty years old. After her first performance, she knew the
stage was her home. Everyone, Welcome to the polt Speaks podcast.
Shade the Poet Shay, how are you hey?
Speaker 3 (01:30):
I'm good? How are you? How are you?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I'm doing good? Doing good? So Shae the poet. Oh.
I also know in your Instagram bio you're also known
as what is it the Bronx poet, the Bronx poet.
Where is your location currently? The world of people couldn't
guess by now? Tell us where the Bronx.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Of course you're not from the Bronx. And what is
the purpose? What are we doing this for? But yes, yes, yes,
I am from the Bronx.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Tello boogie down, Bronx. Tell us a bit about I mean,
tell us bit about just how New York has raised
you to be the poet you are today. Tell us
a bit.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
About a man I love. I born and raised in
the Bronx. Of course, write on Tremont wonderful, wonderful, wonderful,
definitely just shape a lot of the way I write,
a lot of the way of which I storytell. You know,
bron the Bronx is like the birthplace of hip hop,
so it's definitely like created and molded a lot of
(02:27):
my writing just into like this storytelling, this understanding that
I definitely created. So shout out to the Bronx.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Absolutely absolutely so born raised, bread everything Bronx's bread. Absolutely
absolutely tell us a little bit about I mean, I'm
so intrigued by this idea that you have. You didn't
actually start performing your poetry and you have such a
you have a big following just on social media. I mean,
tell us you didn't start performing poetry till you were
(02:56):
twenty years old. What made the wait so long for you?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Oh? I have no clue. I've always been a background kid.
That makes sense, Like I'm not one to like I
guess now I am. But as a kid, I definitely
did not always put myself out there. My school had
a poetry team, but I was on the step team.
High school, they did poetry performances like at I go
(03:23):
with the kIPS, so like they have Kip summoned and
they went and did poetry. Still wasn't feeling it. I
actually like went through a really tough time in a relationship,
and like I had found Maui the writer. Maui Underscore
the writer. If anybody knows her, she has a huge following.
She's amazing. I love her in real life. And I
(03:44):
definitely was just like, oh my god, like I could
write out my feelings whatever. And then I actually I
went to a PWI. I went to Outford State and
they had a Black history performance and they were just like, hey,
you know, came peer perform, Let's see what's up. Blah
blah blah blahlah blah. And I was like, Okay, I
wrote something. I told myself, I would sit down, I
(04:05):
would memorize it, and I would go up there and
I would perform, and like people cried, they thought it
was phenomenal, and I was like, Okay, this is a
very interesting lane to jump into. So that was definitely
my first performance in twenty But no stage fright, no
fear wasn't like oh my god. It was just like, Okay,
(04:26):
this is a cool hobby I could get into. And
hobby clearly quickly became passion.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, wow, okay, wow, Now tell us, I mean, how
important do you think that is maybe finding that that
passion is school, because, like you said, you're a teacher. Now,
how important do you think that is for kids to
kind of find that passion for writing at that younger
age and seeing where they can go with it.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Being in education. You get to see how like education
is almost a lost thing at this point in kid's life.
They're not they're not reading at the level that they's
suppos they're not writing at the level that they're supposed to.
But I think that when we teach them that there's
a way to express yourself and allowing people to hear
you and understand you, they will be able to find
(05:11):
that love and compassion. And I wish that in more
schools we were pushing more writing classes, writing prompts. I
got to teach poetry for a year in my school,
which was super fun, super cool, and you just get
to hear, honestly overall, just what the kids are feeling
and what they're facing and what they're going through. So
(05:31):
I do wish that more schools would accept and respect
the curriculum of just writing.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Absolutely absolutely, So do you tell them about your illustrious
career as a spoken word poet? Your kids, your students.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
We have social media kids now, so even if I
don't tell them, they know. I have six seventh and
eighth grade and my sixth graders came in the other
day and was like, Hey, do you know that you
have twelve thousand followers on Instagram? And I was like, no,
you like what and like, you know, like willing to
show me and everything. I try to keep my poetry
(06:08):
life and my school life a little separate, because although
I'd like to be a role model, I like to encourage,
I still am a twenty six year old girl that
just wants to live her regular, normal human life. But
they are followers, and when I block them from following,
their parents follow and parents have been to my shows
and seen me perform and ask me when I'm dropping
(06:31):
my next home and what can I do?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
So yeah, I mean, so that must be pretty wild though,
because it's that double life almost that you're living as
kind of just you know, your your you know, day
job as being a teacher, and then you know you
have this again, like this illustrious career with a lot
of support, a lot of success as a spoken word poet.
(06:55):
I mean, those are such two worlds kind of colliding.
Do you see yourself in this kind of always becomes
a question do you see yourself taking your art and
now just saying I'm just gonna be full time spoken
we're a poet and not be you know, maybe not
be an education in the same capacity as a teacher.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
I hope that my parents get to see this podcast
because they would love for me to say, yes, I
am going to quit my day job and focus on
poetry full time because schools will always be there and
poetry may not. But for me, realistically, I just I
don't see it happening. I've built so many bonds with
(07:34):
parents with kids. I've watched my first class graduate, maybe
this next class after they graduate. And I'm a founding school.
So my school's been around for four years. I've been
there the whole four years that they've been there, and
I definitely often think, no, I'm going to stay here
for a long time, And then some days I think
I can probably make more money and spend more time
(07:54):
doing poetry and be more in control of my time.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
So yeah, yeah, No, it definitely becomes such a which
which road do you go? I mean, it really could
go either way, especially for someone like you at this point.
Tell us a little bit about like you mentioned social
media kids. You know, you have such a big, larger
social media following. Then a lot of poets tend to
(08:18):
find themselves. I think a lot of poets it's hard
to get into that space of getting social media famous. Right,
How did you kind of garner all that kind of
those that type of buzz on social media? I think
a lot of people struggle with that mar that aspect
of marketing.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
If it makes them feel better. I struggle too. You,
as a poet, should do the following. Even though I
do not have the following. You should do the following
for sure. You should have merch, you should have a book.
It is the best way to capitalize on, like the
following in the space that you have. I owe a
(08:56):
big things to my following because that went viral twice,
so people were just like, hey, we know that girl,
not once or twice. And I owe a lot of
that to voices empower the platform. You don't know. It's amazing.
It's a platform run by Louis Morero who founded it
in Philly, and they have over gosh, maybe seven hundred
(09:19):
thousand fowers. Maybe that feels right, but I could be
I could be off in the numbers. They're phenomenal, they're supportive,
and they also run a site in New York and
I run that site. So a lot of my following
is me doing poetry but also me hosting. So people
like meet me. I am the first smiling face that
(09:40):
they see. They want to follow, even if they don't
follow anybody the whole night. They're like, oh my god,
you're an amazing host, Like, we love to have you,
we love you, we like we we want to see
you again. When are you hosting? I want to see you?
So that also contributes to it.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Yep, but that's okay. So that's huge. So you said
two things I think are really relevant there having something
to capitalize and mark it off of. So a book,
a chat book. And then some sort of you said merchandise.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Said some sort of much. That could be something little.
It could be a shot glass with your Instagram on it.
It could be a bag. I don't know if you
know about a Nero Shabe amazing love her and in
one of her poems she says, protect your love and
your pH balance.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Yeah, facts and.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
She like facts and she has a bag. She sold
this bag across many of state's many people have it.
It's her poem at the bottom it says at a
near Ashabe. So like again, people people stop you for
stuff like that. And poetry is now a world that's
opening up so much more. Things like we have people
like Brandon Leak out in the world who are creating
(10:46):
our Netflix specials or our TV specials just talking strictly
about poetry. We have black chakra. We have people who
are winning Grammys, like, if there was ever a time
for poetry, the time is now.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
No, it's true, and it's one of those things. It's
those untold stories, especially in this political climate. I mean,
there's so many people that really want to speak, et cetera,
et cetera. No, that's such a good point. And I
guess my question next for you would then be for
people listening to this that are like, yo, I want
to get on that merchandise kind of how do I capitalize?
(11:23):
But where does one even begin to get the book going?
To get the merchandise going? I think it's people think
it's a financial burden. At what connects do you need?
Where do you what's your advice for that?
Speaker 3 (11:35):
I love that because I too am struggling because I
feel like, Okay, I have this following. I have people
who I know if I drop a book today, people
would my mom would buy fifty copies on her own
and sell them herself, like you know, like, and I
know I think that for you as like, and I'm
sending this for viewers, you have to look in yourself
and figure out what is the actual start point for
(11:57):
me and what's something that makes sense. And I also
think that it's important that you surround yourself with people
who are going to be on your butt about it,
because it's easy to procrastinate when it's you. Yeah, you
feel me like, if I'm holding myself to a line,
I can easily forget about the line. It's like there's
no actual deadline, there's no whatever. But I always say like,
(12:17):
because I struggle with the book, because I have a
book that I've sent to a publisher at least five times,
and I go back and I read it, and I'm like,
I hate it. I hate it. And my mom has
read it, I love it. My dad has read it,
I love it. My friends have read it. I love it.
I hate it. I hate it. Stop being so in
your head. It is okay to say, like, the writer
that I was two years ago is not the writer
that I am now. It did not make the book
(12:39):
any less. There's that. And I also think with like
merchandise start off small. We're small a shotglass with your
act on it. People drink like you, feel me, and
they want to support you. Black Chakra once told me,
like before he actually made books like actual books with
like hardcovers andlah bla blah blah blah. It was a
(13:01):
little book that he printed in staples. Staple together. It
was seven dollars. Facts, it was three poems. I wrote
these here you are eight pages. Like you just I
think you just have to figure out before you I understand,
like financially, especially in this climate in the world that
we live in. Your you're focused like, oh my god, well,
(13:22):
what what is the right thing to do? How do
I handle this? How do I handle that? But sometimes
take a baby step. Take your favorite three poems, not
the favorite three poems that you perform, but three poems
that you know look great on paper, that you've read
to other people and think it's amazing. Turnt out those
three papers, three things. Staple them together, make fifteen of them.
(13:42):
Take them to a show before me. Just be like, hey,
I got these little paper copy books. They only five dollars.
Tell me this stuff.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
And that's such a good point. Having some sort of
not only hearing the word and hearing people in terms
of marketing when you see them TV screen, phone screen back,
having something tangible, I think it's so key, like having
something people can actually take with them that is like
your business, that's your life. That's your gold mine. Now,
that's such a good point, you know, I was. I
(14:09):
was kind of talking to a friend just recently. So
I live. Let me not even say where I live,
but but I remember, you know, I remember going to
places like New York City, which you know you're in.
How much of it do you think is too so
like you had mentioned, surrounding yourself with people that hold
you accountable. It's one of those things I think, to
(14:31):
the environment the city you're in, a city like New
York City, you find hustlers like yourself every corner. I
think it's difficult for the folks. Maybe if you're an
artist or writer, maybe I could be speaking. I'm just
speaking out loud here. I think it's difficult people that live,
you know, middle of nowhere, you know, somewhere in a
state that's not maybe as big as a New York City.
(14:53):
How important, Like you said, how important do you think
the environment of the of who you keep around you
is important to your success?
Speaker 3 (15:02):
I think that just to like, I love New York.
I think New York is full of hustlers, but every
hustler is not for you like this, like like, honestly,
I've been on the poetry scene for now, I can
almost say a full six years and like, I don't,
I don't class don't, I don't talk to everybody like
I'll show my face and people, hey, you know, blah
(15:24):
blah blah blah blah. I have people who I love
and adore and I will come to any space, in
any environment to see them, because it's I adore you,
You're You're phenomenal. I don't feel that way about everybody,
and I'm pretty sure everybody don't feel that way about me.
And that's okay. I think that all the friends that
you're making in the poetry environment, in the poetry space,
you should make sure like this is intentional. Yeah, like
(15:47):
you should just make sure like hey, like I know
because again, like I have a mentor who, like I
now have a bigger following than him, and he probably
feels like I've blown up more than anything he could
have dreamed of. But I still go back to him, Hey,
what this look like like? And he loves me and
he makes sure, Hey, Shay, I think you should do
(16:09):
this or no, no, no, no, not an hour look or
maybe you should move like this, like if it was me,
I would And I have a Nick Austen who lives
in Philly, I have social poetry, who lives in Detroit,
and me, And so he killed me with the phone
calls because he always called me Shu, I have to work.
I miss it. We play phone tag for two days,
and then on that third day we're on the phone
(16:29):
for two hours because he's like, yeah, man, I catch
you up on this it. Can I read you this?
And can I do that? Don't let distance be the
things that stop you. The amazing thing about social media
now is that we can see people like it gets
nothing to get on FaceTime, it's nothing to call, it's
nothing like. We have that capability, but like being intentional
with the people around you and being like yo, like
I see that you're pulling out shows. I see that
(16:51):
you you could pull out five thousand people right now?
Got you there? And you you for sure, especially in
the poetry scene, you realize that people who are for
you and.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Who are not yes, yes, oh my gosh, and no.
That's also that's a big just part of life. Yeah, yeah,
that's also a life lesson learning that discernment. If anything,
you pray for, pray for discernment, especially for the people
in your life. No, that's such a good point for you.
I mean also kind of the last point with this
connection around you, how important Because you mentioned you have
(17:22):
a mentor, I think a lot of people, especially as
we get older, we don't think that that's necessary. How
important is that mentorship still career in your life in general?
Speaker 3 (17:34):
I have a Just to be clear, I have a
mentor in everything, like I have a mentor in poetry life,
I have a mentor for work, and I have a
I have a therapist, and I have a woman who
did therapy for twenty years who is now married and
who I believe has an amazing life. I think that
sometimes we as people, especially as black and brown people,
sometimes we feel like, oh, I just got to pay
(17:55):
the way and get it out the dirt. That ain't
mean not to say I'm not gonna work my hardist
and make sure I get stuff. Though absolutely everybody should
do what they feel like is necessary. But there are
people who have come before you who just know how
it worked. Like who who's been through life, And of
course nobody's been through the exact same thing that you've
(18:16):
been through, but you can look at their life, look
at and be like, hey, you got some stuff figured
out some stuff I just don't know about, Like, can
you tell me a little bit?
Speaker 2 (18:26):
No, absolutely, Like you said, it's this idea of mentorship.
A lot of people think you do have to work
your booty off, get it out the mud. But it's
really one of those things. Why the it's already been done.
Most problems you've had probably have been faced before you.
Why not seek out assistance and help. No, that's such
a good, good point. Now tell me a bit, shaye.
(18:47):
I mean, like, you are the first Poetry Me Grand
Slam champion. What are you a bit about what that
competition entailed and how you became the first to win?
Speaker 3 (18:58):
That are Russia's gonna laugh at this story because I'm
gonna actually tell a real story and he gonna look
at me and go wow. So shout out to Rush
Rush the poet he runs poetry me Please. He's a phenomenal,
amazing black man. It's just doing everything that he can
for the culture, for the space he they're performing in
the Apollo again for the second year in a row.
(19:21):
That is the first poetry platform to sell out the Apollo.
So you know, I will I respect and respects do
he is an amazing man. Poetry Me Please was a
platform that I was like, I wanted to get on
so bad, and it seemed that I just kept missing
when they released, Like I feel like I subscribe to it,
like I and I'm very if anybody knows me, I'm
(19:43):
very humble. I am not one of those people that's
just like, oh, I'm share the poet, I've come in
the spot, put me on the mic. That's not me.
I believe everybody should get that turned away that they're
supposed to. So like I'm just like, Okay, I just
got to get the show. I just got to get
to the show. And every time he had a show,
it was like I was booked or I had something.
I was just so frustrated and like I kept DM
(20:04):
and Rushed, kept DM and Rush, Hey, hey, hey, can
you just tell me when your next show is just
in advance so I don't book a show, Like I
just really want to come to your show. I DMed
him twice. Rush had left me on Red. I was like, okay, whatever,
but again, he's very successful. I'm pretty sure a Rush
don't even really check his dms. But whatever. Of course,
as a person, you feel a way like and you're
(20:25):
just like, oh my god, whatever, so you had to
do like a an insert video, so like you had
to submit your video for poetry me Please. So that
week of poetry Me Please, I was actually scheduled to
go out to Detroit. So I'm like, you know what, No,
I'm I'm an amazing poet. I'm gonna summon my video.
(20:46):
I'm gonna get accepted, and after I get accepted, I'm
gonna tell that man no. And that was definitely my mindset.
And I got accepted. I was in the top ten.
I was super excited. And my my in Detroit, like
the owner or something had caught COVID, so I couldn't
(21:07):
go out to Detroit. So I was like, all right, whatever.
And I'm a strong believer of like higher power and
I'm super like spiritual, so I was just like, all right,
I'm supposed to be there. That no problem. I'm gonna
go do what I'm supposed to do. Mind you, though
I did not practice. I did not rehearse because I
did not think I was gonna go. I found out
(21:27):
three days before that I am now going. So I
called my mentor, I called some baby, and I'm just like,
what the hell, am I supposed to do? What am
I supposed to do? He's like what rehearse, like, shut up,
You're fine, and I'm like no, no, no, no, no, I'm
not gonna I'm not gonna be able to do it.
And he's like shut up, just rehearse, like you will
be fine. I'm like, okay, okay, I'm now I'm nervous
because now I'm actually in a competition and in a
(21:50):
slam that I've never been in. I've never done slam
poetry before, never been in slam culture, so I'm like petrified.
So I get up there and in the final three
are King Kameda, who I adore. If you don't know him,
he's phenomenal. He's also from the Bronx, and Philip Alexander,
who is from Connecticut Amazing. We're like, in the final three,
(22:12):
we have to do our last poem and I calls
move and I'm like, what am I supposed to do?
And He's liked the first time I hated my body?
And I'm like, I only have three minutes. The poem
is like four minutes, I'm gonna mess up, like and
he's like no, no, no, no, no, relax to the first
time I hated my body. You will be fine. If not,
you're at least come in second.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Shut up.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
So I'm like, okay, so I'm running through it. I'm
running through I'm running through it. I'm running through it.
And uh yeah, and I came in first place and
it's been amazing. Yo.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
That is quite the wild story. That is quite the
wild story. But then to have those results, I mean,
how does that feel though, knowing that you went all
through that and then coming in first, I mean that
that's like a testament to never never ever doubt yourself,
just plunging, go straight forward. So what is that kind
of honor now? That recognition?
Speaker 3 (23:04):
Feel like poetry has both a different kind of confidence
in me and I am heavy bet on myself. Like
if where is the room full of people and I
had to bet, I would bet on me twice like
I And it doesn't matter who's in that room, who's
in that space. And I think it's really just like
a testament to my journey. I've been with my mentor
and like heard like these big nan poets and me
(23:26):
be like, oh, I can't get up there, Like I don't.
I probably don't belong with them, and he's like, shut up,
like do you like do you know who you are?
And again it goes back to connections and just having
people that genuinely believe in you. And there's been plenty
of times where he's like, listen, you may not be
the best poet in the space right now, and that's
okay because there will be people better than you. But
(23:47):
he's like, listen, you're gonna perform your asshole. You're gonna
make sure that when when everything is said is done,
you can say you left your heart out on that
tape and whatever the score is, what the score is.
But like, you know that you've done your best, and
I can honestly say following that I've yet to lose.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Yeah, yeah, no. I love that you're in such a
confident space. You better yourself twice. Everyone needs to have
that same exact mentality. That's what's up. So tell me
a bit about I mean, so you you seem like
such an ecolectic person, just open to so much, curious
about so much. What is your inspiration for your writing
and your poetry? Where? What is your inspiration to create
(24:26):
your words come from?
Speaker 3 (24:28):
Oh? This is this is a great question, and I
probably should have writeup through all them questions, Hume, because
this one is a little a little deeper. I used
to only be able to write in a space when
I was hurt, which kind of got me to stray
away from poetry for a little while because I don't
want to feel that. Definitely, I went through a lot
(24:49):
of deaths in my life. I went through just things
like my mentor got really sick and was at the
hospital for a little while. Like I just went through
so much traumatic stuff and I was pulling writing from
that pain, and I was like, oh, this is saving me,
This is saving me, Like it's making me so much better.
And I've also been in therapy for four years, so
(25:13):
until one day my therapist was like, are you being
saved or are you reliving? Wow? Right? And I was
like what And then she was like, is this saving
you or are you reliving something? And then desensitizing yourself
to it every time you reliving, so now you feel that.
And I was like, I don't know, you know, and
(25:35):
she was like think about it, like think about it.
Are you are you still actually facing the same pain?
Are you going through the same thing? Is it the
same heartbreak? And it was it was I was still
my uncle passed away in twenty nineteen. I was still
waking up like crying randomly. I would be perfectly fine,
go to work, be normal, and then I would not be.
(25:55):
And it took me a while. It took me like
six months, and I'm sorry, it took me like nine months.
And I just stopped writing as a whole. I told myself, like,
I was like, if I can't, if I can't write
and be happy, I'll give it up. And I prayed
and prayed and prayed and prayed a lot because I
(26:17):
just I actually didn't know who I was without writing.
So I was just like, wow, like is this Do
I get this kind of talent only when I'm sad?
Do I get this talent only when I'm broken? Like?
Does this make me me? And then one day I
sat down and I said, Okay, no, you are just
(26:39):
you get inspiration when you're sad, yes, but you have
to figure out how to manage your time. Better. Sit
down with a poem and give yourself thirty minutes. Turn
off the TV, turn off the sound, sit in your room,
read it over and over and over and over, soil
you come up with a new line or write ten
lines do where you get to you and slowly but
surely I have became confid in writing again. It definitely
(27:02):
took some time. I definitely felt like I wrote a
lot of shitty poems. You know, like you you get there,
you have to be able to balance through those feelings
and all those emotions and still feel like, oh this
is okay.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Yo, man, you do you drop some gems there. That's
such a That's such a true thing though, being able
to sit in your emotions, being able to truly sit
and find that balance and really like, like what I
took from what you're saying is you have to acknowledge
first and foremost the space that you actually were in.
And I think that that's probably the hardest part, that
(27:37):
it's difficult to even acknowledge what's happening with you? What
is that connection for you that, like you said, writing,
it seems like writing almost has saved your life in
a lot of ways. Yeah, you know how you were
without writing? Tell us about what if you could even
articulate what is that connection you have to writing?
Speaker 3 (27:55):
I have such a love I actually even have a
poem about like me being in this very toxic relationship
with somebody who I love so much and like abuses
me and tells me that like I can't exist without them,
and like the whole poem, it just feels like a
toxic relationship. And then at the end of the poem,
it's me in poetry, and that relationship has changed tremendously
(28:19):
because I think that like the connection for me is
I am allowed to I'm allowed to sit in my feelings,
i am allowed to release. But I think that poetry
for me has always just been processing, like I need
to acknowledge what I'm going through, and then I just
need to process, like what does this look like? What
does this feel like? Well, if I lived in my
(28:40):
perfect world, how would I have fixed it? And I
think it just it allowed me to cope, and like
that is my way of coping, and like living in
this world that's almost like a fantasy, like you being
your own narrator is there is a lot of truth
to it, because you are your own narrator in a
lot of sense of the ways. But you also art
(29:01):
sometimes you know there's there's external circumstances, there's life, there's
there's things that you cannot control. But I think in
poetry it was a sense of control for me.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
M hm, oh, that's so profound, that that's so deep.
It's oh man. Yeah, you know, when you are the poet,
you are the narrator right outside of like are just
brains and everyday dialogue. Yeah, you're the narrator of the
story and it's just it's your own world that you're creating.
I would love yeah, no, I would love to read
that poem that you have of the abusive relationship and
(29:32):
the abuser. I guess it's poetry as you described. That's
such a oh man, that's all metaphorical. Oh wow, that's
that's some stuff right there for sure. All right, Well,
shape tell us when was there like a pivotal moment
in your life that you just knew I'm a writer.
Was there a moment that hits you, a moment experience
that happened where you knew I'm a writer that this is?
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Oh? I think I have two. I think my first
one was my my uncle passed away in twenty nineteen.
I had started writing in like twenty eighteen, and like
he was always just like, oh my god, I was.
I was still a little shy still, like I wasn't
getting like features or anything. So I wasn't just inviting
(30:14):
my uncle out the poetry shows. And he used to
get so frustrated and just be like, just tell me
when your next show is, Like when wherever you think
you're gonna perform, I'm gonna be there. And he passed
away before he got to see me write.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
And but it was very funny because one of our
last conversations actually on the day that he passed away,
was you're doing something great and don't stop. My god.
Well so I said, all right, well, I guess I'm
a writer now. Like if it's one thing I'm gonna do,
I'm gonna do this. And then my next moment for
(30:47):
me was like my grandma who passed away that next year,
but like I had I when she got sick. I
had my first show in Atlanta, like my first day,
flew me out, paid for it, and I wasn't gonna
go right right beautiful, and I wasn't gonna go. It's
like I can't go because my grandma sick, and like
(31:07):
I can't miss any more with my grandma. And one
of my best friends, Kevin We've been best friends since
fifth grade, was like, hey, I hear everything you're saying,
I hear what you're going through, but you're gonna stay
here and do what? Yeah, what are you gonna do?
Are you? You're not the doctor. You cannot. If it's anything,
(31:29):
we know your grandma wants you to go, let's go.
So I was like, all right, cool, be packed on
myself with Heilanta. The first day I got to Atlanta
and my grandma calls me and she's just like, hey,
I just want to talk to you real quick. So
I'm like, yop, I'm telling Kevin where at breakfast, I'm
like time out talking to my grandmay like cool the outside,
(31:49):
and my Grandma's like, yo, I know that you don't
know this yet, but like I talked to God about you,
and he knows you're going to be successful. Just real call.
And I was like, Grandma, what you mean. She's like no, no, no, no,
just listen. And we talked for about fifteen minutes and
she was just like, I know, I want you to
(32:09):
know all proud of you. I want you to all
proud of everything that you're doing, and this is what
you're meant to do. I talked to God about it.
This is for sure, and best believe I came home
from Atlanta. They was during COVID time, so you know,
you had to get a COVID test before we went
to the hospital, not to make sure. Whatever I called
my grandma that day didn't pick up. Cool. We cool,
(32:29):
And the next day my grandma passed away. Wow, oh
I got it.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
I was alright, yeah, wow, No, I mean, well, first sports,
my condolences. But you know that is if that's not
a sign, yeah, I don't know what else that sign
would be. So there y'all have it. Now, that's that's
really that's very powerful, but very very powerful. All right, Shay.
So the last question we have for you on the
(32:55):
Post Speaks podcast today, say, tell me why do you
need to get your words out?
Speaker 3 (33:01):
I need to inspire anyone that I can speak to
that your voice is important no matter what, no matter
what circumstance or no matter what you've been through, whether
you're young, whether you're old, whether you're right in the middle,
whether you're just figuring out long everybody is chosen. Everybody
(33:23):
has a voice, and whether what you choose to do
with it is on you. But if you ever just
needed some inspiration to just get it off, I hope
that I am.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
That or absolutely, there we go, y'all, there we go.
That's why Shave the Poet needs to get her words out,
all right, Shae, a big thank you to you, thank
you so much for being on the show today. Numberfore
absolutely now before we end and you gotta tell us
you know it is we're ending out twenty twenty four.
What is the rest of the year looking like for you?
And anything you want to tell the folks about to
(33:53):
look forward to it for your amazing work in twenty
twenty five, and tell us drop any social media websites
so folks can go check out, keep up with all
the stuff.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
So I am pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing for March
for me to have merch out just merch Okay, the
book is gonna come hopefully by my birthday, which is
May ninth, but merge for sure something that you could
buy that just says guys. I'm Shave the Poet. I
love that I've voicing them powers having the show December twelfth,
(34:24):
and Brooklyn please come. I will be spitting a poem
which I haven't done in like five months. And the
feature is Obi West. If you don't know Obi West
he's a legend. He's phenomenal, he's an amazing storyteller. He
is Chef's kiss, and I'm so happy that he is
going to brace the stage that I am on. Also,
Western powers are going to pour around the world. That's
(34:45):
gonna be pretty cool. And I know that they're going
to Denver soon. I will also be there, so I
hope to meet all my Denver friends.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (34:53):
I hope to start writing workshops next year so people
can just join me for writing workshops. Everything is on
Shane dot the Poet on Instagram.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
Perfect. All right, big thank you to Shae everyone. All
of Shade's links for her Instagram will be down below
in the description box. No matter what platform you listen
to the pot Speaks podcast on all right, Shae again,
thank you so much for being an amazing guest on
the post.
Speaker 3 (35:19):
Amazing hosts.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Absolutely absolutely all right again, everyone, check out all of
Shade's amazing work again. Her details will be in the
detailed box down below. Everyone, this is the Post Speaks podcast.
We'll talk to you so bye.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
Everyone,
Join us on the poetic Odyssey, a celebration of voices, cultures, and.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
The power of words. I'm Amanda Ecking.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Welcome to the poet Speaks, where every syllable ignites inspiration
for get you involved with what stories are on these tracks?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
This idea of the Bronx. Now, boogie down Bronx. That's
what people say, right, don't become someone's subway story.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Medicate me with a lick of the like.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
I am not afraid to love you.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
All of us have a story.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Microphone magnifying, notick.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
No one want to listen. So I think that's what
made me write.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
In writing the writing disco.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
You ready, amazing poetry O, It's hell everyone, Welcome back
to the poet Speaks podcast. Now. Our next guest was
born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Originally started
poetry in the fifth grade and did not get the
course to perform in front of an audience until about
(01:19):
twenty years old. After her first performance, she knew the
stage was her home. Everyone, Welcome to the polt Speaks podcast.
Shade the Poet Shay, how are you hey?
Speaker 3 (01:30):
I'm good? How are you? How are you?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I'm doing good? Doing good? So Shae the poet. Oh.
I also know in your Instagram bio you're also known
as what is it the Bronx poet, the Bronx poet.
Where is your location currently? The world of people couldn't
guess by now? Tell us where the Bronx.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Of course you're not from the Bronx. And what is
the purpose? What are we doing this for? But yes, yes, yes,
I am from the Bronx.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Tello boogie down, Bronx. Tell us a bit about I mean,
tell us bit about just how New York has raised
you to be the poet you are today. Tell us
a bit.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
About a man I love. I born and raised in
the Bronx. Of course, write on Tremont wonderful, wonderful, wonderful,
definitely just shape a lot of the way I write,
a lot of the way of which I storytell. You know,
bron the Bronx is like the birthplace of hip hop,
so it's definitely like created and molded a lot of
(02:27):
my writing just into like this storytelling, this understanding that
I definitely created. So shout out to the Bronx.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Absolutely absolutely so born raised, bread everything Bronx's bread. Absolutely
absolutely tell us a little bit about I mean, I'm
so intrigued by this idea that you have. You didn't
actually start performing your poetry and you have such a
you have a big following just on social media. I mean,
tell us you didn't start performing poetry till you were
(02:56):
twenty years old. What made the wait so long for you?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Oh? I have no clue. I've always been a background kid.
That makes sense, Like I'm not one to like I
guess now I am. But as a kid, I definitely
did not always put myself out there. My school had
a poetry team, but I was on the step team.
High school, they did poetry performances like at I go
(03:23):
with the kIPS, so like they have Kip summoned and
they went and did poetry. Still wasn't feeling it. I
actually like went through a really tough time in a relationship,
and like I had found Maui the writer. Maui Underscore
the writer. If anybody knows her, she has a huge following.
She's amazing. I love her in real life. And I
(03:44):
definitely was just like, oh my god, like I could
write out my feelings whatever. And then I actually I
went to a PWI. I went to Outford State and
they had a Black history performance and they were just like, hey,
you know, came peer perform, Let's see what's up. Blah
blah blah blahlah blah. And I was like, Okay, I
wrote something. I told myself, I would sit down, I
(04:05):
would memorize it, and I would go up there and
I would perform, and like people cried, they thought it
was phenomenal, and I was like, Okay, this is a
very interesting lane to jump into. So that was definitely
my first performance in twenty But no stage fright, no
fear wasn't like oh my god. It was just like, Okay,
(04:26):
this is a cool hobby I could get into. And
hobby clearly quickly became passion.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, wow, okay, wow, Now tell us, I mean, how
important do you think that is maybe finding that that
passion is school, because, like you said, you're a teacher. Now,
how important do you think that is for kids to
kind of find that passion for writing at that younger
age and seeing where they can go with it.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Being in education. You get to see how like education
is almost a lost thing at this point in kid's life.
They're not they're not reading at the level that they's
suppos they're not writing at the level that they're supposed to.
But I think that when we teach them that there's
a way to express yourself and allowing people to hear
you and understand you, they will be able to find
(05:11):
that love and compassion. And I wish that in more
schools we were pushing more writing classes, writing prompts. I
got to teach poetry for a year in my school,
which was super fun, super cool, and you just get
to hear, honestly overall, just what the kids are feeling
and what they're facing and what they're going through. So
(05:31):
I do wish that more schools would accept and respect
the curriculum of just writing.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Absolutely absolutely, So do you tell them about your illustrious
career as a spoken word poet? Your kids, your students.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
We have social media kids now, so even if I
don't tell them, they know. I have six seventh and
eighth grade and my sixth graders came in the other
day and was like, Hey, do you know that you
have twelve thousand followers on Instagram? And I was like, no,
you like what and like, you know, like willing to
show me and everything. I try to keep my poetry
(06:08):
life and my school life a little separate, because although
I'd like to be a role model, I like to encourage,
I still am a twenty six year old girl that
just wants to live her regular, normal human life. But
they are followers, and when I block them from following,
their parents follow and parents have been to my shows
and seen me perform and ask me when I'm dropping
(06:31):
my next home and what can I do?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
So yeah, I mean, so that must be pretty wild though,
because it's that double life almost that you're living as
kind of just you know, your your you know, day
job as being a teacher, and then you know you
have this again, like this illustrious career with a lot
of support, a lot of success as a spoken word poet.
(06:55):
I mean, those are such two worlds kind of colliding.
Do you see yourself in this kind of always becomes
a question do you see yourself taking your art and
now just saying I'm just gonna be full time spoken
we're a poet and not be you know, maybe not
be an education in the same capacity as a teacher.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
I hope that my parents get to see this podcast
because they would love for me to say, yes, I
am going to quit my day job and focus on
poetry full time because schools will always be there and
poetry may not. But for me, realistically, I just I
don't see it happening. I've built so many bonds with
(07:34):
parents with kids. I've watched my first class graduate, maybe
this next class after they graduate. And I'm a founding school.
So my school's been around for four years. I've been
there the whole four years that they've been there, and
I definitely often think, no, I'm going to stay here
for a long time, And then some days I think
I can probably make more money and spend more time
(07:54):
doing poetry and be more in control of my time.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
So yeah, yeah, No, it definitely becomes such a which
which road do you go? I mean, it really could
go either way, especially for someone like you at this point.
Tell us a little bit about like you mentioned social
media kids. You know, you have such a big, larger
social media following. Then a lot of poets tend to
(08:18):
find themselves. I think a lot of poets it's hard
to get into that space of getting social media famous. Right,
How did you kind of garner all that kind of
those that type of buzz on social media? I think
a lot of people struggle with that mar that aspect
of marketing.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
If it makes them feel better. I struggle too. You,
as a poet, should do the following. Even though I
do not have the following. You should do the following
for sure. You should have merch, you should have a book.
It is the best way to capitalize on, like the
following in the space that you have. I owe a
(08:56):
big things to my following because that went viral twice,
so people were just like, hey, we know that girl,
not once or twice. And I owe a lot of
that to voices empower the platform. You don't know. It's amazing.
It's a platform run by Louis Morero who founded it
in Philly, and they have over gosh, maybe seven hundred
(09:19):
thousand fowers. Maybe that feels right, but I could be
I could be off in the numbers. They're phenomenal, they're supportive,
and they also run a site in New York and
I run that site. So a lot of my following
is me doing poetry but also me hosting. So people
like meet me. I am the first smiling face that
(09:40):
they see. They want to follow, even if they don't
follow anybody the whole night. They're like, oh my god,
you're an amazing host, Like, we love to have you,
we love you, we like we we want to see
you again. When are you hosting? I want to see you?
So that also contributes to it.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Yep, but that's okay. So that's huge. So you said
two things I think are really relevant there having something
to capitalize and mark it off of. So a book,
a chat book. And then some sort of you said merchandise.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Said some sort of much. That could be something little.
It could be a shot glass with your Instagram on it.
It could be a bag. I don't know if you
know about a Nero Shabe amazing love her and in
one of her poems she says, protect your love and
your pH balance.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Yeah, facts and.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
She like facts and she has a bag. She sold
this bag across many of state's many people have it.
It's her poem at the bottom it says at a
near Ashabe. So like again, people people stop you for
stuff like that. And poetry is now a world that's
opening up so much more. Things like we have people
like Brandon Leak out in the world who are creating
(10:46):
our Netflix specials or our TV specials just talking strictly
about poetry. We have black chakra. We have people who
are winning Grammys, like, if there was ever a time
for poetry, the time is now.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
No, it's true, and it's one of those things. It's
those untold stories, especially in this political climate. I mean,
there's so many people that really want to speak, et cetera,
et cetera. No, that's such a good point. And I
guess my question next for you would then be for
people listening to this that are like, yo, I want
to get on that merchandise kind of how do I capitalize?
(11:23):
But where does one even begin to get the book going?
To get the merchandise going? I think it's people think
it's a financial burden. At what connects do you need?
Where do you what's your advice for that?
Speaker 3 (11:35):
I love that because I too am struggling because I
feel like, Okay, I have this following. I have people
who I know if I drop a book today, people
would my mom would buy fifty copies on her own
and sell them herself, like you know, like, and I
know I think that for you as like, and I'm
sending this for viewers, you have to look in yourself
and figure out what is the actual start point for
(11:57):
me and what's something that makes sense. And I also
think that it's important that you surround yourself with people
who are going to be on your butt about it,
because it's easy to procrastinate when it's you. Yeah, you
feel me like, if I'm holding myself to a line,
I can easily forget about the line. It's like there's
no actual deadline, there's no whatever. But I always say like,
(12:17):
because I struggle with the book, because I have a
book that I've sent to a publisher at least five times,
and I go back and I read it, and I'm like,
I hate it. I hate it. And my mom has
read it, I love it. My dad has read it,
I love it. My friends have read it. I love it.
I hate it. I hate it. Stop being so in
your head. It is okay to say, like, the writer
that I was two years ago is not the writer
that I am now. It did not make the book
(12:39):
any less. There's that. And I also think with like
merchandise start off small. We're small a shotglass with your
act on it. People drink like you, feel me, and
they want to support you. Black Chakra once told me,
like before he actually made books like actual books with
like hardcovers andlah bla blah blah blah. It was a
(13:01):
little book that he printed in staples. Staple together. It
was seven dollars. Facts, it was three poems. I wrote
these here you are eight pages. Like you just I
think you just have to figure out before you I understand,
like financially, especially in this climate in the world that
we live in. Your you're focused like, oh my god, well,
(13:22):
what what is the right thing to do? How do
I handle this? How do I handle that? But sometimes
take a baby step. Take your favorite three poems, not
the favorite three poems that you perform, but three poems
that you know look great on paper, that you've read
to other people and think it's amazing. Turnt out those
three papers, three things. Staple them together, make fifteen of them.
(13:42):
Take them to a show before me. Just be like, hey,
I got these little paper copy books. They only five dollars.
Tell me this stuff.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
And that's such a good point. Having some sort of
not only hearing the word and hearing people in terms
of marketing when you see them TV screen, phone screen back,
having something tangible, I think it's so key, like having
something people can actually take with them that is like
your business, that's your life. That's your gold mine. Now,
that's such a good point, you know, I was. I
(14:09):
was kind of talking to a friend just recently. So
I live. Let me not even say where I live,
but but I remember, you know, I remember going to
places like New York City, which you know you're in.
How much of it do you think is too so
like you had mentioned, surrounding yourself with people that hold
you accountable. It's one of those things I think, to
(14:31):
the environment the city you're in, a city like New
York City, you find hustlers like yourself every corner. I
think it's difficult for the folks. Maybe if you're an
artist or writer, maybe I could be speaking. I'm just
speaking out loud here. I think it's difficult people that live,
you know, middle of nowhere, you know, somewhere in a
state that's not maybe as big as a New York City.
(14:53):
How important, Like you said, how important do you think
the environment of the of who you keep around you
is important to your success?
Speaker 3 (15:02):
I think that just to like, I love New York.
I think New York is full of hustlers, but every
hustler is not for you like this, like like, honestly,
I've been on the poetry scene for now, I can
almost say a full six years and like, I don't,
I don't class don't, I don't talk to everybody like
I'll show my face and people, hey, you know, blah
(15:24):
blah blah blah blah. I have people who I love
and adore and I will come to any space, in
any environment to see them, because it's I adore you,
You're You're phenomenal. I don't feel that way about everybody,
and I'm pretty sure everybody don't feel that way about me.
And that's okay. I think that all the friends that
you're making in the poetry environment, in the poetry space,
you should make sure like this is intentional. Yeah, like
(15:47):
you should just make sure like hey, like I know
because again, like I have a mentor who, like I
now have a bigger following than him, and he probably
feels like I've blown up more than anything he could
have dreamed of. But I still go back to him, Hey,
what this look like like? And he loves me and
he makes sure, Hey, Shay, I think you should do
(16:09):
this or no, no, no, no, not an hour look or
maybe you should move like this, like if it was me,
I would And I have a Nick Austen who lives
in Philly, I have social poetry, who lives in Detroit,
and me, And so he killed me with the phone
calls because he always called me Shu, I have to work.
I miss it. We play phone tag for two days,
and then on that third day we're on the phone
(16:29):
for two hours because he's like, yeah, man, I catch
you up on this it. Can I read you this?
And can I do that? Don't let distance be the
things that stop you. The amazing thing about social media
now is that we can see people like it gets
nothing to get on FaceTime, it's nothing to call, it's
nothing like. We have that capability, but like being intentional
with the people around you and being like yo, like
I see that you're pulling out shows. I see that
(16:51):
you you could pull out five thousand people right now?
Got you there? And you you for sure, especially in
the poetry scene, you realize that people who are for
you and.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Who are not yes, yes, oh my gosh, and no.
That's also that's a big just part of life. Yeah, yeah,
that's also a life lesson learning that discernment. If anything,
you pray for, pray for discernment, especially for the people
in your life. No, that's such a good point for you.
I mean also kind of the last point with this
connection around you, how important Because you mentioned you have
(17:22):
a mentor, I think a lot of people, especially as
we get older, we don't think that that's necessary. How
important is that mentorship still career in your life in general?
Speaker 3 (17:34):
I have a Just to be clear, I have a
mentor in everything, like I have a mentor in poetry life,
I have a mentor for work, and I have a
I have a therapist, and I have a woman who
did therapy for twenty years who is now married and
who I believe has an amazing life. I think that
sometimes we as people, especially as black and brown people,
sometimes we feel like, oh, I just got to pay
(17:55):
the way and get it out the dirt. That ain't
mean not to say I'm not gonna work my hardist
and make sure I get stuff. Though absolutely everybody should
do what they feel like is necessary. But there are
people who have come before you who just know how
it worked. Like who who's been through life, And of
course nobody's been through the exact same thing that you've
(18:16):
been through, but you can look at their life, look
at and be like, hey, you got some stuff figured
out some stuff I just don't know about, Like, can
you tell me a little bit?
Speaker 2 (18:26):
No, absolutely, Like you said, it's this idea of mentorship.
A lot of people think you do have to work
your booty off, get it out the mud. But it's
really one of those things. Why the it's already been done.
Most problems you've had probably have been faced before you.
Why not seek out assistance and help. No, that's such
a good, good point. Now tell me a bit, shaye.
(18:47):
I mean, like, you are the first Poetry Me Grand
Slam champion. What are you a bit about what that
competition entailed and how you became the first to win?
Speaker 3 (18:58):
That are Russia's gonna laugh at this story because I'm
gonna actually tell a real story and he gonna look
at me and go wow. So shout out to Rush
Rush the poet he runs poetry me Please. He's a phenomenal,
amazing black man. It's just doing everything that he can
for the culture, for the space he they're performing in
the Apollo again for the second year in a row.
(19:21):
That is the first poetry platform to sell out the Apollo.
So you know, I will I respect and respects do
he is an amazing man. Poetry Me Please was a
platform that I was like, I wanted to get on
so bad, and it seemed that I just kept missing
when they released, Like I feel like I subscribe to it,
like I and I'm very if anybody knows me, I'm
(19:43):
very humble. I am not one of those people that's
just like, oh, I'm share the poet, I've come in
the spot, put me on the mic. That's not me.
I believe everybody should get that turned away that they're
supposed to. So like I'm just like, Okay, I just
got to get the show. I just got to get
to the show. And every time he had a show,
it was like I was booked or I had something.
I was just so frustrated and like I kept DM
(20:04):
and Rushed, kept DM and Rush, Hey, hey, hey, can
you just tell me when your next show is just
in advance so I don't book a show, Like I
just really want to come to your show. I DMed
him twice. Rush had left me on Red. I was like, okay, whatever,
but again, he's very successful. I'm pretty sure a Rush
don't even really check his dms. But whatever. Of course,
as a person, you feel a way like and you're
(20:25):
just like, oh my god, whatever, so you had to
do like a an insert video, so like you had
to submit your video for poetry me Please. So that
week of poetry Me Please, I was actually scheduled to
go out to Detroit. So I'm like, you know what, No,
I'm I'm an amazing poet. I'm gonna summon my video.
(20:46):
I'm gonna get accepted, and after I get accepted, I'm
gonna tell that man no. And that was definitely my mindset.
And I got accepted. I was in the top ten.
I was super excited. And my my in Detroit, like
the owner or something had caught COVID, so I couldn't
(21:07):
go out to Detroit. So I was like, all right, whatever.
And I'm a strong believer of like higher power and
I'm super like spiritual, so I was just like, all right,
I'm supposed to be there. That no problem. I'm gonna
go do what I'm supposed to do. Mind you, though
I did not practice. I did not rehearse because I
did not think I was gonna go. I found out
(21:27):
three days before that I am now going. So I
called my mentor, I called some baby, and I'm just like,
what the hell, am I supposed to do? What am
I supposed to do? He's like what rehearse, like, shut up,
You're fine, and I'm like no, no, no, no, no, I'm
not gonna I'm not gonna be able to do it.
And he's like shut up, just rehearse, like you will
be fine. I'm like, okay, okay, I'm now I'm nervous
because now I'm actually in a competition and in a
(21:50):
slam that I've never been in. I've never done slam
poetry before, never been in slam culture, so I'm like petrified.
So I get up there and in the final three
are King Kameda, who I adore. If you don't know him,
he's phenomenal. He's also from the Bronx, and Philip Alexander,
who is from Connecticut Amazing. We're like, in the final three,
(22:12):
we have to do our last poem and I calls
move and I'm like, what am I supposed to do?
And He's liked the first time I hated my body?
And I'm like, I only have three minutes. The poem
is like four minutes, I'm gonna mess up, like and
he's like no, no, no, no, no, relax to the first
time I hated my body. You will be fine. If not,
you're at least come in second.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Shut up.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
So I'm like, okay, so I'm running through it. I'm
running through I'm running through it. I'm running through it.
And uh yeah, and I came in first place and
it's been amazing. Yo.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
That is quite the wild story. That is quite the
wild story. But then to have those results, I mean,
how does that feel though, knowing that you went all
through that and then coming in first, I mean that
that's like a testament to never never ever doubt yourself,
just plunging, go straight forward. So what is that kind
of honor now? That recognition?
Speaker 3 (23:04):
Feel like poetry has both a different kind of confidence
in me and I am heavy bet on myself. Like
if where is the room full of people and I
had to bet, I would bet on me twice like
I And it doesn't matter who's in that room, who's
in that space. And I think it's really just like
a testament to my journey. I've been with my mentor
and like heard like these big nan poets and me
(23:26):
be like, oh, I can't get up there, Like I don't.
I probably don't belong with them, and he's like, shut up,
like do you like do you know who you are?
And again it goes back to connections and just having
people that genuinely believe in you. And there's been plenty
of times where he's like, listen, you may not be
the best poet in the space right now, and that's
okay because there will be people better than you. But
(23:47):
he's like, listen, you're gonna perform your asshole. You're gonna
make sure that when when everything is said is done,
you can say you left your heart out on that
tape and whatever the score is, what the score is.
But like, you know that you've done your best, and
I can honestly say following that I've yet to lose.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Yeah, yeah, no. I love that you're in such a
confident space. You better yourself twice. Everyone needs to have
that same exact mentality. That's what's up. So tell me
a bit about I mean, so you you seem like
such an ecolectic person, just open to so much, curious
about so much. What is your inspiration for your writing
and your poetry? Where? What is your inspiration to create
(24:26):
your words come from?
Speaker 3 (24:28):
Oh? This is this is a great question, and I
probably should have writeup through all them questions, Hume, because
this one is a little a little deeper. I used
to only be able to write in a space when
I was hurt, which kind of got me to stray
away from poetry for a little while because I don't
want to feel that. Definitely, I went through a lot
(24:49):
of deaths in my life. I went through just things
like my mentor got really sick and was at the
hospital for a little while. Like I just went through
so much traumatic stuff and I was pulling writing from
that pain, and I was like, oh, this is saving me,
This is saving me, Like it's making me so much better.
And I've also been in therapy for four years, so
(25:13):
until one day my therapist was like, are you being
saved or are you reliving? Wow? Right? And I was
like what And then she was like, is this saving
you or are you reliving something? And then desensitizing yourself
to it every time you reliving, so now you feel that.
And I was like, I don't know, you know, and
(25:35):
she was like think about it, like think about it.
Are you are you still actually facing the same pain?
Are you going through the same thing? Is it the
same heartbreak? And it was it was I was still
my uncle passed away in twenty nineteen. I was still
waking up like crying randomly. I would be perfectly fine,
go to work, be normal, and then I would not be.
(25:55):
And it took me a while. It took me like
six months, and I'm sorry, it took me like nine months.
And I just stopped writing as a whole. I told myself, like,
I was like, if I can't, if I can't write
and be happy, I'll give it up. And I prayed
and prayed and prayed and prayed a lot because I
(26:17):
just I actually didn't know who I was without writing.
So I was just like, wow, like is this Do
I get this kind of talent only when I'm sad?
Do I get this talent only when I'm broken? Like?
Does this make me me? And then one day I
sat down and I said, Okay, no, you are just
(26:39):
you get inspiration when you're sad, yes, but you have
to figure out how to manage your time. Better. Sit
down with a poem and give yourself thirty minutes. Turn
off the TV, turn off the sound, sit in your room,
read it over and over and over and over, soil
you come up with a new line or write ten
lines do where you get to you and slowly but
surely I have became confid in writing again. It definitely
(27:02):
took some time. I definitely felt like I wrote a
lot of shitty poems. You know, like you you get there,
you have to be able to balance through those feelings
and all those emotions and still feel like, oh this
is okay.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Yo, man, you do you drop some gems there. That's
such a That's such a true thing though, being able
to sit in your emotions, being able to truly sit
and find that balance and really like, like what I
took from what you're saying is you have to acknowledge
first and foremost the space that you actually were in.
And I think that that's probably the hardest part, that
(27:37):
it's difficult to even acknowledge what's happening with you? What
is that connection for you that, like you said, writing,
it seems like writing almost has saved your life in
a lot of ways. Yeah, you know how you were
without writing? Tell us about what if you could even
articulate what is that connection you have to writing?
Speaker 3 (27:55):
I have such a love I actually even have a
poem about like me being in this very toxic relationship
with somebody who I love so much and like abuses
me and tells me that like I can't exist without them,
and like the whole poem, it just feels like a
toxic relationship. And then at the end of the poem,
it's me in poetry, and that relationship has changed tremendously
(28:19):
because I think that like the connection for me is
I am allowed to I'm allowed to sit in my feelings,
i am allowed to release. But I think that poetry
for me has always just been processing, like I need
to acknowledge what I'm going through, and then I just
need to process, like what does this look like? What
does this feel like? Well, if I lived in my
(28:40):
perfect world, how would I have fixed it? And I
think it just it allowed me to cope, and like
that is my way of coping, and like living in
this world that's almost like a fantasy, like you being
your own narrator is there is a lot of truth
to it, because you are your own narrator in a
lot of sense of the ways. But you also art
(29:01):
sometimes you know there's there's external circumstances, there's life, there's
there's things that you cannot control. But I think in
poetry it was a sense of control for me.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
M hm, oh, that's so profound, that that's so deep.
It's oh man. Yeah, you know, when you are the poet,
you are the narrator right outside of like are just
brains and everyday dialogue. Yeah, you're the narrator of the
story and it's just it's your own world that you're creating.
I would love yeah, no, I would love to read
that poem that you have of the abusive relationship and
(29:32):
the abuser. I guess it's poetry as you described. That's
such a oh man, that's all metaphorical. Oh wow, that's
that's some stuff right there for sure. All right, Well,
shape tell us when was there like a pivotal moment
in your life that you just knew I'm a writer.
Was there a moment that hits you, a moment experience
that happened where you knew I'm a writer that this is?
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Oh? I think I have two. I think my first
one was my my uncle passed away in twenty nineteen.
I had started writing in like twenty eighteen, and like
he was always just like, oh my god, I was.
I was still a little shy still, like I wasn't
getting like features or anything. So I wasn't just inviting
(30:14):
my uncle out the poetry shows. And he used to
get so frustrated and just be like, just tell me
when your next show is, Like when wherever you think
you're gonna perform, I'm gonna be there. And he passed
away before he got to see me write.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
And but it was very funny because one of our
last conversations actually on the day that he passed away,
was you're doing something great and don't stop. My god.
Well so I said, all right, well, I guess I'm
a writer now. Like if it's one thing I'm gonna do,
I'm gonna do this. And then my next moment for
(30:47):
me was like my grandma who passed away that next year,
but like I had I when she got sick. I
had my first show in Atlanta, like my first day,
flew me out, paid for it, and I wasn't gonna
go right right beautiful, and I wasn't gonna go. It's
like I can't go because my grandma sick, and like
(31:07):
I can't miss any more with my grandma. And one
of my best friends, Kevin We've been best friends since
fifth grade, was like, hey, I hear everything you're saying,
I hear what you're going through, but you're gonna stay
here and do what? Yeah, what are you gonna do?
Are you? You're not the doctor. You cannot. If it's anything,
(31:29):
we know your grandma wants you to go, let's go.
So I was like, all right, cool, be packed on
myself with Heilanta. The first day I got to Atlanta
and my grandma calls me and she's just like, hey,
I just want to talk to you real quick. So
I'm like, yop, I'm telling Kevin where at breakfast, I'm
like time out talking to my grandmay like cool the outside,
(31:49):
and my Grandma's like, yo, I know that you don't
know this yet, but like I talked to God about you,
and he knows you're going to be successful. Just real call.
And I was like, Grandma, what you mean. She's like no, no, no, no,
just listen. And we talked for about fifteen minutes and
she was just like, I know, I want you to
(32:09):
know all proud of you. I want you to all
proud of everything that you're doing, and this is what
you're meant to do. I talked to God about it.
This is for sure, and best believe I came home
from Atlanta. They was during COVID time, so you know,
you had to get a COVID test before we went
to the hospital, not to make sure. Whatever I called
my grandma that day didn't pick up. Cool. We cool,
(32:29):
And the next day my grandma passed away. Wow, oh
I got it.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
I was alright, yeah, wow, No, I mean, well, first sports,
my condolences. But you know that is if that's not
a sign, yeah, I don't know what else that sign
would be. So there y'all have it. Now, that's that's
really that's very powerful, but very very powerful. All right, Shay.
So the last question we have for you on the
(32:55):
Post Speaks podcast today, say, tell me why do you
need to get your words out?
Speaker 3 (33:01):
I need to inspire anyone that I can speak to
that your voice is important no matter what, no matter
what circumstance or no matter what you've been through, whether
you're young, whether you're old, whether you're right in the middle,
whether you're just figuring out long everybody is chosen. Everybody
(33:23):
has a voice, and whether what you choose to do
with it is on you. But if you ever just
needed some inspiration to just get it off, I hope
that I am.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
That or absolutely, there we go, y'all, there we go.
That's why Shave the Poet needs to get her words out,
all right, Shae, a big thank you to you, thank
you so much for being on the show today. Numberfore
absolutely now before we end and you gotta tell us
you know it is we're ending out twenty twenty four.
What is the rest of the year looking like for you?
And anything you want to tell the folks about to
(33:53):
look forward to it for your amazing work in twenty
twenty five, and tell us drop any social media websites
so folks can go check out, keep up with all
the stuff.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
So I am pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing for March
for me to have merch out just merch Okay, the
book is gonna come hopefully by my birthday, which is
May ninth, but merge for sure something that you could
buy that just says guys. I'm Shave the Poet. I
love that I've voicing them powers having the show December twelfth,
(34:24):
and Brooklyn please come. I will be spitting a poem
which I haven't done in like five months. And the
feature is Obi West. If you don't know Obi West
he's a legend. He's phenomenal, he's an amazing storyteller. He
is Chef's kiss, and I'm so happy that he is
going to brace the stage that I am on. Also,
Western powers are going to pour around the world. That's
(34:45):
gonna be pretty cool. And I know that they're going
to Denver soon. I will also be there, so I
hope to meet all my Denver friends.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (34:53):
I hope to start writing workshops next year so people
can just join me for writing workshops. Everything is on
Shane dot the Poet on Instagram.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
Perfect. All right, big thank you to Shae everyone. All
of Shade's links for her Instagram will be down below
in the description box. No matter what platform you listen
to the pot Speaks podcast on all right, Shae again,
thank you so much for being an amazing guest on
the post.
Speaker 3 (35:19):
Amazing hosts.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Absolutely absolutely all right again, everyone, check out all of
Shade's amazing work again. Her details will be in the
detailed box down below. Everyone, this is the Post Speaks podcast.
We'll talk to you so bye.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
Everyone,
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