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Saul Williams
Hailed as, "a dreadlocked dervish of words...the Bob Marley of American poets", Saul Williams is a gifted poet, lyricist and hip-hop artist whose work represents an evolution of thought, artistry and spiritual consciousness. Saul’s work has been driven through various modalities from published compilations of poetry, to movies, to Nike commercials, to albums produced by such musical geniuses as Trent Reznor and Rick Rubin.
In an age where boundless leaps are being made in communication, Saul Williams is evolutionary proof that age-old concepts can be fused with new precepts and expressed with mind opening precision.
Never before has the power of the word and our ability to dictate our reality been expressed so clearly and creatively at once. Saul’s poetry represents an evolution of thought, artistry and spiritual consciousness delivered with the lyrical fervor of hip-hop and the grace and linguistic mastery of Shakespeare. Saul channels the voice of the postmodern age, yet allows a wide-ranging stream of consciousness to distort the melody like some sort of lyrical Hendrix.
Saul's debut performance and featured poetry in the film Slam, which he co-wrote and starred in, brought audiences to their feet across the world. Winning the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998, the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, along with the Audience Award for Best Picture and the World Distributors Award for Best Picture, Slam uniquely exposed the universal truths that one must grasp in order to escape imprisoned mind-states. Along with his co-star, Sonia Sohn, Saul was personally awarded the Perry Ellis Breakthrough Award by New York's Independent Film Project (IFP) and was also nominated for a Spirit Award for best performance. Marc Levin's idea to direct this poetic masterpiece came about after seeing Saul recite his poetry in the Grand Slam Championship at the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe, where he became the Grand Slam Champion for 1996.
Saul's books of poetry include the Seventh Octave, S/He, ,said the shotgun to the head, and The Dead Emcee Scrolls: The Lost Teachings of Hip-Hop. The last three of his books have been published by MTV/Pocketbooks.
Saul's love of language, which is rooted in his love of hip-hop, has come full circle as he now takes his lyricism back to its musical roots. His albums include The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust! (2007), produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and only available by download on his website, Saul Williams (2004), Not in My Name (2003), Amethyst Rock Star (2001)-produced by Rick Rubin, and Penny for a Thought/Purple Pigeons (2001), and his music has also been featured on a number of complilation CDs, including: Lyricist Lounge, the Slam soundtrack, Black Whole Styles, Eargasms, Blackalicious’ Blazing Arrow, and Krust's Coded Language.
In early 2008, a Nike Sparq Training commercial featured Saul's song "List of Demands (Reparations)”. He has also been featured in The New York Times, Esquire, Time Magazine, Elle, Details, Detour, Premiere, Entertainment Weekly, Vibe, Essence, Source, Paper, Rolling Stone, and countless other periodicals.
Saul has performed all around the U.S., as well as in Canada, France, Germany, England, Scotland, Sweden, Belgium, Turkey, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Brazil and Japan. He has been featured at the Whitney Museum, the New Museum, Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Stockholm, Sweden. Saul performed on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam III in the spring of 2003 and was a recurring character on UPN’s hit show, ‘Girlfriends.’ His poetry has been added to the curriculum at a number of universities and high schools across the country, where he has also been asked to recite his work, lecture, and/or teach workshops, including: New York University, American University, Morehouse College, Oberlin, The New School, George Washington University, Cornell University and Harvard.
