| Subject: AQIYL THOMAS' BIO |
Author:
Sarah
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Date Posted: 13:00:33 02/12/02 Tue
In reply to:
Sarah
's message, "Bio Info Needed On All PPP Members" on 18:05:38 02/02/02 Sat
From spirituals came the freeing sounds of be-bop and jazz that strained musical boundaries and freed listeners through scats and musical scores that defied artistic construct.
Although I’m death/def, I hear voices calling my name to the resurrection
Then came hip-hop, an indescribable sound fused from all origins of symphonic euphony.
I am the incandescent light from within.
It is in this schism called hip-hop where we find Aqiyl. He dwells in the blurs of rhyme schemes and free verse with his debut album, Wordslife: A Thin Line Between Hip-Hop and Poetry, which combines spoken word over surrealist tracks of techno and hip-hop music.
Consciousness and creativity meet their maker in his voice. Aqiyl’s words wax metaphysic on idiosyncrasies of the present, while mulling over trials of the afterlife with a heavy alto that weaves through verbs and metaphors with the eloquence of water. His poetry acts as a conduit for old souls, while possessing a certain duality that speaks to the clairvoyance of challenging accepted ideals and the wanton rituals of life that we inhabit daily. We are living in the present, but Aqiyl is orbiting the future.
In his childhood home of Buffalo, New York, he began writing hip-hop lyrics at 12 and by the age of 18, as he entered Clark Atlanta University, his skill and interest had peaked into a serious passion for poetry and hip-hop. Before graduating with a Psychology degree, Aqiyl opted to spend his senior year studying abroad in Cairo, Egypt. As he slowly released himself from his ephemeral surroundings, rebirth commenced in Cairo.
“Cairo was a place of change,” reflects Aqiyl. “Being there gave me insight on society on an international level and caused me to change my world view.” It was also during his time in Egypt that Aqiyl heavily wrote poetry and sent his writings as e-mails to describe his spiritual renewal.
The awakening he experienced while in Africa provided the onus for his first literary effort, 1975: The Underground Epic. The book’s theme is held in the poem Sudanese Chocolate, which speaks to his own birth and was inspired by some of his friends in Sudan.
Aqiyl and Jessica Care Moore, poet and owner of Moore Black Press, opened MoorEpics: The Poetry Planet during the summer of 2000 in downtown Atlanta. MoorEpics has since grown into one of Atlanta’s premier poetry and music venues where internationally known artists such as musician India Arie and poet Afeni Shakur have been known to perform.
Aqiyl recently finished shooting his video, My Life, which was the first track off his Wordslife album. Aqiyl describes My Life as a poetic discussion in futuristic mind technology.
Aqiyl acted in Maze which was presented during the 2000 National Black Arts Festival at Clark Atlanta University in 2001. Nonetheless, his debut performance on screen was in the short film BUM, which was shown at the Roxbury Film Festival. He also co-produced, co-directed, co-wrote and acted in the 2001 stage play “The Block: A Two Man Show,” with Atlanta poet Yohannes at The Seven Stages Theatre.
Aqiyl’s radio and television appearances include WUFO (Buffalo), V-103 (Atlanta), WRFG (Atlanta), WRAS (Georgia State), and The Charlie Fisher Show (Buffalo) and has been featured in The Challenger, Black Issues Book Review, Good News magazine, and Rolling Out magazine.
Aqiyl’s list of performances include shows at the Atlanta Jazz Festival, The Poetry Planet, FunkJazzKafé Festival, Yin Yang Jazz Café, Club Kaya, Paschal's, Shrine of the Black Madonna, Apache Café, Inovox, Park Avenue, and Spelman College. He has been a featured performer in Buffalo, NY, at the Langston Hughes Center, The Ujima Theatre, McKenly High School, EM Tea Coffee Cup, the Buffalo Juvenile Detention Center, and Buffalo State College. While on a 30 day self promoted East Coast Tour he performed at a Harvard University student sit-in for the rights of custodial workers, MIT's International Day, Wally’s Place, The Milky Way, The Lizard Lounge, The Lavar Bar, The House of Blues, Soul Revival, The Middle East Restaurant, Five Seasons, Nappy Thursdays, Bar Nun, Mangos, Myth at Teaism, the Nuyorican Poet’s Café, Brooklyn Moon Café, Jimmy's Place, Sugar Shack, The Five Spot, Euphoria, and After Six. He has also opened for poets Saul Williams at Morehouse College and Malik Yusef at Clark Atlanta University.
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