When a new album of spoken word poetry hits the street next week, it will feature hip-hop artist J.D. Vishus - also known as Ryerson student Joseph Daly.
The album is entitled Word Life: Tales of the Underground Griouts. Funded by the Canada Council, the collection aims to communicate the black experience in urban areas of Canada.
"Griouts" refers to ancient African storytellers. Word Life is an attempt to revive the tradition with a modern slant.
"It is hip-hop poetry, incorporating African rhythms and funk," says Daly, who is in his first year of Ryerson's post-graduate journalism program.
Even though he is studying journalism, he considers music and poetry as his main interests.
Daly is proud of the contributions he made to the album. One of the poems he contributed, "Safe Brain Sex," encourages blacks to maintain a sense of pride.
"I believe there is some negativity in the black community," Daly said. He cites stealing and using the word "nigger" as examples.
"Safe Brain Sex" uses sexually transmitted diseases as metaphors for negative attitudes. "The metaphors I use are for the conditions of blacks," Daly said. "I am trying to say, 'Be proud of yourself' without being condescending."
The idea of bringing together some of the best urban black poets to record Word Life was conceived by Anthony Bansfield. Two of Bansfield's poems, "North Coast" and "Rub-a-Dub Radio," appear on this collection.
Bansfield, who lives in Ottawa, says the album celebrates the diverse black culture in Canada, even though some of the content is not celebratory.
"I wanted to move away from poems that deal exclusively with race," he said. "This is a collection that showcases talented black poets expressing their creativity and their experiences."
