By Osagie Alonge
After almost twenty years away, spoken word Artiste, Bassey Ikpi has returned home to Nigeria, making her long-time dream of performing her poetry in her homeland a reality.
Ikpi is a Nigerian born poet/writer who was a featured cast member of the National Touring Company of the Tony Award winning Broadway show, Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam. Over the years, she’s become a YouTube star with her spoken word performances garnering up to 700,000 hits.
She plans to facilitate and support the growth of Spoken Word in Nigeria. Kicking off last month in August with the new yam celebration in Calabar, and headlining shows in Lagos and Abuja, her project will come to an end with the Bassey World Live Nigeria show on Friday, September 14 2012.
The event which holds at TerraKulture, Lagos serves as the first national poetry slam, where finalists selected from a handful of YouTube video submissions will compete for the first place position.
‘Spoken word in Nigeria has tremendous promise and heart but needs a platform that encourages growth… It has produced amazing talent but I would love to see it really blossom’, Ikpi says.
Organizers say the red carpet session will feature ‘a new side’ of Channel O’s Denrele Edun and Studio 53 Extra’s Dolapo Marcy Oni as they will perform their never-been-seen or heard poetry.
Watch Bassey Ikpi performance of Apology to My Unborn by Bassey Ikpi at Def Poetry Jam…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzyrHsYTveE[/youtube]
