“……..a voice too loud to colonize.”

Spoken Word lies in how it helps to bring poetry into musical form, making the work of the three poetic visionaries: Léopold Sédar Senghor, Aimé Césaire, and Léon‑Gontran Damas who redefined Black identity through poetry, philosophy, and pride in African heritage; to be more accessible to people who might connect more through songs than through reading poetry. It’s also a way to highlight the lyrical, rhythmical, and oratorical qualities of poetry — which are central to the artistry of the Négritude movement, by using voice and music.

The EP/Album and Book - Negritude: the Names They Tried to Silence is a contemporary continuation of a cultural legacy that’s both poetic and revolutionary. Some of the compelling framework that embodies the project, thus far:

1. Spirit of Revival:
   the EP/Album revives the political and emotional intensity of Black resistance through Spoken Word and is able to breathe new life into the original texts of Senghor, Césaire, and Damas through music. The project translates page-bound poetry into lived, felt experience.
2. Voice as Resistance:
   The original Négritude poets used poetry to reclaim Black identity and dignity in the face of colonialism. The EP/Album uses Spoken Word to do the same, but in the context of modern liberation struggles — channeling the voices of freedom fighters (such as Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, Maya Angelou, Dr. Martin Luther King, or other contemporary activists) in the way Négritude channeled Africa and the diaspora.
3. Orality and Tradition:
   The project embraces the oral and written tradition, echoing the African griot lineage that values voice as a tool for memory, history, and resistance. The use of Spoken Word aligns with this tradition.
4. Cultural Reclamation:
   Negritude: the Names They Tried to Silence, is a cultural reclamation — putting the poetry of Black thinkers at the forefront of art. The EP/Album and Book also expands the lens to include the radical, often suppressed, voices of global Black freedom struggles. It’s Negritude reimagined for a 21st-century world that still battles neo-colonialism, systemic racism, and erasure.
5. Title as Tribute and Statement:
   Naming the combined music and literary works — Negritude: the Names They Tried to Silence is a direct and intentional nod — positioning my work within the historical continuum of Black literary and political resistance.