9 minute read
Activism through Lyricism with POEM-CEE's Patrick Washington
CATCH UP WITH PATRICK WASHINGTON TO DISCOVER HOW HE IS REDEFINING THE ART OF SLAM AS WORDS BEATS & LIFE’S DIRECTOR OF POETRY.
words by Mazi Mutafa
Pen for hire, Patrick Washington discusses his journey as an independent artist to his current role as Director of Poetry at Words Beats & Life.
A poet during the golden era of hip-hop, Washington forged his fame as an activist through lyricism. An OG of D.C.’s Black Broadway on U Street, the king of lyrics, a.k.a. Black Picasso, toured the country as a member of the legendary poetic group the POEM-CEES.
Washington has spit the illest of rhymes on Russel Simmons’ HBO series Def Poetry Jam and the NFL Network. Washington is a published poet with his literary work found in distinguished academic journals such as Rom Publications: Life Through Black Eyes and the award-winning Beltway Poetry Quarterly.
BLACK PICASSO & NATURALAW FILMING RUSSEL SIMMONS' HBO SERIES; DEF POETRY JAM.
Washington narrated Tavis Smiley’s National Museum exhibition ‘America I Am’. In 2011 he stood alongside prominent leaders of the civil rights movement during the dedication ceremony for Martin Luther King Jr.’s National Memorial. This significant moment in history included a keynote speech from President Barack Obama, a poem curated by Washington, and a performance by Aretha Franklin.
PATRICK WASHINGTON AND DARRELL PERRY PERFORM THE POEM "BUS PAST" ALONGSIDE HIP-HOP VIOLINIST, MIRI BEN-ARI, AT THE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DEDICATION CEREMONY IN WASHINGTON D.C., 2011.
Q&A
MAZI: Since the mid-nineties, you have been a staple in the DMV [District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia] poetry scene and are known as the Black Picasso; how did you get your stage name?
PATRICK: Black Picasso was a name that I was given back in high school. Like most kids, I wanted to be a rapper, well, most kids around my way at the time. I was in a duo with Anton Baxter; his stage name was Gangsta Hip-Hop and he looked the role. He had swag very much like Just-Ice, you know? Anton Baxter, a.k.a. Gangsta Hip-Hop gave me the name Black Picasso, partly because I sprayed graffiti in PG Country; I was hitting up the walls behind the school and overpasses.
MAZI: As a child, you lived abroad in Japan, and then as a teen, you moved to Prince George’s County, landing you in the DMV during the height of the go-go genre. What role did go-go play in your development as a poet?
PATRICK: Moving to the DMV from Japan, I felt like an outcast once again. I was so into hip-hop, and the DMV was all about go-go. I felt like literally the biggest “bamma” on earth. In high school, I started playing instruments, I played the sax and the trumpet. I became valuable to musicians, and I gained popularity. I felt better because I found my creativity once again through playing in neighborhood bands.
MAZI: How long did you stay in your artistic duo with Anton Baxter, a.k.a. Gangsta?
PATRICK: In our early twenties, after we graduated, we got an apartment together in Temple Hills, MD. We started going to studios, and for a short time, our mentor was a dude named Robert Reed, a.k.a. Dyke. Dyke played keyboards in the go-go group Trouble Funk. We would go to his house, and for a discounted rate, he helped us learn the industry’s business side. He would tell us about his exploits and what it was like being in a founding group of go-go. He even took us up to his job at Omega Studios.
MAZI: For decades you dominated the poetry game, sharing your voice to enact change. You are known for spitting game in a unique hybrid of rap and poetry. How did you go from a hip-hop head who aspired to be a rapper to mastering the spoken word?
PATRICK: I started to notice that hip-hop was being presented in a way that I wasn’t feeling. There was an ultra-masculine and aggressive vibe; “I’ve got to be ready to pop off at a moment’s notice,” and that wasn’t me. I was like Justin Warfield (for those who know), and I’m still kind of like that. I backed off, and instead, I started writing poetry about hip-hop. That’s when things changed for me. I went to an open mic at It’s Your Mug, and that’s where I met Toni Asante Lightfoot, Holly Bass, and DJ Renegade. I showed up, spit a poem, and it blew up! Oh, they loved it. That is when I knew I had found my people.
MAZI: When did you, Perry, and Anderson form the POEM- CEES?
[POEM-CEES is a poetic group consisting of three artistic wordsmiths; our very own Patrick Washington, also known as Black Picasso, Darrell Perry, who goes by Naturalaw, and Rhome Anderson, a.k.a DJ Stylus]
PATRICK: POEM-CEE’s formed in the early nineties as an offshoot of the larger group Generation 2000. Before we established POEM-CEES, we began to see a lot of artistic groups form, like-minded individuals who found each other and started creating together. Groups like The Modern Urban Griots (Toni Lightfoot’s group) and Collective Voices.
For a while, myself and a few others were just floating on the fringes of those other groups. Eventually, some of us brothers got together and created a group. Keep in mind this was like early to mid-nineties, so we needed a cool name. We decided on Generation 2000; at the time, the looming turn of the century was a big topic, so it just made sense, and we were representing the future.
Generation 2000 became the crew & we rocked together for a couple of years. We made a good name for ourselves on the college circuit. Eventually, a couple of brothers fell off, and we added a few sisters to the group, Tiffany Thompson and Lisa Pegram. From there, we really took off because it was a whole different energy.
Black Broadway (U Street in D.C.) was our homebase. We had an open mic series that we ran out of a place called the Kaffa House. 1212 U Street was the address; I’ll never forget that. Thursday nights at the Kaffa House, Howard University would show up, and we would just blaze the mic until the
MAZI: How did becoming a father impact the trajectory of your career?
PATRICK: I was 28 when I first became a father. That was the beginning of my career as a teaching artist. I realized I’m bringing the next generation, and I need to be on point. I need to know what they’re talking about; I need to understand. I need to understand their fears, their hopes, and how they communicate with each other.
Being a teaching artist was helpful for my development as a person and as a father. I wanted to be able to communicate with my own kids that were on their way. So I practiced with the kids at the WBL Academy. That is when I started taking teaching the arts more seriously; up until that point, I was a hired gun, or a hired pen, entertaining students by dancing around & beatboxing. I was the cool guy to the kids at first, but it’s fifteen years later. Nobody wants to hear me beatbox a poem for 20 minutes. So, I’m at a point now where my game had better be than just entertaining.
MAZI: I appreciate your humility, but I’ve also seen you show up and leave the audience dumbfounded by your ability, over time your pencil has gotten sharper.
PATRICK: I appreciate that.
MAZI: What are some of the organizations you’ve worked with over the course of your career as a teaching artist?
PATRICK: I have worked alongside just about every active local organization when it comes to poetry and youth development. I’ve collaborated with D.C. Scores, the D.C. Creative Writing Workshop (which I still work with to this day), the American Poetry Museum, and the Washington Performing Arts Society. I spent several years working with incarcerated youth, state organizations, and the Poets of the People’s Army in Political Exile. You name it; I’ve probably done it. I’ve worked with them all, and I learned something from each experience.
MAZI: How has that experience impacted you as a professional?
PATRICK: Wisdom is gained by experience and by failure. I think of the places where I fell short and try to learn from them, personally and professionally. I think a lot about the “L’s” man and how not to repeat them. The places where I could do more are the things that I tend to focus
MAZI: What do you see in the future for the Poetry Department of the Academy at Words Beats & Life?
PATRICK: That’s the dope part; we are witnessing that unfold before us right now through our former Academy students applying to become teaching artists at the Academy. We see that cycle, and it’s beautiful.
My mentor, Askari, who my son is named after, was an elder poet that took care of us younger artists as we were coming up. When Askari passed away, it deeply affected a lot of us. I remember during a WBL staff meeting, I mentioned Askari’s passing. Dom [WBL’s Director of Marketing] responded to me with, “yo, doesn’t it seem like you’re picking up that mantle and taking over for him?” and I got choked up, cuz I didn’t realize it until Dom pointed it out.
These things are happening right before our eyes. Whether we wanna recognize it or not. We wanna act like we’re here forever, but yeah, man, time is undefeated.
I’m very happy to see that these young artists are picking up the lessons or picking up the mantle, and they’re coming up right behind us. I wouldn’t be mad at all if, one day, Sasa [2022 Youth Poet Laureate] took over the poetry department at WBL. No matter what the organization is, that is always a beautiful goal.
MAZI: Creatively do you see the POEM-CEES making more music?
PATRICK: Naturalaw and I talk almost weekly; we’re currently shooting ideas back and forth, so the POEM-CEES will be getting together and creating new work soon.
MAZI: How do you see your creative future - you have a comic book, too, right?
PATRICK: I have a comic book called Ynegma; it’s available to read at [younaversecomics.com]. I’m sitting on my first book of poetry and working on a screenplay based on true stories from my 30 years as a 911 dispatcher. I’m excited to get back because a huge creative part of me is screaming to get out, and it’s gonna happen. Stay tuned.
