Def Poetry Jam returns for a mega marathon of Healing, Power & Poetry with a very special live-streamed event benefiting COVID-19 relief on Saturday, May 23, 2020 at 7pm ET/4 PM PT. The program will stream online on Twitch at www.twitch.tv/defpoetryjam and Facebook Watch at www.facebook.com/russellsimmons. The online show will also be simulcast on Newark, NJ’s municipal access channel NWK 78.
This epic evening of artistry will be hosted by The Legendary Black Ice and Jessica Care Moore with special guest poet Ras Baraka, Mayor of Newark, NJ. More than two dozen poets have been confirmed to perform, including Def Poetry all-stars such as Georgia Me, Staceyann Chin, Roger Bonair, Bassey Ikpi, and Sunni Patterson. The production will introduce powerful new voices like Brandon “Real Talk” Alexander, Elisabet Velasquez, and Khemist and feature legendary poetry voices like Abiodun Oyewole of The Last Poets. Actor and Def Poetry veteran Malcolm-Jamal Warner will make a special appearance and the show will also have a performance by Def Poetry Jam co-creator Danny Simmons, accompanied by jazz legend Ron Carter.
“The goal of our Def Poetry Jam streaming event is to raise funds to provide basic needs for members of Newark, NJ’s vulnerable and underserved community,” said Danny Simmons, chairman of Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation (Rush Arts). “All funds from the fundraiser will be collected by Rush Arts and administered by Newark Symphony Hall’s #EmbraceNewark initiative, with 25% going to artists in need.”
Russell Simmon’s Def Poetry Jam opened on Broadway in November 2002. A television version of the show ran on HBO from 2002 to 2007. The TV series featured performances by established and up-and-coming poets as well as famous actors and musicians, and was key in advancing the cultural importance of poetry. The Broadway show won a Tony Award and the television series won a Peabody Award.
The May 23rd fundraiser is produced and curated by Lamar “The Legendary Black Ice” Manson and Jessica Care Moore and presented online by GC Studios, a division of Gushcloud International, in association with Newark Symphony Hall. Newark Symphony Hall President and CEO Taneshia Nash Laird is an executive producer of the event. Laird is also president of the board of Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation.
