The finalists for War Of Words Season 2 are.....!!!

For this 2nd edition of War Of Words, we had a total of 22 video entries/ submission from Spoken Word Poets in different parts of Nigeria using the theme "Be The Change You Seek."  

 However, only 16 poets can be selected to compete on stage at the main event on Sunday December 15, 2013. 

So after plenty argument and disagreement, our in-house judges finally reached a consensus.  Though we must mention that picking the 16 finalists was no easy task. We know and appreciate the efforts put into all the video submissions. 

We know each poet is unique in his or her own right and trying to say a poet is better than the other can be perceived as an injustice to creativity. 

Thus, we say a big THANK YOU to all the poets who entered for the competition. 

But the rules of the competition limits us to 15 poets, but we decided to pick 16 poets (we no try??). 

The 16 finalists for the Season 2 of War Of Words -Slam Poetry Competition in no particular order, are as follows:

1. Slimzy
2. Kruseaphix
3. Mac Dave
4. Shegzrhym
5. I am Rage
6. Chika Jones aka Scribblelirian 
7. Thinkingpen
8. Prestige d WordSmith
9. Olaide Afolabi aka PoetStreet
10. High On Word
11. Atilola Ajayi
12. Yetunde George
13. Foursyte Bogani
14. J-Quill
15. Osigwe Benjamin
16. Ehiz d poet

Wild Cards (in case one of the chosen 16 poets does not show up and to be chosen as listed):

1. Chiemezie Ibe
2. Moses Ukam aka Youngflashy

(The Wild Cards will replace any of the 16 poets who don't show up 
on the day of the Slam Poetry Competition on December 15, 2013)

Thank you all.

You are cordially invited to  "War Of Words Season 2.” 

Date is Sunday December 15, 2013

Venue is The Prince of Anthony Hotel 27 Oyedele Ogunniyi St, Anthony Village, Lagos.

Time is from 2.30 pm.

Gate is Free (but do buy a WORD UP DVD at the gate to support us, and buy yourself a drink when inside).

#WarOfWords2 The Difference by High On Word

The Difference by High On Word

Do you know the difference between me and you

It is not that I have money and you don’t

It is not that I have properties and you don’t

The difference between me and you

Is that I’m always happy and you’re not

I’m ever thankful but you don’t

I don’t complain but you do

You want to do everything to be rich

I do what I love and do it well

I always know I’m wealthy

I respect myself, do you?

The contrast between us is that

I want to help people but you always want people to help you

The similarity that does not exist between us is the fact that

I took time to get better, sharpening my strength

You went into the farm with blunt instrument

I don’t blame people for my troubles

Do you take responsibility for yours

Giving ache your ankle

But it is health to my bones

And air for my lungs

You think that money makes rich

But it is riches that brings money

Work hard, but always create time to think

Pray hard and believe what you prayed.

Value yourself

Don’t exchange your value for food

You are bigger than your stomach

Don’t exchange it for money

You are richer than your pockets

Your possession does not describe nor define you

You describe and define them

They are, because you are

Pay less time to your stomach’s hunger

Else, you will be bound to self

Don’t you know that you are a slave to that which

You pay attention to and

A servant to that which you look up to

You are more precious than gold

You are a god

More precious than silver

You are forever

Hello my friend

The distinction between a rich man and a poor one is

Awareness and Value

That is what I heard the rich man in my             

thoughts

Say to the poor man in my imaginations

Check out the video via this link

#WarOfWords2 The Difference by High On Word

http://youtu.be/Vo3krj5Id5g

#WarOfWords2 Blank mirror by J-Quill

Blank mirror by J-Quill

Scene 1,

Tell me about a honest

Impostor,.smiling greedily

In a Pose like;Sizwe banzi

I mean

Polished Smiles

Rehearsed speech

Perfected etiquettes

Standing untop of rovers

Waving hands and at the 

Right price?

My vote is yours

Scene 2 is like seeing 2000 

Gentlemen,queuing for a 

No-gentle man's job of a Driver

In a cement factory were only

One driver was needed anyway

Scene 3 unravels the mystery

As seen in cemetery

Marred visions of the

Allu victims

Aborted projects of corp members, caught up in flames

Or shredded in pieces yet

United in the phrase

"Mass burial"

Scene 4 is having four-seen a

Success,and amidst ur thrust

Tryna reach out tryna get it

Like a flash!,an unforeseen

Phrase from within

"Na man know man 

World we dey"

So scene 5 survives the 

Episode of the improvise me

Whose five senses realize that

The glued revolution I seek

Eludes sages revolution so

Even gazing @ d mirror,

I don't see me,absurdly

I can't see me but a missing

Figure of me in the mirror

You know why?

Cos the change I seek is not

The face I see in the mirror,

Its the inner-me in scene 1,

To scene 2 who don't neglect

Talent to sap for colar jobs

Or enbark on jungle justice

As seen in scene 3 so

When I see 

"chop mama thank you "

Peers on scene 4 as a poet,

I'll let my pen bleed out

To stupor I mean,

My zeal for change

Would be the urge to purge out

The me within so

When the 5 scenes co-relates My 5 senses,

Then and until then can I be

The change I seek!

Check out the video via this link

#WarOfWords2 Blank mirror by J-Quill

http://youtu.be/y9tC5z1-aiI

#WarOfWords2 WISHES ARE FANTASIES by OSIGWE BENJAMIN

WISHES ARE FANTASIES by OSIGWE BENJAMIN

We sell our trust to worthless buyers in exchanges for peanuts
We let them preach us decorated lies
For us to habour hope for the future blessings
They preach love but, hold on so tight to hatred in hearts
They preach change but join the Abiku race to inject us with pains 

Beggars from different kiosk quarters 
Scattered in streets, moving in tow 
Clattering plates with their un-toned songs 
To win attentions, just for daily arms 
And mummies line in death lanes 
Straining their weak voices for already crushed wealths 
That may not be revived if hands folds on 
With tight sealed lips

We lay our pains on titanic smiles merging sadness and happiness
Life and death 
For fear is gradually kissing us out of life 
We fix irony on words 
To make wounded hearts mild 
But we can't keep this ball of life rolling 
On self propounded lies. 
Wishes are dreams 
Be the change you seek!

I will preach it 
I will say it 
I won't wish it

Wishes are fantasies with wings 
Flying away out of sight 
With its betrayer's act 
Abandoning you to drag yourself back to reality 
And then hopelessness starts to parade in thoughts 
Leaving one to wish that he could not have sold himself

To his own minds eyes 
And here frustration befriends all static wishers 

I will preach it 
I will say it 
I will sing it like freedom songs 
But certainly I won't dream it 
For the income of illusions wishes 
Are the shovels of our dead bones to come 

Leaving the unburied dreams hanging 
For more of our kinds to come drink 
From glasses of pains and agonies 

Direct and guide your trust, they are gods 
And very priceless 
Start now to chant your war songs 
To be the change you seek 
For there is no way out 
Than we being the change we seek
Like Martin Luther King thought me to always remember 
That freedom can never be voluntaraly giving by the oppressors 
It must be demanded by the oppressed

Check out the video in the link below

#WarOfWords2 WISHES ARE FANTASIES by OSIGWE BENJAMIN

http://youtu.be/loNtfm0f3zg

Olulu on City Lace NTA 2 talking about Spoken Word Poetry in Nigeria

Spoken Word is a revival of an ancient African art form. 

It is words spoken with a rhythm not necessarily a beat and 

not necessarily rhyming. 

Spoken word has a through line, it is soulful, it can be fun and 

beautiful and definitely requires skill.

It is often compared to poetry.

Spoken Word Poetry is when emotions find thought and thoughts 

find words. 

How to Win a Poetry Slam Competition.

How to Win a Poetry Slam

Poetry slams gained national prominence in the 1990s after originating in the mid-1980s at Chicago's Get Me High Lounge, USA. 

These contests, driven by judges and audience members, pit wordsmiths against each other in a competitive round of performance poetry. 

Poetry slams are boisterous events that sometimes incorporate elements of hip-hop rhythms and themes into the performances. 

Try these tips to win a poetry slam.

Instructions

1. • 
     
   • Perform like you mean it. Poets and poems bursting with vitality, anger and other strong emotions win high scores at poetry slams. A subdued or shaky performance won't cut it with slam judges or audiences.
   • Set your timer. Slam poets are judged on the length as well as the content of their performance. Poems three minutes or under are given the highest scores. Longer performances are penalized by half a point, up to three points for poems over four minutes.
   • Hone your skills. Try out a variety of poems, reciting everything in your arsenal, from confessional pieces and political commentary to angry rants and risqué humor. Give plenty of readings before participating in your first slam.
   • Engage your audience. Poetry slam audiences critique poets during the performance, not after. Heckling, foot stomping and booing are common if a poet is deemed unsatisfactory by the audience. If you handle hecklers with a witty phrase or comeback, you may win back the audience.
   • Make lots of friends in the poetry slam world. Get to know slam organizers and judges, and bring lots of your own friends to poetry slams. The more fans you have, the better chance you have of winning a slam, since the contests are based on audience and judge approval.
   
   

   Tips & Warnings

   • Do use poems that address oppression. Angry or socially conscious poems are popular at many poetry slams.
   • Don't use props or costumes at a poetry slam. They are forbidden by slam rules.

   
   
   Source:
   
   
   http://www.ehow.com/how_2060270_win-poetry-slam.html
   
   

Submission of Videos for #WarOfWords2 is now extended by 2 weeks.

Due to popular demand, the submission of videos for War Of Words Season 2 is now extended by 2 week. Therefore deadline for video submission will now be midnight of October 27, 2013.

The fifteen finalists that will compete on the War Of Words stage in December 2013, will be announced in the 2nd week of November and also on November 23, 2013 during WORD UP Volume 6 http://wordup411.blogspot.com/2013/10/word-up-volume-6coming-soon.html. 

Go to http://wordup411.blogspot.com/2013/09/war-of-words-season-2-begins.html for the details of video submission for War Of Words Season 2.

Up for grabs:

1. $500 for the winner 

2. The top three poets get to perform at the next edition of WORD UP in February 2014 alongside the best Spoken Word Poets in Naija.

The competition is only open to Poets that have never performed at any WORD UP event.

Stay tuned to 

http://wordup411.blogspot.com/    and  http://www.wordup411ng.com

Follow us on Twitter:          @WORDUP411 ,  
Like our facebook page    https://www.facebook.com/wordup411

#WarOfWords2 Winds Of Change by Yetunde George

Winds Of Change by Yetunde George

Hear us,
We are the frustration and the hunger,
The pinch in your shoe size,
The lies that you don't buy,
And the things that you can't try.
Like bloodhounds the fresh scent of blood burning flesh excites us...
The tribes of wailing distress invites us...
We are the raging fire of sea and ice...
We consume what we see for a price...
We are the vultures of men!

But My constipated mind won't let go,
Won't let loose,
These ideas of mine,
Coming slow...
Of history,
Of times,
Come and gone...

The time is near,
The hour is at hand...
And as I put my pen to paper
The ink of my tears bear me witness.
Of wars lost and won,
Of things seen and gone...
Of time and space...
Of name and grace...
To find a balance...
To find a face...

But I feel the earth shifting,
A new generation drifting,
Away from our tales of woe,
To times of old.

So the fat, rich and famous should get lost or get bossed out of the positions they held with impunity!
A new age has come and what we need is unity!
Why are you still sitting down there listening to this eulogy?!

Don't just sit there, stare and  act like you don't care,
Because I know your innermost fears!
Awaken the spirit of consciousness!
Rekindle the hope of "Nigerianness!"
For we are what we are because of who we are!
We are where we are because of how we do it!
We are the Wind of Change!

Check out the video via this link

#WarOfWords2 Winds Of Change by Yetunde George

http://youtu.be/8zXyJpndbm4

Spoken Word Poetry don "fly" like "Pidgin."

He was one of the crowd's favourite at War Of Words Season 1 Slam Poetry Competition. Though he did not win, (he was the 1st runner), his performance left a lasting impression cos his unique brand of Spoken Word Poetry.

"If Dis Lines na Xmas rice? English Fowl too cost Na it make me buy pidgin"..

At Word Up Volume 5, he flew in from Calabar and showed his skill was no fluke. It was pure "Pidgin Spoken Word Poetry" at its best, no dilution, no disruption, no corruption. He just dey flow like say he get diarrhea of the mouth :)

His name is D-Ray, "the Pidgin Spoken Word Poet." 

Check out his video and tell me what you think. But please note, he said, 

"Hearing Safety, I dey talk carelessly with pidgin so wear ur seat-belt"...

D Ray on stage at WORD UP Volume 5 (First Anniversary Edition) 

which held on August 17, 2013 in Lagos, Nigeria. 

WORD UP is the biggest Spoken Word Poetry event  in Nigeria. 

It features A-list Spoken Word Poets on the same stage.

#WarOf Words2 BE THE CHANGE YOU SEEK by Poetstreet

BE THE CHANGE YOU SEEK by Poetstreet

I want to be the perfection to the flaws of our government
Put an end to the suffering of the masses and end their predicament
I want to be the light shining at the end of their tunnel
Fill them with oil of hope even if they have no funnel
Break myself into three, taken as a three-square meal
Cos to me, feeding Nigerians remains a big deal
I want to run, not for elections but in public taps, bathrooms and toilets
I want to be the Naira, not Pounds or Dollars bouncing in your wallets
I want to be the constant electricity running in your homes
Light up the streets of Nigeria, beautify it like Rome
I want to be the affordable fuel you queue to buy at filling stations
They removed subsidy, play us like Nintendo and Playstation
I want to be the freest and fairest election like we had in '93
So Nigerians can have something to celebrate at 53
I want to be the sanity and morality in the minds of our youths
They lost these to civilization and abandon their root
I want to be the integrity we once had in WAEC, JAMB and NECO
I represent the Nigerian student, their pains I echo
I want to be the end to senseless ASUU strikes
Elevate our tertiary education, make the standard so high
I want to be to be the ban on the importation of generators
Revive the power sector sabotaged by these predators
I want to be a religion that preaches Jesus Christ and Mohammed
And tell their worshippers that both prophets are sacred
I want to be a voice that shouts Allahu Akbar and Halleluyah
Put an end to senseless killings as if we want to make suya
I want to be the first book that contains both Quran and Bible
Connecting the two religions like a USB cable
I want to be the world cup trophy for the Super Eagles
And let the world see the glory of African struggles
I want to be the much-anticipated cure for HIV/AIDS
And be administered to infected people for free without getting paid
I want to be a good job for those graduates on the street
Who are searching for any job just to make their ends meet
I want to be a home for the homeless sleeping under the bridge
So they can have a home, while I preserve them like a fridge
I may not be Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa or Zik
But Lord, help me be the change that I seek


NON-ENGLISH WORDS USED & THEIR MEANINGS

Allahu Akbar-God is great
Halleluyah-Praise ye the Lord
Suya-Grill
WAEC-West African Examinations Council
NECO-National Examinations Council
JAMB-Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board
ASUU-Academic Staff Union of Universities

Check out the video via this link

#WarOf Words2 BE THE CHANGE YOU SEEK

http://youtu.be/lW8wWPCVpDA