I'm definitely amazing because.....
SG: I’m me, my work is definitely an extension of myself, I’m any ole person walking down the street, but in the same token I’ve grown to love myself. Plus my work ethic is crazy.
What does it take to be Definitely Amazing?
SG: I think that they have to recognize who they are and how they fit into the world. I focus a lot on being yourself, because so many people tell you to be this and that, so you have to find your own nitch. I know so many different artists who sound like everyone else, I love the fact that I sound like myself. To be definitely amazing you have to embrace that you are definitely amazing just the way you are. You have to be willing to say you are fly, and you have room to grow, you still have a lot to learn. You also have to believe that what ever your put here to do you’re meant to do, your given gifts for a reason embrace those gifts and you’ll be Definitely Amazing.
What does the word "poet" mean to you?
SG: A poet is a person who spends time sharing parts of themselves, and their observations. A person who gives you art, as oppose to a rant, a vent. A poet is a person who embraces this as an art. It’s a person who treats this as a way to reach people, because you can just write for yourself and that’s a journal entry, which just makes you a writer. To be considered a poet you have to be able to bring the art of it and realize it’s a sword and you have to wield it properly.
With the current explosion of poetry shows like Def Poetry and Brave New Voices, do you think that this will usher a whole new world of Definitely Amazing Poets?
SG: I don’t know if they’re all going to be definitely amazing, (laughs) but it’s definitely giving the genre more publicity. I still do shows where people come to me and say “I never knew poetry was like this” They just thought poetry was just Shakespeare and Langston Hughes. There are a lot of people who don’t know there is a genre like this. I think these are all great venues to bring that out there, while people look at it as commercializing poetry, and there are some people who look at it like that. I still think that there’s so much to the genre that you can’t commercialize it. There are still so may people who need to see this and need to hear this so that they can say “I can do that too one day”.
Name a moment or a Poem that you read or heard that made you say yeah this is for me.
SG: One of my favorite poets is actually a peer of mines, his name is Amir Sulaiman, and he has a poem called “Dead Man Walking” Which to me is one of his greatest works. A lot of the poem deals with an internal struggle, between a person and their art, a person and their past ( She Recites a few lines from the poem which has me in awe). I was in Miami and I got to perform at this spot, and the sister almost didn’t let me perform, she was like “who are you, I don’t know you, your from NY” I mean really it was that serious, but I respect the venue, It’s an established venue so you can’t just put anyone on stage. So she made a deal with my friend, “I’ll let her get up there for a couple of minutes and speak , if she rocks it I’ll let her feature next week” of course you know I rock it(Chuckles). Amir goes up next and I’m just like (pauses and gives me the look). I say to him every time I see him perform “I don’t have to go to church this week” He is just that real.
I got to ask you to tell us the concept behind "why I love you” one of my favorites on your MySpace page.
SG: I never wrote a love poem. I always used to battle with this because before that poem I never wrote one. I love the Musiq Soulchild song “Don’t Change”, but my favorite line in the song isn’t all the other sweet stuff, it’s the line” and even when you get on my last nerves, I cant see myself without you”. I like this line because everybody loves it when it’s good, but the moment they get on your nerves your like peace (throws up two fingers) I remember thinking about that and saying I don’t want to write the average love poem, the birds and the bees, when I hear you my heart skips a beat stuff. I didn’t want to do that. So I thought about past relationships and realized that contrasts are always better than someone that compliments you. A lot of people are looking for this perfection and there is no such thing. I try to look for a realistic view on what love really is, we don’t all love people 24/7 that’s real. (She signs a copy of her cd and gives it to me :) )
Stay tuned for pt2 of this Amazing and real interview with the Lovely and talented Shanelle Gabriel.
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