Nov 10, 2008 - 12:00 AM
If you thought spoken word consisted of kufi-rocking vegans slapping bongos and spouting out words that are too big to fit in their mouths, then you haven't seen iLL-Literacy live. The Bay Area spoken word and music group doesn't give your cliche poetry performance. Backed by live band The Hi-Lifes on their Natural Electricity Tour, the four-member crew and supporting cast give a captivating show that combines spoken word, hip-hop, soul and funk with a little punk attitude.
Their Oct. 26 stop at the Milk Bar in San Francisco left their local fans awestruck by their new set. Fellow Bay Area hip-hop/spoken word group The Getback got the crowd ready for iLL-Lit. Opening with a rush of energy, iLL-Lit and The Hi-Lifes took turns performing poetry and music, including Dahlak and Nico's remix of "Love Lockdown" and the Hi-Lifes' cover of James Browns' "It's a Man's Man's Man's World." The night marked a special occasion for the group as they celebrated the release of crew member Ruby Verdiano-Ching's first collection of works, Miss Universe. (Click here to read "Untouchable: Ruby Veridiano-Ching takes the crown with her new book, Miss Universe.")
Oh Dang! was there to celebrate with Ruby and the crew...
Suzy Salazar is a freelance contributor to Oh Dang! She can be reached at souxiecue@gmail.com.
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