Sip 'N' Slam

Black Root

Jamaal 'Black Root' Collier is a multidisciplinary performance artist and teaching artist who channels his art form through theatre, vocal percussion, emceeing (Rapping), singing, spoken word poetry and hosting events. His mission is always to communicate, entertain, enlighten, and grow with his audience

Megan Rickman Blackwood

Megan Rickman Blackwood started her career in 2007 stepping onto a stage for the first time at Virginia's historic Slam Richmond. Winning the slam that night cemented a love for spoken word poetry that would continue to blossom and evolve over the next 14 years. Megan has performed on multiple final stages of international competitions, taking home the honor of 6th ranked woman poet in the world in 2010, and most recently ranked 5th in the world with The Writer's Den slam team in 2021. Megan has stepped back from performing but continues to write as she completes her undergraduate degree in Political Science. Combining her love of words and government, Megan has penned speeches for multiple elected officials in Virginia, including drafting remarks delivered on the Senate floor by Sen  Louise L. Lucas, the first Black woman president pro tempore of the Virginia State Senate. 

Megan is currently preparing to enter into a Ph.D. program in Policy Analysis, and working on completing her first full volume of poetry to be published in late 2021. 

Regie Cabico

Regie Cabico's work appears in over 30 anthologies including The Spoken Word Revolution (Sourcebooks, 2003), Chorus & The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry (Thunder's Mouth Press, 1999), and Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Café (Henry Holt and Company, 1994). He is the co-editor of Flicker & Spark: A Contemporary Anthology of Queer Poetry and Spoken Word (Lowbrow Press, 2013), nominated for a 2014 Lambda Literary Award. He is the Youth Program Coordinator for Split this Rock Poetry Festival.

Carlynn Newhouse

Carlynn Newhouse is a poet, educator, emcee, and performer. She is an Adobe Creativity Scholar attending Howard University, a National YoungArts Finalist, 3 time Youth Speaks Seattle Grand Slam Champion, and ranked 4th in the 2020 Women of the World Poetry Slam. Her work has been featured on platforms such as Button Poetry, The Seattle Globalist, the Kennedy Center, and more. Her deep love for poetry and arts education is only matched by her commitment to social justice, youth empowerment, as well as personal and collective healing. Carlynn believes poetry is a form of activism and tool for raising awareness in hopes of making the world a safer space.

Vijai Nathan

Vijai is one of the leading Indian American female comedians making people laugh across America and internationally too. International comedy phenomenon Russell Peters calls her “One of the top two South Asian comics in the world to watch!” She has performed in South Africa, England and Canada, and was featured at the Montreal International Comedy Festival (Just for Laughs) and the Smirnoff International Comedy Festival. Washington DC loves her too- she’s performed at the Smithsonian Museum, Kennedy Center, Constitution Hall, Library of Congress and won the award for Artistic Excellence from SpeakeasyDC.

Amin tMK

Amin tMK (he/him) (fka Amin Drew Law) is an Arab-American interdisciplinary performance artist, writer and activist living in Washington, D.C. A highly decorated slam poet, Amin is a 2 two-time DC Grand Slam champion, Southern Fried slam champion and 4x member of Busboys & Poets prestigious Beltway Slam team. His spoken word has been seen on TV One's Verses and Flow, Button Poetry, Slam Find and All Def Poetry. His work surrounding social justice and environmentalism has led him to speak around the world and at dozens of universities including Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown and the University of Maryland. His album Troublesome (available on all streaming platforms) has been praised for its melodic qualities, subtle lyrics as well as its poignant political statements. Amin also produces and co-hosts the popular Exit the Matrix podcast with accomplished writers and activists Amoja “Mo Man” Sumler and Kita Marshall (available on all podcast platforms).

Charity Blackwell

Charity Blackwell is a spoken word artist, poet, emcee, motivational speaker, activist, and teacher who hails from South Carolina and now calls Washington, DC home. As a queer woman of color and daughter of a former NAACP president, Charity has always used her talents to uplift the LGBTQ and African American communities, as well as advocating for social justice, youth development, domestic violence awareness, and women’s rights. She’s performed on stages and media outlets near and far, including Lincoln Theater, The Kennedy Center, The Hirshhorn Museum, BBC News, Major League Soccer Network, TedxTysons, and more. Charity is a graduate of Trinity University in Washington, DC, where she earned a bachelor's and master's in communications.

Analysis

A veteran of various forms of public speaking, Analysis is a spoken-word poet, rad minister and bookseller, educator and consultant, soccer addict and lover of justice and human rights! He’s featured and spotlighted at venues across New England and the Mid-Atlantic. A background in civil rights and economic justice, anti-apartheid and anti-racist organizing, secondary education, justice theory and ministry, and international travel manifests itself in his poetry—as does a love of radical history, family, and people in general. There’s also a naughty side that comes out now and then! A native of Baltimore, Maryland, he studied Public Communication at the American University and holds a Master of Divinity degree from Howard University, from which he graduated with highest honors. Analysis is the host of Red Emma's Mother Earth Poetry Vibe, a quarterly open mic and feature venue of the theme “Peace, Justice, Poetry!” that takes place at Red Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse in Baltimore, and is a member of Simply Poetic Entertainment and of Restoration Village Arts. His book, Somewhere Through the Haze, is a short collection of poems on a variety of justice & human rights topics, and his album A Couple Thousand Years Later will be released in 2021.