Life Forthepeople

L.i.f.e. L.I.F.E, co-founder and pro-active member of the poetry troupe The Conscious Party, has a passion for allowing the truth to resonate through his words. It is not uncommon for people who have heard him perform to compare the fervor of his delivery and stage presence to that of Malcolm X, and to compare his appearance to that of Jesus Christ. This Tampa native has been an intricate part of bringing spoken work to the bay area through the venue, Black on Black Rhyme, through which The Conscious Party has given Tampa's poets a place to express their creativity on the mic for the past two years. An activist for inner city communities and advocator of the arts, L.I.F.E. completed his first spoken word CD in June 2003, and has gained national acclaim by competing on the Tampa Slam Team which took 1st place in the Hot Air Slam in Delray Beach, FL (2003), by finishing tenth in the individual competition at the 11th Annual Southern Fried Poetry Slam in New Orleans, La. (2003), placing third in the 1st Annual Listen Up!!! Slam at Florida State University (September 2003), and being a featured poet at one of Tampa's largest comedy showcases to date, Get Your Laugh On. This powerful brother was also featured in the Tampa Tribune, the St. Petersburg Times and the Florida Sentinel (Summer 2003.) In addition, he performed at the 2003 National Poetry Slam's African American Showcase in Chicago, Ill., he has hosted a public access television show on Tampa Bay Community Network for Black History Month 2003, and makes reoccurring appearances on Tampa Bay's 88.5 FM commercial free radio station. He has performed as a house poet at Tampa's Café Lyric at the Ybor City Improv Comedy Club. Most recently he was featured at Club Mojeaux in Lakeland, FL and won first place in Tampa's 2004 Black Heritage Festival poetry slam. The acronym, L.I.F.E., stands for living it for everyone, and given the powerful experiences and innovative thought process expressed in his poetry, it fits him perfectly.