Slam poets you just have to check out !

At first I intended to do a top 10 list of slam poets, but then I realized each one of them is amazing and every poem has its own story to tell, so who am I to judge which one is better? Eventually I decided I was going to make a list of the poems I like and think everybody should check them out.

1. Andrea Gibson

The thing I like most about Andrea Gibson is her voice and the notes she touches. Almost all the poems I've heard from her have a sad story to tell but in the end she always leaves some room for the good part. Her poems focus on politics, the struggles people face in today's society and gender norms.

The first poem I would recommend from her is Bullets and Windchimes

Favorite quotes from her poems: "And all they know of hate, is that it couldn't beat the love out of me" from her poem Ashes. 

"And when they drop me to the grave, i fell like a bucket into a well and came up full
Carving my lover's name into the skin of a weeping willow" - Ashes

2. Mike McGee

Mike McGee or Mighty Mike as he often calls himself has a funny way of putting this seriously. His poem Like, touches funny, sad and romantic notes all at the same time. I like his poems because of the feeling they leave behind. It's something funny that gets your mind off things but at the same time his poems leave a trace of smart things to consider. I would also recommend Mike's following poems: In Search for Midnight, Neil Armstrong, Soul Food.  

My favorite quotes from his poems are: "Like David Copperfield likes performing grand-scale, lame ass feats of illusion.
Like how the U.S. government likes performing grand-scale lame ass feats of illusion." -  in Like

" I guess I'm just tired of meeting people
that define themselves by what they don't like.
I just don't like that." -Like

"I hope you like me back, even if it's like dust likes furniture" - Like

3. Jasmine Mans 

I think her poem Dear ex-lover has the best chosen words anyone would like to say to their ex lover. It begins with a quote "Someone once told me your poem doesn't start until you start telling the truth. So I call this my first poem" so that alone left me speechless. What followed was an amazing five minutes experience. 

Favorite quotes: "I will marry a man, and I will lay my head on his chest like red roses on mahogany casket" - in Dear ex-lover

"Apologies are like oxygen masks on hijacked planes." - Dear ex-lover

"Stop looking for the light at the end of the tunnel and start looking for God in the darkness." -Dear ex-lover

4. Sarah Kay 

Sarah Kay's Montauk poem creates such vivid images in my mind. I feel as if I am there with her experiencing everything she talks about. I adore her poems because they always have a happy note and a silver lining to them, and if that isn't enough she always has a cute smile on her face. Her voice is so soft and soothing and her poems create wonderful images in my mind. This poem focuses on the importance of taking a break from the city life and how there are some things the city cannot provide. 

Favorite quotes: "Time goes to Montauk to take a break" - Montauk.

"There is no one left in the water. I tuck my legs up, the setting sun makes the water glow golden...that summer I've learned how to be alone" - Montauk.

"Cuz no matter how wide you stretch your fingers, your hands will always be too small to catch all the pain you want to heal" - If I should have a daughter.


5. Rachel McKibbens 

Rachel has a voice like I've never heard before. Every time she starts reciting a poem I'm like "ok, this is cool" but by the end of the poem I'm nearly crying. Her voice fits perfectly the pain or the serious matter in her poems. One of my favorite poems by her is For M. This poem is about a girl -poet as she calls her, trapped in a hospital where Rachel has taught through the Healing Arts program. 

Favorite quote: "If this were a prettier story, you'd be a princess trapped in a tower by a twisted witch who resembles every pill you've been trained to swallow." - in For M

"Your eyes reflect a cricket  language no one likes to admit they know all the words to" - For M.

"Wish this world could come to accept that awkward shade of blue. You say it is the color of being alone, that it wears you like a mother holds her brilliant child. And you asked me once what color my alone is...as if you and I are not the same" - For M

6. Rudy Francisco 

Almost all of Rudy Francisco poems I've heard were love poems. Also I noticed he cares about women being treated as equals or the way they should be treat. This poem, Chameleon begins with a funny story but in the end it turns out to have some deep meaning to it which I go crazy for.

Favorite quotes: "We carry guitar cases filled with phobias hoping that we can turn fear into our strongest instruments. I know our hands break things just as frequent as we fix them." - Chameleon.

"This is an apology to every woman I've changed colors to get inside of" - Chameleon

"They cut you from the finest cardboard they could find" - A letter to Chris Brown.

"I hope that your pillow files a restraining order against your dreams" - A letter to Chris Brown

"I bet if we dusted her heart for fingerprints, we would only find yours." - Scars/To the New Boyfriend

7. Lauren Zuniga 

In her poem To the Oklahoma Lawmakers, Lauren talks about the bill they passed requiring women to receive an ultrasound prior to an abortion. 

Favorite quotes: "To remind me that I chose to be a murderer instead of bringing a child into a world where we kill people in the name of freedom." - To the Oklahoma Lawmakers.

"Why don't you just send me a card... every mother's day" - To the Oklahoma Lawmakers.  

8. Catalina Ferro 

A very funny poem I like to listen to whenever I feel down. Besides the fun part in the poem, Catalina has such a easy way of putting things and she interpreting her poem is making it even more funny. So I recommend her poem Emergency Exit Row for whenever you need something to light your day up. 

Favorite quotes: "I am not hero material, I happen to like my life." - Emergency Exit Row.

"I am a New York city Slam Poet and if things go down I'm the only one here who knows where to find God." Emergency Exit Row

9. Tara Hardy 

Tara Hardy's Uncommon Woman is a really good poem to boost up your morale when you feel the other one doesn't appreciate you the way you deserve to. As she states in the beginning of the poem this is for any woman whose ever been told she's too much.

Favorite quotes: "Let the easier girls pick up the socks" - Uncommon Woman.

"While you stood in shoes that were always too small for you." - Uncommon Woman

"Anyone common enough to get to go coward at the depth of his love for you wasn't meant to walk beside you." - Uncommon Woman.

10. Marshall Davis Jones 

Touchscreen- This is the right poem at the right time, in the era of technology evolving as  seconds pass. It feels good to know some people appreciate the old ways, I mean yeah, technology is great and we should really use it to our advantage but I think these days it just got too far. As someone (I'm not sure who stated this) would say: "We live in the era of smart phones and stupid people" 
Favorite quotes:"But with 3000 friends on line, only 5 I can count in real life, why wouldn't I spend more time in the world where there are more people that 'like' me" - Touchscreen.
"It used to be hard to connect when friends formed clicks but it's even more difficult to connect now that clicks form friends" - Touchscreen.
"My smile is 50 % genuine and 50 % genuine HD" - Touchscreen.  


11. Shannon Matesky 

Shannon Matesky's poem Myspace focuses mainly on the issue of social networking and how it's taking control over our life. I like the hint of sarcasm in her poem, it's at the right place at the right time so I say it's welcome!
Favorite quotes: 
" I see devices replacing the physical" - Myspace
"We are giving people reasons to stalk, spy, and be nosy but we don't care as long as your profile allows pictures and comment posting."- Myspace
"We can't deal with the face to face so we let technology replace the space that people are supposed to fill." - Myspace

12. Rafael Casal 

First week of a break up  is one of the best poems to listen to if you're going through a rough break up or have ever been through a break up. The poem is funny yet deep and reaches sensitive notes. 
Favorite quotes: "First week of a break up is like the first time guys have sex. It's awkward and boring, and we keep telling each other we're doing alright and it's a lie." - First week of a breakup 
"Just tun into their maintenance team, tell you you're ugly then tell you how to fix it with Maybelline" Barbie and Ken 101 


13. Shihan 

Shihan has such a energetic way of reciting his poems. He can go from extremely funny and energetic to being serious, profound lines in a flash of a second. This type love is one amongst my favorite romantic poems. 
Favorite quotes: "Hating how jealous you are but loving how much you love me all to yourself" - This type love   
"I'm tired of girls thinking that being attractive is an occupation" - Sick and tired.
 "And I'm tired of the media pushing these ugly African models
 Trying to convince me they exotic when they just plain ugly" - Sick and tired.
"And I'm sick of being an invisible man to everyone except the cops" - Sick and tired.

14. Thea Monyee 

I have to admit, the first poem I heard from Thea was Woman To Woman and I am so embarrassed to admit that I judged the book by its cover once again. I was so sure her poem wasn't going to be that good when I saw her, but then as soon as she started to speak I couldn't help myself from laughing and feeling good. Her poem is so great, it has so much sense into it, it's well put in a really funny matter and it has some lessons to share with you. I recommend this poem to everyone (especially those who have been cheated on). It's AMAZING! 
Favorite quote: "I guess the gaps in our relationship are were you taught you were gonna fit in" - Woman to Woman
"Your shirt is so short it already shows your best assets so there's no point in waisting time trying to figure out what you're thinking after all" -  Woman to Woman


15. Dana Gilmore 

Dana Gilmore has a unique easy, homey way of putting things. I first heard her poem Wife, woman, friend part 2 and only noticed afterwards it's actually a 2 parts poem and I've seen the last one. It was amazing anyway, completely fell in love with her poems and so I would definitely recommend her poems. Just begin with this one: Wife, woman, friend part1
Favorite quotes: "I showed him more support than his own father, brother, sister and mother"  - Wife, woman, friend part1
"Just because I'm crying don't mean that I'm the victim"  - Wife, woman, friend part1
"When I needed you I had to compete with clubs, drugs, the streets and PS 2" - Wife, woman, friend part2
"At the end of the night they all made me feel the same, I had a million things to lose and not a damn thing to gain." -  Wife, woman, friend part2


Other slam poets I would recommend: Bassey Ikpi - apology to my unborn, Hebrew Mamita - PhD in Him, Suheir Hammad, Shanelle Gabriel, Staceyann Chin, Nicole Homer, Black Ice, Lemon, Daniel Fritz, Akua, Christine Hatch, Malcolm Jamal, Aja Monet and last but not least Phil Kaye. (hope I didn't forget anyone)