Join us for an evening of spoken work an jazz, featuring T Banks, Zhalarina, Dequadray, Isha Camara and the Floroq Jazz Trio (Rick Flowers, Eric Ross, Becca May Grant) on June 9th, at 7:00pm.
This program is part of the 2019 Isthmus Jazz Festival. For more information, and for a complete lineup of events, check out: www.isthmusjazzfestival.com
Dequadray is a Hip-Hop and contemporary R&B artist hailing from Forest Park, Georgia. With the nostalgia of the 90s and a smooth, fresh voice, his lyrics touch on subjects of love, growth, and his experiences of being Black and Queer. Rapper and singer, Dequadray blends Hip-Hop with funk, soul, and gospel in an incredibly cohesive way. With his debut project, "Dequadray! A Black Sitcom", he invites you to the metaphorical set of his life and experiences that seem too odd to be true or the cameras must be rolling. Nevertheless, he does not take defeat as the end all be all; he continues to grow as everything around and within him tends to change. He most definitely is the artist to watch so make sure you don’t hop on the bandwagon too late.
Isha Camara is a nineteen-year-old sophomore hailing from South Minneapolis. She’s been writing and preforming poetry since the age of thirteen, working and learning in youth programs and workshops. She was able to write a compilation of poems highlighting her life from birth to eighteen to create her first self-published chapbook, Selfish. Now with some creative writing courses under her belt, she’s been attempting to understand the world of professionally publishing poetry. Most subjects she writes about circle thoughts and experiences of her identity as a Black Muslim woman and the ways in which she navigates in America; then understanding how America responds back to her. Isha’s purpose is to give a narrative that create conversations driven by sympathy and encourage readers to be caring and gentle to a life not theirs and learn how there are beings with dreams, fears and desires outside of their way of living... Read More
T. S. Banks (he/him) is a Black & QTDisabled, non-binary teaching artist, poet, and playwright from Madison, WI. He is the Founder of Loud ‘N UnChained Theater Co. His work addresses visioning for Black Liberation, a critique of the medical system, radical care + access, madness, QT Liberation, disability justice, & abolition. T's chapbooks "Call Me ill" , "Left" & "SPLIT" can all be found on his website.
Zhalarina H. Sanders is a rapper, actress, playwright, and producer from Tampa, FL who serves as co-founder and Executive Director of The JVN Project, a Hip-Hop centered non-profit that seeks to serve and empower. She recently received her masters in counseling psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has had the opportunity to travel and be awarded for her work in theatre and music. Appearing on stages such as the New Amsterdam Theater on Broadway and the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in London, Zhalarina currently splits her time between the completion of her rap album, Again, and the tour of her one-woman show, Rose Gold.
Arts + Literature Laboratory is located at 111 S. Livingston Street #100, Madison, Wisconsin, 53703.
Our galleries are open Tuesday through Friday 10am-5pm and Saturday noon to 5pm, and other programs take place throughout the week. Please check the events calendar and education section for details.