my mother- korean-italian, artistic and beautiful, passionate and strong willed. when I read her a poem at age 14, she scoured the city to find a place for her son to tell his story. she found neo-soul, and there is where I found my voice. for the first few years of my journey with poetry, neo-soul (the original neo-souldiers) and my mother drove everything that was my poetic engine. i credit them for every bit of passion i bring to the stage- neo-souldier in the fight i put in my stories, and my mother’s passion in the way i tell them.

our village was complex. my aunt, her nigerian children, my father’s southern black family, my first generation grandparents; none of it was normal, yet all of it is home. i'm sure i will spend my life digging through the complexity of it all, while my words have always been my first tool. how i was raised is how i build my story, with harsh accountability, diverse perspective, and love the whole way through.