I want to be as free as the spirits of those who left
I’m talking Malcolm, Coltrane, my man Yusef
Through death through conception
New breath and resurrection
For moms, new steps in her direction…

Common, formerly known as Common Sense, performed to a sold-out crowd Saturday, March 25. With 2,044 screaming fans on their feet, Common took stage performing his first song of the night, “Be,” some of the words of which appear above.

The 34-year-old Chicago native brings to the music business a style that is uncommon, poetic rap. His lyrical flows bring together the tartness of hip-hop and the melodiousness of poetry.

However, Common wasn’t the only person that took stage and used poetic lyrics to capture the attention of the audience.

The opening acts hypnotized the audience with the use of poetic lyrics as well, including an explosive performance by junior Ted Nishimura.

Common’s opening acts were not selected by the artist. The opening acts were produced by the organization With Our Words, also known as WOW, an organization that focuses on poetic performances.

Tama Brisbane, “Ms. Tama,” the executive director of WOW, was key in configuring the opening acts that had people saying, “If Common hadn’t put on such a great show, you (the poets) would have stole the show.”

WOW brought three of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam stars, including Stockton’s very own Best Kept, the poetic performance group Illiteracy, musical performers The EarthTones, and the winner of Stockton’s First Poetry Slam, Nishimura.

The First Annual Stockton All-City Poetry Slam, hosted by WOW, with the help of the Associated Students of the University of the Pacific, was a four-day competition in which local high school poets came together at the Podesto Impact Teen Center to showcase their earth shattering talent.

“We planned to hold the slam later on but when UOP got Common, we thought, ‘What a great opportunity,’” Brisbane said.

With seven poets remaining in the finals from the 40+ on opening night of the slam, one thing was on their minds: opening for Common. That ignited the fiery battle of words and emotions. “It’s going to heat up quick, fast, and in a hurry,” said Brisbane on opening night. “…Don’t come up here with roses are red/ Violets are blue/ That’s whack and you’re through.”

The young poets of the area brought it, stunning the audience with writings ranging from the influence of graffiti to traveling backwards in time through one’s day.

The final night was the most intense of them all. With three rounds already written into history and the once-in-a-lifetime chance to open for Common in closer grasp, the fear of being “whack” was tangled in their brains.

After two rounds of fierce poetic battles, the winners were announced and Nishimura was crowned the first grand prize winner of the poetry slam. His winning poem, “What I Want to Be,” received a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd at the concert.

WOW plans to host a slam every month at the Podesto Impact Teen Center in order to give local teens their chance to show off their talent.

“There’s a lot of voices,” Brisbane said. “I already see voices. I already see potential. I can only imagine what will come out of the woodwork.”

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