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JEWEL SHARES SPOTLIGHT WITH NAFEESA MONROE THROUGH 'SOUL CITY CAFE'
Spoken Word Poet Celebrates Her Good Fortune by Giving Away Copies of 'Super Women' CD/Book Set
"I love new music," says multi-platinum recording artist
Jewel. "There are a lot of great artists out there, but the
music industry is really corporate right now. If Tom Waits
came along today, I don't think he ever would have gotten
discovered or been given room to develop. Soul City Cafe
ArtBeat is about supporting artists so they can evolve at
their own pace."
Soul City Cafe ArtBeat is a collection of pre-show
performances that are taking place before eight select shows
on Jewel's current "This Way" tour of North America. The
eight featured artists cover a range of genres, from acoustic
folk and pop to hard rock and slam poetry.
One standout artist performing at three of the shows is
Nafeesa Monroe, a combination poet/performance artist who
"bridges the gap between black and white consciousness
with a dazzling delivery of finely honed wordplay -- rhythmic
revelations distilled from fearless self-examination and a
life of challenges," as described on the Soul City Cafe web
site.
Nafeesa will perform before Jewel's concerts on July 19 at
NextStage in Grand Prairie, TX; on July 26 at the Greek
Theatre in Los Angeles, CA; and on July 28 at the SDSU
Open Air Theatre in San Diego, CA. Most Soul City Cafe
ArtBeat performances start about three hours before Jewel's
concert.
"Being recognized as an emerging artist by Soul City Cafe
is a privilege," says Nafeesa. "I intend to share a piece of
myself with an audience I never imagined would hear my
words. I hope to be equally touched by their presence,
energy and support. I'm truly grateful."
To celebrate her newfound exposure, Nafeesa will give away
three autographed copies of her CD and poetry book, both
titled "Super Woman."
To be eligible to win, poetry fans (and Jewel fans) should
listen to digital files of Nafeesa's spoken word performances
online and submit a short review or commentary by e-mail to
superwoman@poetplanet.com . The three best reviews will
each win an autographed "Super Woman" CD/book set.
Nafeesa's online sound clips can be found at
http://mp3.com/Nafeesa_Monroe and
http://soulcitycafe.com/artbeat/artbeat.asp?action=detail&aid=25
So, what led to Nafeesa's current good fortune? A trip to
New York a couple of years ago included an impromptu visit
to Da' Poetry Lounge, where her transformation from
occasional poem writer to spoken word artist took place.
She has since slammed at the world-famous Nuyorican Poet's
Cafe in New York City, where she took first place in its open
slam. Among many other poetry performance achievements,
Nafeesa also recently came in second place in the Long
Beach National Poetry Slam Team finals.
One reviewer described her as "a commanding presence in
any room. Her work is the pure product of a high-gear mind
and a healing heart."
Nafeesa's performance abilities should come as no surprise,
since she is also an accomplished actress. In film, she has
starred in the features "A State of Mind" and "The Truth,
The Pain, The Sacrifice: An Actor's Reality." She most
recently had a supporting role in the independent film
"Naked Brown Men."
She has appeared on TV shows such as "In the House,"
"The Parkers," "The Jamie Foxx Show" and "The Steve
Harvey Show." In New York, Nafeesa appeared in the Off
Off Broadway premiere of John Mailer's "Hello Herman."
She is also a founding member of the Watts Prophets Los
Angeles Hip Hop Poetry Choir, a group that fuses spoken-
word poetry with hip-hop music and theatre.
For more information on Nafeesa Monroe, visit
http://www.nafeesamonroe.com/
For more information on Soul City Cafe, visit
http://www.soulcitycafe.com/
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