It is a typical Thursday night at Mt. Zion’s “Black on Black Rhyme.” Chants of “F– You” lead the next poet towards the stage.
As this 23-year-old African-American history graduate from Daytona Beach performs, shakers can be heard agreeing with his words.
As he concludes one of his popular pieces “The Movement Kept Moving,” the room is encompassed with the defining sound of fingers snapping.
Walter “Walt” Brown has moved another crowd.
Brown has built a reputation as one of the best poets on campus. After years of composing poetry, he is coming out with his first CD.
Brown said he began taking poetry seriously when he was about 17 years old. Drawing his inspiration from his life experiences, and transferring his feelings from his heart to paper, Brown took his talent to FAMU.
Brown’s first performance for the students at FAMU was at an event called “Urban Espresso” in 2002. Brown said that he had a stomach full of butterflies, which resembled a scene from “8 Mile.” He overcame his nervous state, and with rage in his voice, he said he performed at his first event.
After graduating, Brown decided to take a year off from performing and worked. After that year, Brown returned to FAMU to pursue his master’s degree in African-American History.
Upon returning, Brown noticed that all his fellow poets had their own CDs out. This gave him the drive to start working on his own.
After a lot of contemplation and the urging of his friends, Brown said he finally committed to the project in June. He started recording in November.
Brown said that his CD, which was released on April 3, remains true to who he is.
“This is not the Black Album…Some people may like it, some people may hate it, but as long as I’m happy with it, it’s OK,” Brown said.
The title of Brown’s debut CD is “Words Put 2gether: Between Me, You, and Liberation.”
Brown’s album consists of new material and his signature pieces on campus and is being produced under Intensity Records.
The album can be picked-up from Brown or his manager, J. Rod. It can also be found on Black on Black Rhyme’s Web site, www.blackonblackrhyme.com.
For those who have never heard him, and are curious to what the hype’s all about, Brown can be found performing every Thursday night at Mt. Zion, during “Black on Black Rhyme.”
Brown is also featured on “Pharaoh’s Tomb” every Friday from 4 – 7 p.m. on WANM 90.5 FM.
All those who have heard him perform have high expectations for his first poetry CD.
One of his fellow poets in Black on Black Rhyme, Kiffani Jones, an 18-year-old, journalism student from Quincy said, “He is a truly gifted writer, who has a way of captivating his audience through his performance, but more so his words.”
Contact Anthony Anamelechi at acanamelechi@yahoo.com.