Feature Poet: Saul Williams (by Claire Happel)

​Saul Williams is a “rapper, singer-song writer, musician, slam poet, activist, writer, and actor”- partly because people are unsure what to classify him as and partly because his poetry tends to mix mediums and defy genre. Equipped with a BA in acting and philosophy from Morehouse College in 1994 and an MFA in acting from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 1997, Williams’ entered the poetry scene in 1995 and soon became a Grand Slam Champion at the Nuyorican Poets Café in 1996. Since then he has released a number of successful poetry collections, received high acclaim for his role in the movie Slam, and most recently released a project called “Martyr Loser King”, which is described by his website as being “Written and recorded between Senegal, Reunion Island, Paris, Haiti, and New Orleans and New York, Martyr Loser King is a multimedia project that engages the digital dialogue between the 1st and 3rd Worlds, and the global street sounds that yoke the two”. Critical both to this piece and Saul Williams’ other works is the idea of fusion- that music, spoken word, acting, and writing are all interconnected to the point where they are inseparable within his poems. He also draws heavily on mythology, hip-hop, rap, and funk while commenting on many major social issues including the brokenness of the prison system, the politics behind the war on drugs, reclaiming African heritage and the current whitewashing of taught history.

Poem 1: "Amethyst Rocks"

I stand on the corner of the block slangin' Amethyst Rocks
Drinkin' 40's of mother earth's private nectar stock dodging cops
Cause 5-0 be the 666
And I need a fix of that purple rain
The type of shit that drives membranes insane
Oh yeah I'm in the fast lane snorting candy yams
That free my body and soul and send me like shazzam
Never question who I am
God knows
And I know god personally
In fact he let's me call him me
Yea I'm serious "B"
Dog-gone niggas plotted shit lovely
But the feds is also plotting me
They're trying to imprison my astrology
Put our stars behind bars
Our stars and stripes
Using blood splattered banners as nationalist kites
But I control the wind, that's why they call it the hawk
I am Horus, son of Isis, son of Osiris
Worshiped as Jesus resurrected
Like Lazarus
But you can call me lazzy, lazy
Yea I'm lazy cause I'd rather sit and build
Than work and plow a field
Worshiping a daily yield of cash green crops
 
STEALING US WAS THE SMARTEST THING THEY EVER DID!
Too bad they don't teach the truth to their kids
Our influence on them is the reflection they see
When they look into their minstrel mirror and talk about
"Their" culture
Their existence is that of a schizophrenic vulture
Yea there's no repentance
They are bound to live an infinite consecutive executive life sentence
So what are you bound to live nigga
So while you're out there serving the time
I'll be in sync with the sun while you run from the moon
Life of the womb reflected by guns
Worshiper of moons, I am the the sun
And WE are public enemy's number 1
1-1-1-1-1-1
 
As with much of his poetry, soundplay is a major element of Saul Williams’ style of writing within Ameythst Rocks. There are many sentences that he goes out of his way in order to rhyme, as seen by the rhyming pair of sentences ending in “candy yams” and “shazzam”. This however, does not distract from the poem, but adds to it. The constant rhyming brings an almost hypnotic rhythm to the poem, which draws the reader in and refuses to let go. Internal rhymes such as “Put our stars behind bars/ Our stars and stripes” not only draw our attention in, but play with the multiple stored concepts and definitions of words (in this case “stars”) stored in our head.

Another critical element of this piece is the mythology he dissects and builds in order to reclaim identity that was stolen from him and other African Americans. Specifically in the line “I am Horus, son of Isis, son of Osiris/Worshiped as Jesus resurrected/Like Lazarus” he is drawing on a number of religious and cultural sources in order to accomplish this.
​
Saul Williams’ commentaries on society, in particular white Americans, are also used to get readers to stop and think. Lines such as “STEALING US WAS THE SMARTEST THING THEY EVER DID!/Too bad they don't teach the truth to their kids” and “Their existence is that of a schizophrenic vulture” highlight the way the white community has taken advantage of not only a people, but their culture- stealing parts from it and calling it their own. This critiques white culture, the education system, and various power structures that have sought to keep such things in place (government/prison system/etc.).

Poem 2: "Burundi"

Runnin' down a dark street, app that got a flashlight
Nike swoosh on bare feet, Whitney Houston's crack pipe
The greatest love of all, watch me rise to watch me fall
Contemplating, rent is late in houses that I can't afford
Show my papes at Heaven's gates, they ask me for my visa
Lived a life without no hate so tell me what you need to
Question your authority, genocide and poverty
Treaties don't negate the fact you're dealing stolen property
Hacker, I'm a hacker, I'm a hacker in your hard drive
Hundred thousand dollar Tesla ripping through your hard drive
Oh, Jesus, pull the cord, seat belt, what you standing for
Buckle up, let's knuckle up and tell Mohammed bring his sword
 
I'm a candle, I'm a candle
Chop my neck a million times, I still burn bright and stand, yo
Vigil in the middle of your occupied locations
One that burns for haters, one that burns for Haitians
I'm a candle, I'm a candle
Chop my neck a million times, I still burn bright and stand, yo
Standing in the middle of your synagogue and chapel
Licking that forbidden fruit through bitten glowing apples
 
Factories in China, coltan from the Congo
Smuggled to Burundi hidden in a bongo
We beat a mighty drum, change his login 'fore they come
Guns and ammunition pay tuition for the deaths be young
Hacker, I'm a hacker, I'm a hacker in your hard drive
There ain't no security, I'm hacking through your hard drive
Information highway, tunnel vision highway
Exit 17, yo, bring them motherfuckers my way
Virus, I'm a virus, I'm a virus in your system
Fuck your history teacher, bitch, I've never been a victim
I'm just a witness, Hitler can come get this
Rabbis in Ramallah throwing burkas on these bitches
 
I'm a candle, I'm a candle
Chop my neck a million times, I still burn bright and stand, yo
Vigil in the middle of your occupied locations
One that burns for haters, one that burns for Haitians
I'm a candle, I'm a candle
Chop my neck a million times, I still burn bright and stand, yo
Burning in the middle of your mosques and in your chapel
Licking that forbidden fruit through bitten glowing apples
 
I'm a candle.
 
Within Saul Williams’ latest work, Burundi, soundplay is once again a huge part of his voice and style. This is particularly notable in the lines, “Factories in China, coltan from the Congo/Smuggled to Burundi hidden in a bongo”. In this moment, Williams is using consonance, using the letter “C” in “China”, “coltan” and “congo” in order to create a rhythm. This, in addition to his fairly standard end rhyming of “Congo” and “bongo”, makes the poem feel more like a song.

Another major part of this work is the candle, which is used as a symbol to represent something that endures no matter the abuse it suffers. In the repeated lines, “I'm a candle, I'm a candle/Chop my neck a million times, I still burn bright and stand, yo” he is using the idea of a candle to convey a sense of immortality, since when a candle is cut it still has a wick and therefore can continue to burn. Essentially, he is connecting the idea of a cut down candle to that of a human body, in particular a black human body- affirming that he (and others) will continue to stand and fight because they refuse to be silent and complacent.

Within this work, there are also notable allusions to Mohammed, Whitney Houston, and Jesus. All of these moments serve to once again fuse mythologies, histories, and the holy with the commonplace.