Meet ZBassSpeaks

Today we’d like to introduce you to ZBassSpeaks.

Hi ZBassSpeaks, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
It started with a multi-school contest for poetry. I had no interest in poetry but I gave it a shot, I would go on to get published twice in the 4th and 5th grades. It then continued with injustice and a dream, one given to me by my biggest hero.

All I then needed was to explore how to express both my emotions and how to speak about the injustices I saw. That’s when my middle school teacher stepped in and told me a story. I learned from her that the power of story is what moves and that some of the greatest words ever spoken, were written in simple linguistic architecture.

I started to find my voice, a voice of malleable copper and I started to do spoken word competitions. I had no place there, but after my first win, I knew I wanted to share my work. After years of being a small-time poet running from a dishwasher to the microphone I caught my break, I would go on to be the first Poet Laureate of Lafayette in over 60 years, being one of the youngest and the first Maya to do so.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, but I think that’s the cost of being a starving artist, the pressure forced me and made me more ambitious. Being broke is challenging when people want you everywhere but your 9 to 5 holds you tight. I had to close many doors because I couldn’t spare $25 to get my foot in the door. I had to make many mistakes to learn about myself.

I have spent maybe too many nights looking into a black mirror that would only whisper back. If I ran out of ink, I would use my tears to fill in the gaps, and if that ran out, I used ashes to punctuate my writing. Lacking social skills is also a crux, trying to project that you are worth listening to. Promoting myself and trying to convince people to give me a shot at the mic, required a lot of convincing that I was worth the 15min and even then your 100% is not enough.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a scribe, a storyteller, and a philosopher who uses poetry as the medium of choice. I am best known for my explosive performances and the ever-famous “copper voice” referring to having a deep voice that is malleable but still demands your attention. I also am building a reputation as a typewriter poet, where all kinds of people can find me at an event and request a poem from me.

I am proud that I can connect with people and bring out raw emotions and that ranges from parents to lovers. Being able to translate what we know as the feelings of the heart into words for the eyes, there is no greater honor than that. I am an experimenter, always looking for new fusions and techniques to add to my performances and writing. What I do is something that you can only understand the full scope by sitting in the crowd while I do my work on the mic.

What are your plans for the future?
I want to reach more people and share my love of poetry. I plan to write my first book after finally having enough people asking for one.

I am planning a couple of shows that have elements not commonly seen in poetry. I hope to collaborate with other artists of all kinds and have fun with art. Honestly, I just want to see how far I can go with the pen and paper in my notebook.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.zbassspeaks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zbassspeaks
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZBassSpeaks
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@zbassspeaks
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@zbassspeaks

Image Credits
Karina Wetherbee Creative