- Da'shade Moonbeam
-
Da'shade Moonbeam, is a rapper, poet, stage combat performer, and social worker from Austin, Texas.
Contents
Bio and Achievements
Born Jeffery Johnson Jr., Da'Shade grew up on Austin's east side. As a teenager, he was mentored by Zell Miller III, a social worker and performance artist, who encouraged Jeff to develop his artistic nature. Now entering his second decade as a writer, performer and social advocate in his own right, Da'Shade continues to earn awards and notoriety throughout the United States. He also continues to promote positive change in his local community, primarily through the non-profit social services agencies Lifeworks and Southwest Key.
Da'shade has developed a small but growing following in a wide variety of performance venues, including:
- as a founding member and 1/2 of the up-and-coming socially conscious hip hop group, Blacklisted Individuals, along with Snyp.
- as a founding member of Austin's Xenogia Spoken Word Collective, along with playwright and poet, Zell Miller III.[1]
- a multiple time member of the Austin Poetry Slam team, earning the title of grand champion three times- more than any other poet.
- a long time instructor and performer for Austin based, Foundation Stage Combat and UPRISE productions.
- and most recently as the founder and CEO of Cry Havoc Action Choreography, an Austin based stage combat performance troupe.
Blacklisted Individuals
Blacklisted Individuals is a socially conscious rap duo from Austin, TX. Blacklisted was founded in 2003 and consists of Da'shade and fellow Austin rapper Snyp, who have been performing together since 1998.[2] They are most notable for their top 5 finish on Famecast's 2007 hip hop stage, and performed on the finals stage.[3] They also recently released their first album, Rallying the Wolves. Blacklisted Individuals tours regularly throughout Texas and the southwest.[4]
Slam Poet
A 5 time member (and 3 time champion) of the Austin Poetry Slam team,[5][6][7] Da'shade is a 2 time team finalist at the National Poetry Slam (2003 & 2008[8]), with the team finishing 3rd both years. In 2003, he also made the individual finals at NPS, finishing with a ranking of 9th in the U.S. In 2007, Da'Shade represented Austin at the Individual World Poetry Slam, and took 8th in the nation.[9]
In addition, he has featured at many venues throughout the U.S., including Chicago's Green Mill, The Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City, and throughout central Texas, including the Hip Hop Theater Explosion.[10]
In 2004, a yet to be released documentary was filmed about the National Poetry Slam in St. Louis. This film featured Da'Shade and other notable members of the national slam scene including Celena Glenn, Tony Jackson, Anis Mojgani, Zell Miller III, and Andy Buck.[11]
Albums
- Blacklisted Individuals (EP)
- Rallying the Wolves
References
- ^ http://poetry.about.com/library/weekly/museletters/blmuse22.htm
- ^ http://www.famecast.com/backstage/artist.php?artist_id=2955
- ^ http://www.hiphoppress.com/2007/07/online-talent-c.html
- ^ http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/music/entries/2007/10/18/
- ^ http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/column?oid=oid:156650
- ^ http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A392258
- ^ http://www.austinslam.com/newsite/index.php?name=APS&file=history
- ^ http://www.thecipheratx.org/blog/2008/10/volunteer-spotlight.html
- ^ http://www.gotpoetry.com/News/article/sid=3841.html
- ^ http://www.austinhiphopscene.com/2007_08_01_archive.html
- ^ http://efilmcritic.com/feature.php?feature=1747
External links
Categories:- American poets
- American musicians
- Living people
- American spoken word artists
- Slam poets
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
