The Ism

“Exercise your ism, and don’t depend on no one else,” Chicago rapper GLC spits at the end of Kendrick Lamar’s Section 80 track, “Poe Man’s Dream” and that was the exact mentality and concept of IFreeCan founder Mazin Osman when putting together his showcase titled The Ism, which took place August 17 at Toronto’s Revival lounge.

“I just wanted to pay homage to people that stick to their vision, talk about it and also be about it at the same time. Share their vision, share their ism, share their philosophy,” he says.

Toronto’s Revival bar was transformed to a sit down, casual environment as some of Canada’s most talented spoken word artists and poets graced the stage to share their visions with the full house.

Poetic forces such as Lishai, Ahmed Knowmadic and Hyf the Gypsy Sun shared their creative pieces with the candle-lit room, before hip-hop artists Scott Ramirez and 3-Card serenaded the crowd with their up-beat songs. The room was truly blessed by the Waleed Kush African Jazz Ensemble, who had the audience members moving in their seats as they serenaded them with their tremendous talent halfway through the show. The unique melodies from the band’s saxophones, guitars, drums and soulful voices created a culturally rich atmosphere.

Rua El-Kasheef, the talented poet that kicked off the line up of skilled wordsmiths and emotion conveyers says she enjoyed the theme of the evening and stated that poetry is her ism.

“It’s not about the catch-phrases or lyric mazes, it’s about the story, that’s what I love – the story,” she says about her own positive approach to poetry, pointing out the beautiful things in life than many don’t see.

London, England’s poet and writer Warsan Shire, who wrote the book titled, Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth, took to the stage as the main featured artist while the excited energy of the room sifted from seat to seat in anticipation for Shire’s intense messages. Poem after poem, she read without stopping for witty banter or commentary. Her poems spoke for themselves as the listeners sat captivated, hanging on to each profound word.

It was a night of many isms brought together to create a unified night of inspiring words.