Deaglan
New Member
by all account this lad is absolutely marvellous live. has anyone had the fortune to see him before?
***
SAUL WILLIAMS
CrawDaddy, Old Harcourt St Station. Ph: 01 478 0225
Thurs 25th August. Doors 8pm.
Tickets €15 standing/€18.50 seated from Ticketmaster and usual outlets
“He’s no gangster and he doesn’t bling. Saul Williams – the world’s hottest lyricist.” NME
“Saul Williams might just be the closest thing hip-hop has to a Dylan figure, be it Bob or Thomas… Tonight's set isn't just captivating - it steals the mind away and clamps it between forearm and gut until kick-out time, leaving the attendee both dizzied and invigorated”. Drowned in Sound
“Genre bending; Williams continues to walk the taut rope between theatrical hip-hop and thrash rock.” Tracy Hopkins 10 greatest albums of 2004, Rolling Stone
“Dense but linear and focused, his tracks derive power from his passionate views on society and politics.” Time Out New York
Best hiphop artist – LA Music Weekly Awards 2005
SAUL WILLIAMS biog
SAUL WILLIAMS "SAUL WILLIAMS" LP OUT THIS FALL ON FADER LABEL.
Saul Williams DID NOT almost die, get shot, beat up, stand trial for murder, but he does have babies by two different women if that counts. Say word.
The past decade HAS seen Saul Williams emerge as one of the world's most recognized poets as well as a rising actor and a highly acclaimed musician. In the music world, Saul made noise with some tracks in the mid to late 90's on the Eargasm and Lyricist Lounge compilations, to name a few. The songs he released during this time period were grounded in hip-hop but were a far cry from the traditional rap that was gaining popularity at the time. He released 2001's Amethyst Rockstar, which was co-produced by Rick Rubin and won him critical acclaim all over the world (The Times of London named it best album of the year), leading to him touring with Blackalicious, Cursive and The Mars Volta. Which brings us to his latest album, simply titled 'Saul Williams'. In Saul's own words, "the tracks range from politics to relationships and the politics of relationships. What I ended up with was something that captured the authoritative cool of hip- hop, the playful angst of rock and roll, the raw emotional torment of emo (and, my favorite, "screamo"), and the fuck offness of punk."
"Musically, if I had to categorize the album, I think I'd call it industrial punk-hop, as is best exemplified in the song Grippo. I did most of the music myself. The cool thing about recording before there was an actual deal in place was the fact that most songs simply started as experiments done in my free time with absolutely no pressure to anyone. I was the only one whose head nod determined the fate of a song. Oh, and of course, yours too…"
Saul Williams has defined and redefined poetry as an accessible, living art form. His groundbreaking work as a writer and actor in the critically acclaimed film, Slam (Sundance's Grand Jury Prize '98; Cannes' Camera D'Or '9
, garnered him a substantial amount of notoriety and placed him in the limelight as the figurehead for a new generation of poets, spoken word artists and actors. He is the author of three collections of poetry: ,said the shotgun to the head. (2003 MTV Books/Simon and Schuster), She (1999 MTV Books/Simon and Schuster), and The Seventh Octave (1997 Moore Black Press). His writings appear in several anthologies and periodicals such as Catch the Fire, and The New York Times respectively.
In addition to Slam, Saul has made several television appearances, including: a recurring role on the UPN hit sitcom Girlfriends; HBO's Def Poetry Jam; The Orlando Jones Show; The Chris Rock Show; Politically Incorrect; and many more, as well as co-starring with Kevin Spacey in K-Pax, and with Jeffery Wright and Louis Gossett, Jr in the upcoming Halle Berry produced/ George Wolfe directed HBO film, Lackwanna Blues. He has also contributed his work and attention to the 'Not In Our Name' initiative. His draft of their "Pledge of Resistance" served as a manifesto of millions across the world who have sought to stop the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. This was signed by Susan Sarandon, Noam Chomsky, Ossie Davis, Gloria Steinhem, Sean Penn and Kurt Vonnegut among others and ran full page in dailies like The New York Times and the Washington Post. His one-man off-broadway show directed by Peter Askin (Spic-O-Rama, Hedwig and the Angry Inch) will debut in late 2004. In 2005, he will perform, said the shotgun to the head with the Basel Symphony in Switzerland.
Saul Williams has proven himself a master of words, music and acting time and time again. With this album, he's expressing himself through what he refers to as "the most powerful artistic medium. If it has the power to make a nation nod their heads then nod their heads then it can help society change it's face."
***
SAUL WILLIAMS
CrawDaddy, Old Harcourt St Station. Ph: 01 478 0225
Thurs 25th August. Doors 8pm.
Tickets €15 standing/€18.50 seated from Ticketmaster and usual outlets
“He’s no gangster and he doesn’t bling. Saul Williams – the world’s hottest lyricist.” NME
“Saul Williams might just be the closest thing hip-hop has to a Dylan figure, be it Bob or Thomas… Tonight's set isn't just captivating - it steals the mind away and clamps it between forearm and gut until kick-out time, leaving the attendee both dizzied and invigorated”. Drowned in Sound
“Genre bending; Williams continues to walk the taut rope between theatrical hip-hop and thrash rock.” Tracy Hopkins 10 greatest albums of 2004, Rolling Stone
“Dense but linear and focused, his tracks derive power from his passionate views on society and politics.” Time Out New York
Best hiphop artist – LA Music Weekly Awards 2005
SAUL WILLIAMS biog
SAUL WILLIAMS "SAUL WILLIAMS" LP OUT THIS FALL ON FADER LABEL.
Saul Williams DID NOT almost die, get shot, beat up, stand trial for murder, but he does have babies by two different women if that counts. Say word.
The past decade HAS seen Saul Williams emerge as one of the world's most recognized poets as well as a rising actor and a highly acclaimed musician. In the music world, Saul made noise with some tracks in the mid to late 90's on the Eargasm and Lyricist Lounge compilations, to name a few. The songs he released during this time period were grounded in hip-hop but were a far cry from the traditional rap that was gaining popularity at the time. He released 2001's Amethyst Rockstar, which was co-produced by Rick Rubin and won him critical acclaim all over the world (The Times of London named it best album of the year), leading to him touring with Blackalicious, Cursive and The Mars Volta. Which brings us to his latest album, simply titled 'Saul Williams'. In Saul's own words, "the tracks range from politics to relationships and the politics of relationships. What I ended up with was something that captured the authoritative cool of hip- hop, the playful angst of rock and roll, the raw emotional torment of emo (and, my favorite, "screamo"), and the fuck offness of punk."
"Musically, if I had to categorize the album, I think I'd call it industrial punk-hop, as is best exemplified in the song Grippo. I did most of the music myself. The cool thing about recording before there was an actual deal in place was the fact that most songs simply started as experiments done in my free time with absolutely no pressure to anyone. I was the only one whose head nod determined the fate of a song. Oh, and of course, yours too…"
Saul Williams has defined and redefined poetry as an accessible, living art form. His groundbreaking work as a writer and actor in the critically acclaimed film, Slam (Sundance's Grand Jury Prize '98; Cannes' Camera D'Or '9
In addition to Slam, Saul has made several television appearances, including: a recurring role on the UPN hit sitcom Girlfriends; HBO's Def Poetry Jam; The Orlando Jones Show; The Chris Rock Show; Politically Incorrect; and many more, as well as co-starring with Kevin Spacey in K-Pax, and with Jeffery Wright and Louis Gossett, Jr in the upcoming Halle Berry produced/ George Wolfe directed HBO film, Lackwanna Blues. He has also contributed his work and attention to the 'Not In Our Name' initiative. His draft of their "Pledge of Resistance" served as a manifesto of millions across the world who have sought to stop the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. This was signed by Susan Sarandon, Noam Chomsky, Ossie Davis, Gloria Steinhem, Sean Penn and Kurt Vonnegut among others and ran full page in dailies like The New York Times and the Washington Post. His one-man off-broadway show directed by Peter Askin (Spic-O-Rama, Hedwig and the Angry Inch) will debut in late 2004. In 2005, he will perform, said the shotgun to the head with the Basel Symphony in Switzerland.
Saul Williams has proven himself a master of words, music and acting time and time again. With this album, he's expressing himself through what he refers to as "the most powerful artistic medium. If it has the power to make a nation nod their heads then nod their heads then it can help society change it's face."
