The Quadrant

THE AMAZING SLUM INTELLECT

Tell us a little about yourself.

Its nothing interesting , I’m from Lusikisiki but grew up in Durban started writing when I was in grade six , it was some pretty weak stuff though. Until I met this guy called Mystic who I becam close friends with that’s when I grew a lot as a writer 

How did the name Amazing The Slum Intellect come about?
 My rap name before was Mini Virus, when I met mystic in boarding school I rapped for him and he thought it was amazing and so he named me Amazing. The Slum Intellect I named myself, so it was Amazing The Slum Intellect a mixture of what of what Mystic thought and what I think of myself.

 

Where or who do you draw your inspiration from?

From everything, stuff that  I have gone through, things that I see and generally from other Artist. If your a poet and I enjoy your poetry, then I am going to draw inspiration from your technique as a writer and try to improve myself.

Do you have any great writers that you admire?

Frantz Fanon I enjoy his work, George Orwell and Mongane Serote. Myself also, I would like  to believe I’m great writer.

What made you enter the Human Rights Day event that you actually won?

I got an invite on Facebook  to go check it out. I entered I was not even aware that it was a competition, all I  wanted to do was perform.

Do you let other people read your poetry?

I do not let them read, they can hear it I can recite anything for anyone. If I give them my book there is a whole lot of scratched out lines , I don’t want people seeing stuff that I wrote and did not think it was good enough.

Where would you like to go with your poetry?
 I’d like to believe that I will be a established poet one day. In the sense that I can say stuff and influence people on how they think and how they view the world, I hope it is not just for entertainment.

Advice on how people can embrace poetry?

I think poetry starts with music; most people say it’s the other way round. In this day of age not a lot of people listen to poetry. You really have to start from the music and then introduce poetry through music. Which is why I rap and I’m with a production called No way Out Productions because we are trying to push the message through the music. Once someone has gotten into the music, then they can phase the beats out, phase the instruments out and listen to the words.  

Link to The Amazing Slum Intellect Reciting one of his poems.

https://soundcloud.com/thequadrant4/the-poem