FINALS

Last Saturday cracked and if you missed it, you missed it. Kaos in Leimert Park housed a room filled to capacity with: fans, friends and family along with some seasoned slam vets and team members all of whom came out to witness bloodshed on the vicious Brass Knuckles stage. The night was hosted by the 2x Los Angeles Grand Slam Champion, Ms. Tamara Blue & San Diego’s 2009 Grand Slam Champ, Simply Kat. The two lovely ladies provided energy and comedy throughout the night. But enough about them, let’s get to the slam.

The 10 poets competing for 5 slots on the newly revived 2010 Los Angeles Slam Team were: E. Amato, Leon P, Mr. Poetic, Francois, Artus Mansoir, Daniel Weingarten, Nick Macedo, Nikki Blak, Judy Holiday, and Matt Sedillo. Topics from the first round included: love, inspiration, street life and personal triumph pieces. When the round was over unfortunately the first two poets of the round were also the first 2 dropped and we had to say goodbye to E.Amato and Leon P.

Heading straight into Round 2 (Henny with no chaser; yep it’s like that in Leimert) the poets competed in reverse order and were forced to bring it! Judy Holiday and Nikki Blak were in the lead, tied for first with a 29.7 each. The second round included but was not limited to: singing, shouting and a few poems even brought some audience members to tears. Artus Mansoir was dropped at the end of the 2^nd round.

A short break was granted and the entire room scattered for the door like roaches with the lights turned on. It was HOT in Kaos, if hell is that hot, then I need to repent. After some fresh outside air, and small talk with people from far and wide we were ready to start the 3^rd round, but not without a fantastic sacrificial poem first. The sacrifice came from 3x San Diego Slam team member, Ant Black. After his hilarious poem paying homage to the R&B legend turned Minister Al Green, the crowd was ready to form a team.

Going high to low in the 3^rd Judy Holiday (who was STILL tied for first with Nikki Blak) opened up. Next, Nikki Blak received the first 30 of the night. Nick, Daniel, Mr. Poetic, Francois and Matt Sedillo rounded out the night.

When the dust settled, LA formed their team and chose Daniel Weingarten, Mr. Poetic, Judy Holiday, Nick Macedo and their Grand Slam Champion Ms. Nikki Blak. (Honorable mentions MUST be made to Francois who finished 6^th with an 87.2 right behind Daniel with an 87.3. And congratulations to Daniel who didn’t make this year’s Atlanta Slam team and is now a member of both the LA adult slam team and the IE Youth Team.) After attending San Francisco and team Berkeley’s Grand Slam Finals this year, I can honestly say that this was hands down the BEST finals I’ve been to all year. These poets had heart and brought the heat. Good luck to the 2010 LA Slam Team as they compete this August against the rest of the nation at the National Poetry Slam in St. Paul, MN. REMEMBER that Brass Knuckles takes place EVERY Monday night at 8pm at Kaos in Leimert Park

-Chas

twitter.com/iAmChas & facebook.com/chaspoetry

The Road to Finals

Mr. Poetic, Bout to Give Somebody a Verbal Beat Down

Bout number 2 was packed with champions from the previous qualifying bouts. For that reason, coupled with the poets' desires to make a strong impression on the judges and position themselves to be on the team, this bout proved to be just as intense as bout number 1. To add to the pressure and make the night even more hectic, San Diego Slam Team family drove up to support and rep their bit of the Golden State, Matt Sedillio wore a suit, and drunk folk bum rushed the stage and free styled. If you weren't there, you missed the special kind of fuckery (and poetry, in between the madness) that can never be replicated, even if we tried real hard.

Matt Sedillio, in His Suit

Mr. Poetic, Judy Holiday,Rela8, Francois, Matt Sedillio, Paul Mabon, Damnyo, and Leon P. went at it. We were thoroughly entertained and thank them for their high energy and slam skill. In the end, Judy Holiday stomped all over the competition and looked damn pretty while doing so. We had to say goodbye to Paul, Rela8, and Damnyo and welcome the top 5 contenders of the night into Finals.

Chris Wilson, San Diego Slam Master

Los Angeles Semi Final Bout #1

I say, I say, I say DAMN! Let me tell you... though Slam may by definition be a competition, Monday's Semi Final bout proved that it's not a game. 9 poets took the stage to earn 1 of 5 coveted slots in the Finals, and they were not playing around. It was a brawl that ended in a 3 way tie and a sudden death round. I think someone lost an eye. Where do I begin???

I guess the beginning is a good place to start. First off, despite the rain and the Laker game it was a packed house. The energy was crazy, the audience was loud and lovely, the judges were stern faced, and the evening's hostess, Judy Holiday had on her Bad Bitch heels. We had some awesome poets in the audience that showed up just to support, and a few that blessed us with some of their work as the night's calibrators. We want to thank Donny Jackson, Francois, Fisseha, and Tammy Vaitai for starting our rounds off right.

Our lovely Score/Time Keeper and Resident Slam Veteran, Cayenne

DJ Just Boom kept us entertained between poets, Cayenne kept score, and Naomi worked the door, collecting donations that will fund the team's trip to Nationals. At the end of the night, Charlene "Hustle Diva" Green, Artus Mansoir, and the evening's underdog, Nick Mecedo, found themselves in a 3 way tie with only 2 slots available for Finals. The audience demanded a 4th round, and the tied poets went at it. When the smoke cleared, Artus and Nick were left standing and join April Rojas, Nikki Blak, and Daniel Weingarten as the 5 poets advancing to Finals.

Poetic Wizard, Daniel Weingarten

Cumulative Scores for the Evening

April Rojas 87.8

Nikki Blak86.5

Daniel Weingarten 85.4

Artus Mansoir 84.6 (3rd round: 29.6)

Nick Macedo 84.6 (3rd round: 29.3)

We want to thank the other poets in the bout. We appreciate your hard work and thank you for making this slam the hellified shit. We look forward to May 24th's Semi Final Bout. The following poets will be competing for the remaining 5 spots in Finals:

Mr. Poetic

Treesje

Judy Holiday

Rel8

Francois

Matt Sedillio

Paul Mabon

Damnyo

Leon P.

If you missed Bout #1, we seriously suggest that you bring your ass out to the 2nd one, cause it looks like it's gonna be a banger, kids.

BRASS KNUCKLES

@Kaos

4343 Leimert Park Blvd

LA, CA

8:30pm

$5

What Had Happened Was...

So, this past Monday was the very last qualifying slam for the 2010 Los Angeles Slam Team. As we suspected, the last of the area's most brave and motivated poets brought their asses on out the house to participate in the slam extravaganza... and we love them for it. We were also graced with the presence and talent of New Orleans songstress, Kelly Love Jones, and a few of our favorite poets who didn't want to slam, but instead came out to support and even offered to calibrate. Much love and thanks to everybody who's been out to Brass Knuckles so far and we want to wish good luck to the poets who have qualified and made it into the Semi Final Bouts.

This past week's qualifying poets include Daniel, April, Rel8, Brass Knuckles' own Judy Holiday, Damnyo, and Francois, who swept in like a viscous whirl wind and earned the highest cumulative score of the night. And with that, our rapid fire qualifiers were done.

So what's next?

Well kids, now we get down to business. The 18 poets that qualified get to show you what they got in a duo of Semi Final bouts. Each bout will have 9 poets competing for a spot in the Grand Slam Final, which will determine the 2010 Los Angeles Slam Team. Thanks Random.org, we were able to generate list for the Semi bouts, and it goes a little something like this:

Semi Final Bout #1 - May 17th

Artus Mansoir

Sanyu
E. Amato
April
Daniel
Charlene
Kristina
J.P Martinez
Nikki Blak

Semi Final Bout #2 - May 24th

Mr. Poetic
Treesje
Francois
Matt Sedillio
Judy Holiday
Leon P.
Damnyo
Paul
Rel8

We anticipate 2 nights of kick ass poetry, and we're pretty sure you won't wanna miss it. So be there. It's easy.

Kaos

4343 Leimert Park Blvd

8:30

$5