DEF JAM...

No License Yet was the official host for the first-ever Def Poetry Jam in Mumbai on 19 December, 2009. Def Poetry Jam is the seminal spoken word on HBO, executive produced by entertainment mogul Russel Simmons and Stan Lathan.

The Def Poetry Jam that was jointly organized by No License Yet and The American Centre at the Blue Frog, a hip nightclub in downtown Mumbai, was co-hosted by Shivani Tibrewala, poet, playwright, screenwriter and Artistic Director of No License Yet Productions and Kamilah Forbes, an award winning actress, director and co-executive producer of the HBO’S documentary film “Brave New Voices”.

Shivani brought in six of Mumbai’s top poets, finalists of No License Yet’s monthly poetry slam event “One Night, Stand” to come and perform for the first time in a non-competitive format. While this was a non-competitive jam session, unlike the usual cutting-edge slams, there were two rounds of poetry – the first leaving the choice of subject to the poets, while the second required a political piece.

The poets who performed were Abhigyan Jha, Atul Paranjpe, Imam Siddique, Kumar Gautam, Sushil Verghese and Varun Grover. Kamilah, who has not been performing ever since she started producing, was also inspired to perform an opening and closing piece for the Jam! A DJ kept the pulse high in between rounds of poetry, and the audience was totally tuned in, as the poets belted out lyrics and words of powerful expression on subjects ranging from the difficulty in finding a house, to the importance of free speech, to critiques of movie stars and political figures and the hypocrisy of democracy.

Shivani herself performed two pieces, “White Trash” about the obsessive use of white paper by white people all over the world, and “Oh to be an Indian in the 21st Century” – a critique of the existing socio-political scenario in India today challenging our own perception of what it means to be a progressive, evolved Indian.