Alex Buis & Monica McFadden

When people think of poetry, Robert Frost with cups of chamomile and a pair of glasses comes to mind. Slam NUBA, Denver’s revolutionary slam team, does not adhere to this stereotype. Since their birth in 2006, they’ve captured the coveted top prize at the 2011 National Poetry Slam and continue to perform regionally and throughout the country. Captained by Jovan Mays, the first-ever poet laureate of Aurora, Colorado, NUBA inspired clenched fists, heart murmurs and tears in Craig Hall on Thursday evening.

The group bellowed their racial frustration and freedom, as well as saluted Black History Month with unfiltered honesty. The content of the poetry faced the stigmatized conversation surrounding oppressed African Americans. NUBA confronted age-old questions tied up in the manipulation of history that defines American memory.

Working through their lineup, the poets addressed everyone from W.E.B. Du Bois to Duke Ellington to Marita Bonner to Cam Newton. Each poet was eloquent and unrelenting in their delivery, with a pure force behind their words. Denver’s first Youth Poet Laureate, Toluwanimi Obiwole, flipped a middle finger to the mic, choosing to project her own voice without using the microphone. Mays’ poetry told nuanced personal stories of being a black child in middle school rather than using jarring one-liners characteristic of other slammers. The call and response of the performers and the audience echoed in snaps, whoops, hollers and shudders.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_3oLtDT3rI

Assetou Xango’s slam poetry served up spice laced with sexualized sentiment. She was easily the most powerful and jarring poet with lines dropping heavily. She mirrored her poetry with her edgy style, wearing hoop earrings, patterned silk pants and red-streaked hair.

Aylinde Russel lightened the mood by reflecting upon his 4’11” high school glory days spent craning his neck to admire his crushes. Following that, he resumed the trademark fury of NUBA with a tense poem about embodying a white posse’s “black friend” and then hammered home income disparity between races.

The issues raised at the slam event will continue to sit with the audience for a long time due to their continued relevance in society today. Slam NUBA addresses this conversation head-on with powerful words, and this event proved the importance of their ideas.

Upcoming Slam NUBA events can be found on their website.