Origins by Akeem Chandler-Prescod

Akeem Chandler-Prescod also known as StonedwithCupid is a spoken word artist, songwriter, audio engineer, rapper, theatre practitioner and creative director from the island of Barbados. He has amassed several awards such as 3 Silver Medals at the National Independence Festival for Creative Arts, performed at numerous notable Barbadian events, won numerous competitions and has even performed in South Africa at the Vrystaat Festival. In addition he has been nominated for Poet of The Year at the GineOn People’s Choice Awards as well as Music Video of the Year with a spoken word video, making it the first poetry video to be nominated for that award.

His work is a combination of spoken poetry, rapping, chanting and unorthodox use of environmental sounds to create musical beds which he then lays his witty, thought provoking lyricism to create a niche poetic product. The pieces echo his inspirations which include Outkast, Sade, Erykah Badu, J Cole and Damien Marley.

Background

At the youthful age of 25 his artistic experience spans over 7 years with the first spark of his creativity being ignited at The Combermere School when he was 16 years old. This introduction into the creative sector came through the discipline of theatre arts where he learnt the basics of acting, stage craft and performance which would eventually form the skeleton of his performance art in the years to come. Throughout his time at The Combermere School he appeared in many school productions as an actor as well as working backstage as a stage hand. This theatre journey found its next phase within the Youth Achieving Results Program which was organised by the National Cultural Foundation and was an attempt at that organisation to develop artistic development in Barbadian youth. This program provided vocal and performance training which allowed Akeem to find his voice in music.

At the age of 17 he embarked on the frequently travelled path of being a rapper and writing Hip-Hop songs. He began recording these songs on his computer with the built in equipment and a free DAW which introduced him to the basics of mixing and mastering vocals. Many of these tracks were performed at school pageants, competitions and talent showcases for a few years as he continued to enhance his craft before exploring poetry.

He wrote his first poem at the age of 22 and since then have written, recorded and produced over 30 poetic pieces. His poetry arose from a need to be able to express all his disciplines under one umbrella in a cost effective manner where he can not only do everything he is good at it but also create something new that can give him a competitive advantage and bring value to the artistic market. The first few poems were reinventions of rap songs which then matured into fusions of poetry with hip-hop influences. Having self-taught himself to write, rap, produce, mix and master as well as direct his creative performances, his creations are not reminiscent or reflections of any existing genre or artist and can only be defined as his own genre.

The Art

At current his poetry is packaged in a digital format in the form of audio/visual recordings and distributed online. These recordings often consist of stripped instrumentals utilizing very few instruments with many being replaced with a vocal bed or vocal loop. Ambient environmental sounds are used such as heartbeats, gasps, claps, winds and waves to create a soundscape which the vocals exist within. The lyrical delivery meanders between a slower poetic execution and a fast paced rapping style which occasionally is accompanied with melodic backing vocals. The style of mixing, which consist of heavy reverberation often found in neo soul productions and pitched vocals more often seen in hip-hop give the production a distinct sound and feel. The usage of his Barbadian accent with sprinkles of a standardized accent plant the seeds of a new sub-genre within poetry.

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