Creative. Strategist. Community Guy.

Artist Life…well, a snippet

Thanks for even looking at my work. And, please forgive me because this site is NOT complete. New is always exciting. I just hope it turns out good… soon!!

POET:

Creative: I am a poet. I am a singer. I love to create poems and songs. I love to perform both. And, when at my best, I combine the two artforms to entertain or engage. Since 1995, my first form of employment has been creative,

My first collection, No Jewels (Flowered Concrete) 2018, is a conversation starter. It was born out of a conversation with the great Patricia Spears Jones (Jackson Prize Winner / poet / educator) while reviewing a book I wrote for another press. This book of 20 poems will offer my personal view of abuse and oppression. It will detail how innocence is easily lost and emergence is difficult but important. I was penned for men, Black & Brown men. Yet. a story of challenges being overcome is healthy for all souls.

I am blessed to know we reached thousands and outlets like Colorlines, Talib Kweli’s book club & Okayplayer believed in the vision — book and book soundtrack.

SONGS and POEMS

This life afforded me comforts and opportunities. Making art allowed me to be in or create spaces that foster critical thinking. Being an artist gives me access to tools and funding to develop ideas for the communities I love, ideas that lead to progress. Social justice is about progress via change; change to create build healthy situations.

We designed this with Bridge Street Development Corp, to spark local purchasing. A crawl to inspire locals to buy local! Economic development in Central Brooklyn is important. I performed and curated. More importantly, I leveraged my knowledge of organizing — with my team — for ensure the program was successful. This included awareness, participant planning, creative direction and route safety.

I often created opportunities that did NOT exist. Spaces and events for artists to perform. TapCork was another one. I love adult beverages, I love to rock in front of large crowds & I love to share stages with great artists & DJs. #TapCork is that! And, because the community is my partner, the festival supports the local economy. We use NYC beverage brands. We highlight BIPOC brands and companies. We drive traffic to local retail shops via the festival & use local vendors.

Make art. And, make sure the community is supported.

BUT it will always start and end with the art while staying committed, though we need a tab about the social justice work we do. Like supporting the protest groups, advising progressive politicians, strategy for CBOs and fighting for the rights/welfare of the communities I love. And, creating space for communities to grow — artists, youth, citizens… everyone!!

To the right is the soundtrack for my book No Jewels and preview of the soundtrack for the next book #LoveHellArights. The use of soundtracks helps to grab non-literary fanatics. I am making more art. However, my current gig landscape is barren. But, again, the art and community building remain my heart-works.


I love to create. I love to express. I love to use the skills from both to help communities.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tai Allen + Co (@thetaiallen)


And when not singing for my lunch, I am volunteering to feed Brooklyn during this pandemic with @universecity. Below is when I was singing for lunch, dinner, rent, gas… LOL


View this post on Instagram

When you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in #growbrowsville Thank you so much our amazing fellows and collaborators for continuing to come out to support our East Brooklyn Community. Together last Wednesday we packed over 400 bags filled with free fresh and nutritious food. And we had Pumpkins! Food Sovereignty nourishes lives and builds community. As we face a global pandemic and a climate crisis, the health of people around the world relies on access to fresh food , clean energy and people like you. Donate @gofundme #growbrownsville ?? visit our website to sign-up to volunteer with us! Shout out to our partners over @bmshealthcenter !! Protect Your Friends and Protect Your Family! Get Tested For Covid19 – learn more @bmshealthcenter

A post shared by Universe City NYC (@universecitynyc) on

I am the tall guy with the orange hat. LOL


Back to the poems and songs:

Published: About Earth, OPEN, Bomb Magazine, African Voices, ESPN, Amiri Barak Memorial Anthology, How To Fight White Supremacy

Performances Feature/Headlines: Apollo Theater Music Cafe, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, The Nash (Phoenix), Charles Wright Museum (Detroit), American Jazz Museum (Kansas City, Mo), National Black Writers Conference (Brooklyn)

Critical articles: Okayplayer, Colorlines, BKReader, ABC News, BET/CentricTV

Teaching/Workshops: Watering Hole Retreat (Poetry Masterclass), UNC Chapel Hill, NC Climate Conference, NYC Dept of Education,