By By: Jordan Bontrager
Staff-Writer
On March 29 in Fireside, Titan Productions hosted their third spoken word artist performance of the school year, a prolific artist who goes by Queen Sheba. The event continued the “Nugs and Word Hugs” series, complete with chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes.
I sat down with Sheba after her performance to discuss her career and inspirations.
When asked what got her into spoken word, she said, “I started as a writer in elementary school, and there was a contest for a $200 book scholarship, and I wrote a poem and I did not win, and I was so mad.”
She said that her poem was about how there’s black in a rainbow, and the feedback she got told her that “there’s no black in a rainbow”
“From then on, I’ve always wanted to write against the norm,” she said.
In high school, Sheba said she became interested in figures that made up Black history and took a particular interest in autobiographies. Sheba stated her influences are Malik Salaam and Jessica Care Moore among other poets.
Sheba’s college tour ended at IU South Bend, after which she went home to Georgia.
Later on, we discussed the Grammys, where a spoken word category debuted this year. Queen Sheba is a voting member of the Grammys and also submitted her own album, The F*** It Pill, which unfortunately wasn’t nominated. The winner for the category this year was Chicago native, J. Ivy for his album, The Poet who sat by the Door.
I then asked Sheba about how many music fans and artists don’t find the Grammys relevant anymore, citing controversial wins.
“Malcolm-Jamal Warner told me something that really helped when I wasn’t nominated,” she said. “We don’t do music for the Grammys.”
Malcolm-Jamal Warner is a spoken word artist whose album Hiding in Plain View was among the nominees for best spoken word album in 2023. Sheba agreed with me that the Grammys weren’t really relevant anymore, but she did talk about how getting a Grammy nomination can change an artist’s life.
Our conversation ended up being over 40 minutes in length and we discussed writing styles, our favorite artists and neurodivergency.
Sheba’s 2022 album, The F*** It Pill, along with her entire discography, is available on streaming services.
