Marc Bamuthi Joseph (born 1975) is a spoken-word poet, dancer, playwright, and actor who frequently directs stand-alone hip-hop theater plays.SpeakOutNow.org Marc Bamuthi Joseph: A Leading Voice in Performance and Arts Education
/ref>

Early life

Joseph was born to Haitian immigrant parents and grew up in

Laurelton, Queens Laurelton is a largely middle-class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens and part of the former town of Jamaica. Merrick Boulevard, which bisects the community in a generally east–west direction, forms its commercial spine. It ...

, New York City. When Joseph was 10 years old, he made his

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

debut as

Savion Glover Savion Glover (born November 19, 1973) is an American tap dancer, actor and choreographer. Early life The youngest of three sons, Glover was born to a white father, who left the family before he was born, and a black mother. Glover's great-grand ...

's tap dancing understudy in the musical, ''

The Tap Dance Kid ''The Tap Dance Kid'' is a musical based on the novel ''Nobody's Family is Going to Change'' by Louise Fitzhugh. It was written by Charles Blackwell with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics by Robert Lorick. Synopsis Act I William Sheridan, a s ...

''. By age 12, he had appeared on television and toured nationally with the production. Joseph attended

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, GA., where he was involved in the

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

movement with classmate,

Saul Williams Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, poet, writer, and actor. He is known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop, and for his lead roles in the 1998 independent film ''Slam ( ...

. After graduating from Morehouse College in 1997, he was hired by

The Branson School The Branson School (also known as Branson, Branson School, or KBS) is a co-educational College-preparatory school, college-preparatory high school for students in grades 9–12. The school has 370 students, and is located in Ross, California, no ...

to teach English and dance.

Career

In 1998, Joseph worked with the Senegalese National Ballet. In 1999, he became

National Poetry Slam The National Poetry Slam (NPS) was a performance poetry competition where teams from across the United States, Canada, and, occasionally, Europe and Australia, participate in a large-scale poetry slam. The event occurred in early August every y ...

champion in 1999 as part of the San Francisco team. He went on to work with

Katherine Dunham Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an African American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century and directed her own dance compan ...

Joe Hahn Joseph Hahn (born March 15, 1977) is an American musician, DJ, director, and visual artist best known as the DJ and creative director of the rock band Linkin Park, doing the scratching, turntables, sampling, and programming for all eight of ...

Mos Def Yasiin Bey ( ; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A prominent figure in conscious hip hop, he is recognized for his use of wordplay and commentary on social an ...

, and

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...

. In 1999 he became the Arts in Education Director and the eventual Artistic Director of Youth Speaks, and helped to name and found the Brave New Voices Festival and Network. In 2003, he debuted his “choreo-poem”, ''Word Becomes Flesh'', about love, fatherhood, and legacy. His work was featured in episodes of Russell Simmons' Def Poetry on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

in 2004 and 2005.The Living Word Project: Marc Bamuthi Joseph
/ref> In 2006, he presented ''Scourge'', a hip-hop/spoken word/dance performance reflecting upon his native Haiti's history and future. This was done in collaboration with choreographers

Rennie Harris Lorenzo Harris (born January 28, 1964) is a dancer, choreographer, artistic director and professor of hip-hop dance. Harris formed the first and longest running hip-hop dance touring company, Rennie Harris Puremovement in 1992. In 2007, he concei ...

and

Adia Whitaker "Adia" is a song by Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan from her fourth studio album, '' Surfacing'' (1997). It was co-written by McLachlan and her longtime producer, Pierre Marchand. McLachlan has said about the song, "...more than anything, it's ...

and it was directed by

Kamilah Forbes Kamilah Forbes is an American curator, producer, and director. She created and directed the Hip Hop Theater Festival from 2000 to 2016. She has held directing roles for television and theater productions such as ''Holler if Ya Hear Me'', ''The Wi ...

. In the fall of 2007 he appeared on the cover of

Smithsonian Magazine ''Smithsonian'' is a magazine covering science, history, art, popular culture and innovation. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' magazine ...

. Two of his works have been featured at the

Humana Festival of New American Plays Humana Festival of New American Plays was an internationally renowned festival which celebrated the contemporary American playwright. Produced annually in Louisville, Kentucky by Actors Theatre of Louisville, the festival showcased new theatrical ...

, ''Chicago, Sudan'' in 2011, and ''the break/s'' in 2008. In pursuit of affirmations of black life in the public realm, he co-founded the Life is Living Festival for Youth Speaks, and created the installation “Black Joy in the Hour of Chaos” for Creative Time.

2010s

Joseph has collaborated twice with composer and violinist

Daniel Bernard Roumain Daniel Bernard Roumain (; known by his initials, DBR; born 1970) is a composer, performer, violinist, and band-leader, whose work combines classical music with jazz, hip-hop and rock. Composer In September 2010, ''Dancers, Dreamers, and Presiden ...

. In 2016, he and Roumain toured their joint concert, '''Blackbird, Fly. ''We Shall Not Be Moved,'' commissioned by

Opera Philadelphia Opera Philadelphia is an American opera company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formerly known as the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the company is the only artistic company in Philadelphia that produces grand opera. The company produces o ...

, was named one of 2017’s “Best Classical Music Performances” by The New York Times, which featured Roumain composition and Joseph

opera libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

. His latest piece, “The Just and the Blind,” investigates the crisis of over-sentencing in the prison industrial complex, and premiered at Carnegie Hall in March 2019. Joseph is currently developing ''The Black Whole'', which will debut at

Laney College Laney College is a public community college in Oakland, California. Laney is the largest of the four colleges of the Peralta Community College District which serves northern Alameda County. Laney College is named after Joseph Clarence Laney. ...

in 2020.

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Joseph premiered his dance theater piece, ''Red, Black & Green'', (a collaboration with artist

Theaster Gates Theaster Gates (born August 28, 1973) is an American social practice installation artist and a professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Chicago. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he still lives and works. Gates' work ...

) at the

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) is a multi-disciplinary Contemporary art, contemporary arts center in San Francisco, California, United States. Located in Yerba Buena Gardens, YBCA features visual art, performance, and film/video that cel ...

(YBCA) in 2011. Shortly afterward, he was interviewed for an administrative role at the institution and in February 2012, he became Director of Performing Arts While at YBCA, he conceptualized the YBCA 100, an annual list of 100 change makers, and the subsequent YBCA 100

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

. He also developed the YBCA Fellows Program, a year long project for

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

creatives to engage in dialogue and collaborate on projects together. Their efforts culminate in the annual ''The Public Square'' exhibition. Joseph left his role as Chief of Program and Pedagogy at YBCA at the end of 2018.

Kennedy Center

Joseph became the Vice President and Artistic Director of Social Impact at the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

in Washington, D.C., in January 2019. The Center commissioned him to write his play, ''/peh-LO-tah/'', in 2017. It "explores the matter of black life and the ecology of egalitarianism" through the lens of futbol, pitting the enjoyment of the game against the political realities of the

Global South Global North and Global South are terms that denote a method of grouping countries based on their defining characteristics with regard to socioeconomics and politics. According to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Global South broadly com ...

. It toured across North America for three years, including at BAM’s Harvey Theater as a part of the 2017 Next Wave Festival. He has previously performed at the Center in 2013 for the “One Mic Hip Hop Culture Worldwide” festival, in 2014 for ''Red, Black & Green: A Blues'', and in 2018 for a live performance of

Ta-Nehisi Coates Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates ( ; born September 30, 1975) is an American author, journalist, and activist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at ''The Atlantic'', where he wrote about cultural, social, and political is ...

’ ''

Between the World and Me ''Between the World and Me'' is a 2015 nonfiction book written by American author Ta-Nehisi Coates and published by Spiegel & Grau. It was written by Coates as a letter to his then-teenage son about his perception of what the feelings, symbolism ...

''.

Personal life

Joseph is married to Kanoelani Connor Joseph, an elementary school teacher. Connor graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in psychology from

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of C ...

(UCSC) and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in education from

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

. They have a son and a daughter. Joseph moved to Oakland in 2001.

Select awards and recognition

* 2006

Creative Capital Creative Capital is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in New York City that supports artists across the United States through funding, counsel, gatherings, and career development services. Since its founding in 1999, Creative Capital has co ...

Award * 2006

United States Artists United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards. Mission The organization' ...

Rockefeller Fellowship *2011

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter, pianist, singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, conductor, painter, sculptor and theatre producer, who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (sometimes called "Herb Alpe ...

Award in Theatre *2012

Doris Duke Performing Artist Award The Doris Duke Artist Award is undertaken by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and designed to "empower, invest in and celebrate artists by offering multi-year, unrestricted funding as a response to financial and funding challenges both unique t ...

*2016 Recipient of the

Guggenheim Museum The Guggenheim Museums are a group of museums in different parts of the world established (or proposed to be established) by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Museums in this group include: * The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Ne ...

Social Practice initiative *2017 TED Global Fellow

References

External links

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts - Chief of Program and Pedagogy
*
You Have the Rite
, poetry performance at TED2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Marc Bamuthi 1975 births Living people American hip-hop musicians 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights American choreographers African-American male actors Writers from Queens, New York 21st-century African-American writers 20th-century African-American writers