Motion
Poet in the School
(Toronto)
phone:416-919-5483
Email: info@motionlive.com
THE POWER IN MOTION
by Saada Branker
"It's all about expression, and bringing that passion into everything I do. I love music, I love words. So you can hear me, you can read me, you can see me.feel me?"
She is one of Canada's most prolific urban artists - a millennial emcee -- manipulating words to their exponential power. Motion's revolutions around words have generated for audiences a melodic flow that runs deep in its proverbial roots.
Possessing charismatic agility in rap, songwriting and poetry, this award-winning artist has over the years developed into a keen composer and intense performer at the mic. Motion's career accolades began when she became the first female hip hop artist to be nominated for MuchMusic's Best Rap Video. In 2002 this same MC's commentary on urban life and love in Toronto garnered her top billing as winner of the CBC National Poetry Face-Off competition.
"Moving the soul like she rocks the mic, Motion is a true testament to the power of words." - The Toronto Star
In her beginning
Born and raised in Toronto's west-end, Motion grew up surrounded by the Caribbean harmonies of an Antiguan and Barbadian ancestry. By age 12, grounded by the echoing dancehall rhythms, she quickly picked up on the elements that formed the vibes and beats making up the T-dot. Motion soon started expressing herself through a blurring movement of words and sound. Displaying broad strokes from her poetry palette, Motion honed her rap skills by trading lines with brothers on her block. As a teenager, she expanded into radio where she held her post as a member of the renowned Master Plan Show on CIUT 88.5 FM - the longest running Hip Hop radio program in Canada.
"What do you get when you mix the heart of a b-girl and the soul of a poet."
- Source Magazine
Her rap sheet
She's been featured in a range of compilations, including collaborations with the Butta Babees' The Entrée EP and accompanying music video (Universal), Phem Phat's Honey Drops (Universal), Rap Essentials (Beat Factory), The Best of Bounce (Jig Saw), the international B-Gyrl.com collection, Urban Noize and recently on the soundtrack for the film, When Moses Woke (Itoti Productions) which premiered on Bravo! Television. In 2004, Motion graced the stage at the Canadian Urban Music Awards with a stellar performance, aired nationally on CBC Television. Her career highlights include opening for artists Mos Def, Wyclef Jean, Nikki Giovanni, Jill Scott, The Last Poets, The Roots, and Talib Kweli. She's shone in appearances sharing the stage with Canadian-bred stars The Rascalz, Tara Chase, Jully Black, k-os and Kardinal Offishal.
"Her voice is suave steel that will make you feel the funk of life, the blues of existence, the rap of rhyme and the neo-soul of resistance."
- George Elliott Clarke, Governor General Award Winning Poet
Her poetic flex
Motion takes her place as the first Hip Hop artist in Canada to publish a collection of writings, Motion In Poetry (Women's Press) along with a companion album, The Audio Xperience. In the U.S., the Canadian MC represented the northern creative mass when she rocked the Nuyorican Poet's Café, Jimmy's Uptown Poetry Spot in Harlem, Brooklyn's Nkiru Bookstore, the Zulu Nation Anniversary Celebrations and Russell Simmon's Def Poetry Jam.
Motion intricately elevates Hip Hop and spoken word to a level that translates into simultaneous radio and television air time, CD and book sales, and live stage performances. Today fans of the lyricist continue to reap the rewards of her emancipated expression. Myspace.com/motionlive offers up her evolving sound, showcasing Motion's incorporation of vintage blues and soul with contemporary sounds, topped with touchable perspectives on urban life.
"Give her a word and she'll master it, turning it inside out and spitting it back freestyle, sung as lyric, or embedded in a stanza. The sister can flow."
- WORD Magazine
Her latest lyricism
Readers, watchers and listeners today will experience cerebral courting in Motion's music. Her latest productions entice aimed the senses to buzz on what in store for 2008. There's the dissection of the booty call temptation in the bouncing "Mr. Right." "Life Sentence" and "City Livin 2" seethe with mnemonic melodies which double as observations of urban life. Her sensational meditation flows freely in a documentary collaboration with the confessional "Hair Peace" and while taking the listener on a throwback journey with "Requiem of Hip Hop," placing Motion in a category steeped with innovation. This all leads to the much-anticipated launch of Motion's latest volume of poetry, 40 Dayz, coming Fall 2008 on Women's Press, as well as her first book for young readers, Wordz, on Jackfruit Press.
She is the regal artist who carries a potent mix of skills. Noted by Urbanology Magazine in 2007 as "a prolific performer," Motion's ability to capture the cadence and melody of words propels her to consistently produce content. She has become a northern source of organic Hip Hop energy and penetrating poetic persuasion. It's the inherent power in Motion that generates such an illuminating presence.
.In the tradition of her ancestor poets, Motion uses poetry to transform the world.
- Afua Cooper, author of The Hanging of Angélique.
Grade Levels: 4 - 12
Fees: $300 - $500 per day
Classroom Approach:
MOTION is a poet, writer, lyricist and author of two collections of poetry, Motion In Poetry and 40 Dayz [Women's Press]. Her words and sounds have engaged countless students, children and youth in schools, post-secondary institutions and community programs.
Her artistic experiences range from hip hop radio personality to youth literacy facilitator. Motion is also a teacher with the Toronto District School Board, and often works with educators to bring creative writing, urban arts and contemporary culture into the classroom.
The MotionLive interactive workshops turn classrooms, community groups, young women's programs, youth detention centres, women's shelters, and youth drop-ins into creative spaces where participants explore, express and ignite the artists within themselves.