Motion

THE POWER IN MOTION/bio by SaadaStylo.com “…In the tradition of her ancestor poets, Motion uses poetry to transform the world.” - Afua Cooper, author of The Hanging of Angélique. She is a prolific urban artist, 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 manifested into a keen ...

THE POWER IN MOTION/bio by SaadaStylo.com “…In the tradition of her ancestor poets, Motion uses poetry to transform the world.” - Afua Cooper, author of The Hanging of Angélique. She is a prolific urban artist, 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 manifested into a keen composer and intense performer. Motion’s career accolades began when she became the first female hip hop artist to be nominated for MuchMusic’s Best Rap Video. Her pioneering presence continued into 2002, when 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 with her nationally acclaimed “Connect the T.Dots.” “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, Motion grew up surrounded by the concrete realness of her diverse mega-city, and the Caribbean-flavored rhythms in her home. By age 12, grounded by the echoing soul, Hip Hop, soca and dancehall rhythms, she absorbed 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 teen, she took her first steps 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 Motion’s been featured in a range of compilations, including features on the Butta Babees’ The Entrée EP (Universal), Phem Phat’s Honey Drops (Universal), Rap Essentials (Beat Factory), the international B-Gyrl.com anthology, 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 companion album, the Audio Xperience. In the U.S., the Canadian-born 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 intertwines 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 and Youtube.com.motionlivetv offer up her evolving sound, showcasing Motion’s incorporation of vintage blues and soul with contemporary beats, 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 words and sounds. Her latest productions entice the senses to buzz on what in store. 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, published in 2009 on Women’s Press. The Drama The stage is Motion’s next element, as she journeys into the realm of writing for drama. A recent member of Obsidian Theatre’s Playwrights Unit, Motion’s latest projects explore characters infused with her natural forte for rhythm and poetical voice. To date, Motion’s new plays, “Aneemah’s Spot/The Base” and “4our Woman” have been workshopped at renowned dramatic venues such as The International Black Playwrights Festival, Cross Currents Festival and the Rock.Paper.Sistaz Festival. Expanding from stage to screen, Motion’s screenplay “Soundgirl” is now in development with Conquering Lion Pictures. Look out for her first book for children, Wordz, coming soon. …in Motion She is the regal artist who carries a potent mix of skills. Noted by Urbanology Magazine as “a prolific performer,” Motion’s ability to capture the cadence and melody of words propels her to consistently produce progressive content. She has become a northern source of organic urban energy and penetrating poetic persuasion. It’s the inherent power in Motion that generates such an illuminating presence. “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?” -motion