melodic poetics

16 MP3 Songs
SPOKEN WORD: Poetry, URBAN/R&B: Soul



Details:
They say we are either right brained or left brained. Creative or Analytical. Those who are whole brained are rare. So I guess you can say Myisha Cherry is one of those rare breeds because she is uniquely both. This twenty-something woman has the logical intuitiveness of a hip-hop Socrates, blended with the praxis call of Ghandi and James Cone. Thats why she began teaching philosophy on the college level at the University of MD Baltimore County and the Community College of Baltimore County at the age of 26 and without a Ph.D. She has also facilitated thought as a host on public talk radio and wrestles as a minister in sermon preparation to accomplish theological and practical depth. However, creativity doesnât fall far from her tree. Her creative gift has been exorcised in her role as a minister of fine arts, producer and media director and in her creative writing and journalism which focuses on spiritual living and hop-hip culture. The scary thing about it is, this young âwhole brainedâ woman is only getting started.

Hailing from Norfolk, Va and raised under the Vernell Cherry matriarch, myisha cherry took a journey through Baltimore, Maryland to pursue a B.A. in philosophy from Morgan State University and a Masters of Divinity Degree from Howard University. It was in baltimore that she entered into the ministry at Empowerment Temple AME Church and is now an ordained clergy-person in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She believes she has been called to the teaching and preaching ministry in an effort to encourage spiritual development and biblical and religious understanding. She has not only vowed to dedicate her life to the spiritual word but also to the written and spoken word.

In 2000, she began her writing and performance poetry career, which has led her to author two books and allowed her to be featured in Black Issues Book Review, The Free-lance Star, and recently voted in the Baltimore City Paper as Baltimoreâs 2005 Best Preacher Poet. In 2001, she founded Mwaza Publications, a literary press whose goal is to publish talented literary content that inspires and enlightens readers. In 2003, she founded Fun and Mental Literary Arts Institute for youth, a non-profit dedicated to exposing youth to the joys of creative writing.

Feeling the need for growth, she packed up her bags and migrated to the literary oasis of New York City in 2006, to dedicate her time more to the written and spoken word. She balances her time between Freelance Writing (in which her work has been featured in such periodicals as the African American Pulpit); creating a new and much needed literary magazine to fill the void of literary journals dedicated to skillful and insightful young, urban writers, and teaching the world the fundamentals and value of both the literary and the spiritual word by taking on the role as transcriber and griot. Describing her life's purpose as "Word Work", she believes that lives can be impacted by the power of words.

Now after almost 2 years in the making, the griot and transcriber has produced a soulful and poetic album entitled "Sick". A creation of 16 melodic and poetic tracks fused with soul music, hip-hop, and rock, Sick takes a unique spin on love, grief, self-esteem, and social issues. With the help of artists such as Jason Reynolds, Ebony Jackson, Native Son of the 5th L, VaNatta Ford and the production of New York's Algorythm and Faro Z and Baltimore's Raw Tech Studios, this is sure to be one "Sick" listening experience for all people.