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Terrorism, drugs, alcohol, vegans, religion and gun violence – none of these topics are safe from the blunt and controversial lyrics of Rhode Island slam poet Jared Paul.
Now Paul is traveling to universities across the country to spread his message. He will perform from 7 to 8 p.m., April 20 in the Borah Theatre of the Student Union Building.
He will also be performing at Hempfest on April 19.
“We thought it would be a good idea to have him at both events, since he’s associated with earth week,” said Vandal Entertainment Promotions Chair Kelsey Laroche. “That was the point of booking this show.”
Francina Zimmerman, a non-traditional pre-nursing student at the University of Idaho, acted as an intermediary between Vandal Entertainment and a friend who was personally acquainted with Paul.
She attempted to book Paul at both UI and WSU, but was only able to strike a contract with UI.
“We were passionate about enabling students to have another flavor of entertainment,” Zimmerman said. “I think we could benefit from the diversity.”
She also said that Paul’s music is stylistically tied with Epitaph recording artist Sage Francis, but doesn’t commit to one genre.
Paul defines himself as “experimental hip hop and punk.”
Among a series of other awards and events, Paul has taken two nation-wide tours with Sage Francis and was a finalist in the Individual World Poetry Slam in 2006 and 2007.
“He’s deep. He’s real,” Zimmerman said. “I think what drew me to him was how involved he is in inspiring other people to make changes.”
Aside of his art, Paul has spend the past eight years organizing and participating in political and social forums including everything from street theater actions to working-class lobbies in both the U.S. and England.
“He’s a real activist poet,” Laroche said. “He has really strong beliefs. I know he’s for local buying and environmental activism.”
In 2004, Paul covered the Democratic and Republican National Conventions for WRIU 90.3FM News in Kingston, R.I. He is also currently taking part in a class action lawsuit against the City of New York, relating to arrests made during the Republican Convention.
“He’s really dedicated to getting other people involved in poetry, too,” Laroche said.
Paul is the founder and coach of the Providence National Youth Slam Team, which encourages Rhode Island youths to experiment with and pursue spoken word poetry.
The team reached the National Youth Slam Finals in 2004, 2006 and 2007.
Paul is also vegan and straight-edge.
He avoids purchasing anything that is not Fair Trade certified, including coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar and bananas and avoids all forms of drugs and alcohol.
He also tries to avoid buying goods produced further than 200 miles form Rhode Island, in a personal protest against factory farming.
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