Featured Artist

SV: What aspired you to relay your messages through poetry?

SG: I love the fact that I'm not limited to bars, set rhythms, and stanzas the way I am with music. I was a singer long before I thought spoken word was something I'd be doing, so I wrote songs and little poetic thoughts here and there. It was the summer after my junior year when I really got to see the world of spoken word poetry. I began meeting people that were doing this for a living. My friend, Rip aka. Jaime, started hosting an open mic in Brooklyn and then I started going to the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. It was so inspiring that I decided to get into it myself. I got bit by the poetry bug, and it was a wrap! I'm a Hip-Hip baby, so spoken word came natural to me...and I love to talk!

SV: Tell us a little about your CD project "Start Something."

SG: "Start Something" is my first album, and it was produced by Rock of Jah Rockin' Productions, who connected with me musically from day one. It took me about 3 months to finish this blend of poetry, music, and singing. I really wanted this to be my breakthrough album, kinda like my "Reasonable Doubt" that gets re-released years from now and is still dope. "Start Something" holds some of my favorite poems to date, and combines live, studio created, A cappella, and live band created tracks. It's a positive, easy-to-listen to compilation of tales from my life and people around me. Since its release, I've gotten a few awards, spins on WLIB 1190 AM- NY, and God has blessed me to have sold a large number of copies.

SV: Is there a particular song on this project that you would consider your favorite and if so, why?

SG: I love em all for different reasons because they're all a part of who I am. I've been playing "The Ingrown Hair" a lot. People have a tendency to overlook the facts about a relationship just because they want to enjoy the moment, even if they know something won't last. I love the arrangement of the track because I think I captured that denial and the hurt that comes from that situation. It's the battle against reality that we all have had before. We know the situation is not going to work; what does it take for us to accept it? Or are we going to live in the dream forever?

SV: We have featured many articles about Lupus on this site, primarily because my mother had it. Unfortunately, it is how I was introduced to it. But fortunately, I have been blessed to meet many people who have been a tremendous inspiration to me and how your life is not silenced because of Lupus. Could you tell our audience about your journey with Lupus and how has it changed/or fueled your life?

SG: I was diagnosed in 2004, prior to my Junior year of college. I'd recognized the symptoms long before the diagnosis, but I ignored them, even though I was in so much pain. Most people around me had no clue because I had the 'Superwoman' complex - you know, where you are all powerful, can do it all, nothing phases you, and you have to keep pushing yourself no matter what. It was when I lost my hair that I went to the doctor, even though I was so terribly achy in the morning and had trouble picking things up because of the inflammation in my wrists. After finding out what was wrong with me, I was put on a slew of medications. I went from a healthy, fit woman who never had to go to the doctor for more than a check-up to this fatigued female with blood tests and doctor visits galore. It was hard because in college, I was used to being all over the place, and once I started listening to my body, I realized I had to slow down. Then came the complications from Lupus that put me in the hospital and I was in much pain. It was hard...but I truly do believe that God doesn't give you more than you can bear. This illness made me realize the value of living life to the fullest.