Saul Williams
Saul Williams in Dallas, 2007
Background information
Birth name	Saul Stacey Williams
Born	February 29, 1972 (1972-02-29) (age 35)
Genre(s)	Hip-Hop Spoken word Poetry
Occupation(s)	Rapper Singer Musician Poet Preacher Actor
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Website	Official Site

Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is most known for his blend of poetry and hip-hop. He is also known for his leading role in the independent film Slam and an important role in the movement for DRM-free music. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Dallas redirects here. ... February 29 is a day added into a leap year of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Hip-Hop music is a style of popular music. ... Spoken word is a form of music or artistic performance in which lyrics, poetry, or stories are spoken rather than sung. ... This article is about the art form. ... Rap redirects here. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... “Instrumentalist” redirects here. ... The poor poet A poet is a person who writes poetry. ... Preacher is a term the for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. ... For other uses, see Actor (disambiguation). ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... February 29 is a day added into a leap year of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the art form. ... Slam is a 1998 film starring Saul Williams and Beau Sia. ... Digital Rights Management or Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) is an umbrella term for any of several arrangements which allows a vendor of content in electronic form to control the material and restrict its usage in various ways that can be specified by the vendor. ...

Biography

Early life

Williams was born in Newburgh, New York. Williams is the youngest of 3 children; his two older siblings are sisters. After graduating from Morehouse College with a B.A. in philosophy, Williams moved to New York City to earn a Master's Degree at New York University in acting. Here he found himself at the center of the New York cafe poetry scene. Newburgh is both a city and a town in Orange County, New York. ... Morehouse College is a private, four-year, all-male, historically black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... New York University (NYU) is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university in New York City. ...

Career

By 1995 he had become a talented open mic poet and in 1996 he won the title of Nuyorican Poets Cafe's Grand Slam Champion. Fame on the spoken-word circuit led him to the lead role in the 1998 feature film Slam, which won both the Sundance Festival Grand Jury Prize and the Cannes Camera D'Or, introducing Williams to international audiences. The Nuyorican Poets Cafe is a New York City performance venue, best known for slam poetry, but also presenting theater, stand-up comedy, Latin jazz, hip-hop performance, and screenplay readings, the café is a non-profit organization. ... Nuyorican Poets Cafe, New York City A poetry slam is a competition at which poets read or recite original work (or, more rarely, that of others). ... Slam is a 1998 film starring Saul Williams and Beau Sia. ... The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival in the United States, and ranks amongst the top five events of its type in the world. ...

Williams was at this time breaking into music. He had performed with such artists as The Fugees, Christian Alvarez, Blackalicious, Erykah Badu, KRS-One, Zack De La Rocha, De La Soul, and DJ Krust, as well as legendary poets Allen Ginsberg and Sonia Sanchez. After releasing a string of EPs, in 2001 he released the much-hyped Amethyst Rock Star with producer Rick Rubin and in September 2004 his self-titled album to much acclaim. He played several shows supporting Nine Inch Nails on their European tour in summer 2005, and has also supported The Mars Volta. Williams was also invited to the Lollapalooza music festival in Summer 2005. The Chicago stage allowed Williams to attract a wider audience. He also supported NIN on their 2006 North American tour, during which he announced that Trent Reznor would co-produce his next album.^[1] The Fugees are a critically acclaimed music band from the United States, popular during the mid-1990s, whose repertoire includes primarily hip hop, with elements of soul, and Caribbean music (particularly reggae). ... Blackalicious is an American alternative hip hop duo. ... Erykah Badu (born Erica Abi Wright, February 26, 1971, in Dallas, Texas) is an American neo-soul, R&B/hip hop artist whose work crosses over into jazz. ... KRS-One (born Lawrence Krisna Parker on August 20, 1965 in Brooklyn, New York. ... Zacarías Manuel Zack de la Rocha (born January 12, 1970 in Long Beach, California) is a rapper, musician, poet, and activist best known as the vocalist and lyricist of Rage Against the Machine. ... De La Soul is a Grammy-award winning hip hop group from Long Island, New York. ... Krust (or DJ Krust) is part of the Bristol based Reprazent collective. ... Irwin Allen Ginsberg (IPA: ) (June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet. ... Sonia Sanchez is an African American poet most often associated with the Black Arts Movement. ... Amethyst Rock Star is the first album release by Saul Williams. ... Frederick Jay (Rick) Rubin (born March 10, 1963 in Lido Beach, New York) is an American record producer and is currently the co-head of Columbia Records. ... Saul Williams is the self titled second album of Saul Williams, released in September 2004. ... Nine Inch Nails (abbreviated as NIN) is an American industrial rock band, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. ... The Mars Volta is an American rock group founded by Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Isaiah Ikey Owens and Jeremy Michael Ward in 2001. ... Lollapalooza is an American music festival featuring rock, alternative rock, hip hop, and punk rock bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. ... For other uses, see Summer (disambiguation). ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City 234. ... Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965), is an American musician, singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. ...

As a writer, Williams has been published in The New York Times, Esquire, Bomb Magazine and African Voices, as well as having released four collections of poetry. He has toured and lectured across the world, appearing at many universities and colleges. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California. The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. ... August 2005 issue of Esquire Esquire is a mens magazine by the Hearst Corporation. ... BOMB is a quarterly art and literary magazine that has been published out of Brooklyn since 1982. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ...

Williams is a vocal critic of the Bush administration, the "War on Terrorism", and the Iraq War; among his more well-known works are the anti-war anthems "Not In My Name" and "Act III Scene 2 (Shakespeare)", which featured lines such as "We pledge allegiance/we pledge alliance/for those who have undercome attack for their opposition to the war" (in the former) and "It's just coincidence that oil men would wage war on an oil-rich land" (in the latter). George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the forty-third and current President of the United States of America, originally inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... This article is about U.S. actions, and those of other states, after September 11 2001. ... For other uses, see Iraq war (disambiguation). ...

Williams' new album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! is available only at niggytardust.com. Users can download a 192kbps MP3 version of the entire album for free, or pay $5 to support the artist directly and be given the choice of downloading 192kps MP3 version, 320kbps MP3 version or lossless FLAC version. The material has been produced by Trent Reznor and mixed by Alan Moulder. It was Reznor who said that after his own recent dealings with record labels that they should release it directly.^[2] The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! is the third album by Saul Williams, released on November 1, 2007. ... FLAC, an acronym for Free Lossless Audio Codec, is a popular file format for audio data compression. ... Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965), is an American musician, singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. ... Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is one of Britains premier alternative rock record producers. ...

Discography

Albums/EPs

• Penny For A Thought/Purple Pigeons (2000)
• Amethyst Rock Star (2001)
• Not in My Name (2003)
• Saul Williams (2004)
• The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! (2007)

Amethyst Rock Star is the first album release by Saul Williams. ... Not-in-my-name banners at a Stop the War Coalition march Not in my name is a simple powerful statement that says the person making the statement is not going to be complicit in something by non-action and is going to do somthing to prove it. ... Saul Williams is the self titled second album of Saul Williams, released in September 2004. ... The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! is the third album by Saul Williams, released on November 1, 2007. ...

Guest and compilation appearances

• "Twice the First Time" on Eargasms - Crucialpoetics Vol. 1 (1997)
• "Elohim (1972)" on Black Whole Styles (1998)
• "Ohm" on Lyricist Lounge, Volume One (1999)
• "Coded Language" on Coded Language by DJ Krust (1999)
• "Release" with Lyrics Born and Zack De La Rocha on Blazing Arrow by Blackalicious (2002)
• "Time (Jungle) (Temple Of Soul Mix)" on Nublu Sessions, mixed by Wax Poetic (2003)
• "Sent from Sandy Shores" (with Sacajawea) on Dreams of Water Themes by Adventure Time (2003)
• "Wake up Show Freestyles by Sway and King Tech (2004)
• "Three Fingers" on Enter the Chicken by Buckethead & Friends (2005)
• "Sea Lion (Extended)" (with Will Oldham) on "Sea Lion" by Sage Francis (2005)
• "Mr. Nichols" on Sound Mirrors by Coldcut (2006)
• "April Showers, April Tears" on ¿What by Stuart Davis (2006)
• ",said the shotgun to the head" on Thomas Kessler by Thomas Kessler (2006)
• "Survivalism" and "Me, I'm Not" on Year Zero by Nine Inch Nails (2007)
• "Gunshots By Computer" (Hyperpower Remix) on "Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D" by Nine Inch Nails

Lyricist Lounge, Volume One is the first installment of Rawkus Records Lyricist Lounge album series, based on the infamous Lyricist Lounge showcases in New York. ... Krust is part of the Bristol based Reprazent collective. ... Lyrics Born (formerly known as Asia Born, born Tom Shimura in Tokyo, Japan in 1972), is a half-Japanese-American, half-Italian-American hip hop rapper. ... Zacarías Manuel Zack de la Rocha (born January 12, 1970 in Long Beach, California) is a rapper, musician, poet, and activist best known as the vocalist and lyricist of Rage Against the Machine. ... Blazing Arrow is the second full-length album by Blackalicious, the follow-up to 2000s Nia. ... Blackalicious is an American alternative hip hop duo. ... Wax Poetic is a trip-hop band whose sound reminds some listeners of Morcheeba. ... Adventure Time was a local childrens television show on WTAE TV-4 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1959 to 1975. ... Enter the Chicken is an album by virtuoso guitarist Buckethead. ... This article is about the Avant-garde metal composer and musician. ... Will Oldham, a. ... Paul Sage Francis (born November, 1976 in Miami, Florida) is a hip-hop artist based in Providence, Rhode Island. ... Sound mirrors are devices for detecting the noise of approaching aircraft, which were built on the English coast, during the First World War and in the 1920s and 1930s. ... Coldcut: Jonathan More (left) & Matt Black Coldcut is a duo comprising English DJs Matt Black and Jonathan More. ... Stuart Davis performing (with Chad Phillips on bass guitar) at the 2005 Boulder Creek Festival in Boulder, Colorado Stuart Davis (born on January 11, 1971 in Des Moines, Iowa, USA) is a contemporary American musician and songwriter from Minnesota. ... Survivalism (also known as Halo 23) is the first single by Nine Inch Nails from their 2007 album Year Zero. ... Year Zero (also known as Halo 24) is the sixth Nine Inch Nails studio album, released on April 16, 2007 in Europe, April 17 in the United States, and April 25, 2007 in Japan. ... Nine Inch Nails (abbreviated as NIN) is an American industrial rock band, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. ...

Bibliography

• The Seventh Octave, 1998, Moore Black Press ISBN 0-9658308-1-0
• S/he, 1999, MTV/Pocketbooks ISBN 0-671-03977-6
• ,said the shotgun to the head, 2003, MTV/Pocketbooks ISBN 0-7434-7079-6
• The Dead Emcee Scrolls, 2006, MTV/Pocketbooks ISBN 1-4165-1632-8

Filmography

• Downtown 81 (narrator)(1981/2000)
• Underground Voices (1996)
• Slam (1998)
• SlamNation (1998)
• I'll Make Me a World (1999)
• K-PAX (2001)
• Lackawanna Blues (2005)

Downtown 81 (a. ... Slam is a 1998 film starring Saul Williams and Beau Sia. ... K-PAX (2001) is a mystery and/or sci-fi drama about a mental patient who claims he is an alien. ... Lackawanna Blues is an American television movie that aired in 2005. ...

Television

• Girlfriends (2003)

For other uses, see Girlfriend (disambiguation). ...

References

External links

• Official Site
• Saul Williams at MySpace
• Saul Williams at Discogs
• Saul Williams at the Internet Movie Database
• SlamNation Web Page
• Scene Missing Magazine Interviews Saul Williams
• Is There A Future For Spoken Word? @ dropmagazine.com
• Free download of his album NiggyTardust
• Why Saul's Niggy Tardust beats Jay-Z's American Gangster
• Lyrical Warfare review and interview