Malik Yusef's passion for spoken word leads him to overcome formidable struggles
Malik Yusef overcame a mountain of challenges that for many might seem insurmountable — disabilities, poverty, violence, gangs — propelled by his love of poetry.
That passion set the Chicago spoken word artist on a path to award-winning success, and now, the chance to help others have that success too.
For Yusef, the art of spoken word flows with ease. This is an excerpt from his poem, "If Roses Came in Black:"
"If roses came in black, that is exactly what you'd be. Reborn every spring throughout eternity
"And if a single black swan could swim in a lake and watching her take flight, your heart just might break
"And if the sun could shine a twilight and warm the earth at midnight, it would be in very special honor of you."
Yusef uses his poetry to tell his truth of love, pain, and triumph. It is a passion he has had for decades, after leaving gangs and his internal battles behind to become a Grammy Award-winning artist.
"I'm very blessed to be able to be a blessing to people," said Yusef.
Yusef grew up on Chicago's South Side, in the three-digit east-west streets of Roseland. The infamous neighborhood is known as the Wild 100s.
Yusef has autism and dyslexia.
"I also stuttered, so that was even more exasperating," he said.
Yusef said all this made it difficult to connect with his mother.
"Family life was tumultuous," he said.
So Yusef turned to the Blackstone Rangers gang to create his own version of community.
"It's volatile — destruction and bad acting," he said.
But Yusef said he saw something better for himself — and his love of poetry and music ended up being his way out. A friend pushed him to perform a poem at an open mic at the iconic Green Mill Lounge, at 4802 N. Broadway in the Uptown neighborhood.
Yusef explained spoken word and where it came from.
"Spoken word is ancient. It's Griotism. It's how people pass down information throughout generations — and they made it catchy," Yusef said. "It's music without singing — a form of rhythmic poetry made for the ear, not so much the eye."
Yusef's performance caught the attention of other artists and the media.
"It just literally catapulted everything," he said.
A movie director working on the now-cult classic "Love Jones" asked Yusef to show his poetry performance style to actors Larenz Tate and Nia Long.
It led to a pivotal scene in the movie in which Tate performs spoken word himself.
Soon, Yusef was working with Common, Chance the Rapper, Jay-Z, John Legend, The Weeknd, Fall Out Boy, Drake, Jennifer Hudson, and Adam Levine. He even cowrote "Sandcastles" for Beyoncé.
"Beyoncé singing a song that I wrote with my daughters in the backseat of my truck — it still feels like a fantasy," Yusef said.
Yusef now sees every word as a chance to reach people at their highest and lowest moments.
"I'm always trying to present a looking glass of people who suffer from depression, and anxiety, and substance abuse, and childhood abuse, and so on and so forth," he said. "I'm always trying to use my words — and also to entertain as well, to make people feel good and sexy and make them laugh."
Out of the recording booth and off the set, Yusef created the mentoring program "Bad Kids Camp" to help other artists chase their dreams — and to embrace what makes them feel beautiful and talented.
That goes for every race and ethnicity. But Yusef also knows he often has a very specific audience in mind — one that mirrors his own life as a Black child with untapped, incredible potential on Chicago's South Side.
"Maybe one day, we will see Black as beautiful, and as beautiful as Black is — and not be just as Black, but as Black as you can be," Yusef delivered in pensive poetry, "maybe just be Black like me."
Malik has been nominated for 44 Grammy awards, winning for collaborations eight times. He has also created solo albums, and hopes to win for one of them.
With his passion, talent, and drive, it is likely just a matter of time.
