The Daily Campus

Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: Focus

Media Credit: Matt Lin Saul Williams discussed everything from his hip-hop influences to his beliefs about drug use while reciting his poetry at the Student Union Tuesday.

Tuesday night brought out students who united to hear the works of Saul Williams. Some know him as the activist, while others admire him as the actor. "I liked him in slam, and I like a lot of his poems," said Jiji Said, a 5th-semester business major.

The 35-year-old Williams, a musician-poet-actor, is known as a renaissance man in the industry.

Williams began his night with a quick anecdote and jumped into the crowd. His first performance was that of "Coded Language," a classic on Russell Simmons? Def Poetry.

In intervals of poetry and conversation, Williams shared his thoughts on philosophy, hip-hop and George Bush.

"I apologize to those who came out to see me perform more poetry,? he said. "However, you can get that on YouTube. What you can't get is conversation."

The poet then recited some lines from his book, titled "Said The Shotgun To the Head." The premise of the poem is of a homeless man who knows the female messiah in the Biblical sense of the word. It is also very political, stating that the greatest American citizens haven't been born yet, that they are waiting for the deaths of those before them.

Although Williams focused on philosophy, many students in the audience knew him best as a musician.

His newest project, "The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust," was produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. At first, Williams had no clue who he was until he was on tour with him.

According to his friend, "Joi," as he calls her, Reznor's influences are of old-school hip-hop artists.

"Prince really influenced him and [so did] Public Enemy," Williams said. "We have that in common."

A student called out from the crowd asking why Williams had sampled U2's "Sunday, Bloodly Sunday" on the new album. He responded by telling the audience a story about his expedition to Brazil, which is where he listened the song for the first time. It was also the first time he heard rock music and echoed the idea of U2 to Reznor when making "Niggy Tardust."

Around 8:45 the night began to wind down, and the questions got more daring than they had been before.

One student asked what Williams what he thought of drug use, urging him to respond honestly.

The poet pleasantly surprised and shocked others, when we asserted that he wasn't against drug usage, though he stressed that he does not support the use of recreational drugs.al drug use.

Williams ended his session of enlightenment and poetry slamming with a quickly versed medley of poems. As the night closed, and the audience gave Williams a standing ovation.

"It was great, he was amazing," said Daniqua Bolware, a 4th-semester sociology major.



Contact Danielle Mitchell at Danielle.Mitchell@UConn.edu.

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