GeoClan is always trying to bring you fresh, new and talented people and here is anoher talented person to expose to the World Family. Peep the interview with A.S.A. and then check out his poetry too! This Philly native has come home from less than idea situations to start making change for himself and then the world!

GeoClan.com (GC): Give us your name, its meaning and how long you been doing your thing?

A.S.A. (AS): My name is Jamar but I go by the acronym of A.S.A.
(A Starving Artist) and I've been writing since the 7th grade.

GC : Where are you from and where do you want to go with this passion?

AS:I'm from Southwest Philadelphia and I would like to go as far as I can if given a chance.

GC: How long have you did poetry and what motivated you to take it more seriously?

AS: Like I said I've been writing for years, at first they were more fashioned after raps but I switched my pitch up. I took it serious after I got locked up. I was incarcerated for almost a year so I had time to think. Other inmates used to ask me to write letters to their loved ones and I figured "if I can make hardened criminals listen to me then I must have something special in me".

GC: Do you have a mentor(s) in the poetry? How about favorite poets and poems?

AS: I never had a mentor persay but I do look to older wordsmiths for inspiration. I really don't have a favorite poet, but my favorite poem is Crystal Stairs.

GC: Tell us about your favorite poem. Where, When and Why did you create it and how it makes you feel when you spit it?

AS: My favorite poem that I wrote is called 'Nigga 2 God'. Most of my work was done in jail so you can kind of capture the mood I was in when I wrote it, the idea came one day when another inmate was talking about how well he used to dress, eat and live on the streets. When I spit I get chills and I can feel myself start to get watery eyed. ( Ya'll betta not laugh at me, lol)

GC: How do you get inspired to do your work? When and where do you usually get your write on? Is there anything people would find different about your particular process?

AS: They way I get inspired may shock people. It just happens! I'll close my eyes and just black out and 10 minutes later I'm done. Or I can hear somebody talking about something and there it goes! Like I was at a bar one night and the bartender had a tattoo on her neck that said 'warrior', so I wrote about it. I can basically write about anything at anytime.

GC: Any past or future performances you wanna shoutout or go back to?

AS: Well I was at Najee's loft on 52nd and Race(1st&3rd saturday of ev. month) in Philadelphia
and when I first came home from jail that next week I went to the 5spot. Other than that I'm working towards Def Poetry Jam.

GC: What are your hobbies and is this a full-time gig?

AS:I'd like to turn this into a full-time gig. My hobbies are surfing the net, reading mafia and mystery novels, video games( nobody wants it with me in street fighter, I am the button master!)

GC: Who do you do this for?

AS: I do this for anyone who has always wanted to say the right thing but was afraid of being looked at funny. I do this for the people who don't have a voice and who are tired of being ignored. I not only do it for my people but for everybody.

GC:How does it feel to perform your pieces in front of a crowd or even one person?

AS: It feels GREAT!

GC: Why Poetry over Hip Hop? What is your view of the current state of both?

AS: I chose poetry over hip-hop because its too much involved with trying to get signed to a record label, also hip-hop has bounderies that I not only want to bend I want snap them in two! The state of hip-hop SUCKS! I'm still living in 96' and I'm only 25. I want more emcees like Mos Def, Common, O.G.C., Heltah Skeltah, U figgadealme? ( that means: Do you understand me?) Poetry and spoken word artists are getting just as much accolades as rappers and thats major.

GC: What's next for you?

AS: Whats next? Man, two books, possibly a movie and some guest appearances on Def Poetry Jam!!

GC: How do people get in contact with ya regarding your talents?

AS:My e-mail address is j_bordley@yahoo.com

GC: Random question: I heard the N word in one of your poems heavily? Why did you use it so much and what is your opinion on the word and it's use?

AS: I purposely used the word Nigga for a reason. I wanted the Niggas to hear it first because it was talking directly about them, even the nigga in me. Once I have your attention then the rest of what I'm saying is going to fall right into place. In my opinion the N word can be as harmless as a feather or as deadly as a bullet. I have been called a Nigger before by a white person and my initial reaction was not

to fight but to ask them two simple questions:

   1) What is the definition for the word your using
   2) Did the definition include me in the example.
Just remember what Lawrence Fishburne said in Deep Cover..............

GC: What do you think about Change (Think of GeoClan.com's slogan of uploading change)?

AS: Change for the better is good. The only reason why most people won't change is because we're too scared of what lies ahead.

"The only thing hard in life is the ground"
-A.S.A

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