Vig, AKA Vigspoetry, is a twenty three year old slam-winning spoken word poet, host, model and multidisciplinary freelancer. He has won the Run Your Mouth Winners’ Slam and the London Genesis Poetry Slam, and is also the regional producer and host of Poets Palace Birmingham.
Having headlined shows all around the country, he now has work published in Punch Records’ Anthology ‘Enter West’ and will have a poem displayed in ‘The Zephaniah Forest’ in honour of the great Benjamin Zephaniah.
Vig also has a short film ‘Batman’ being planned for summer, raising awareness on knife crime, and his own anthology and EP plans in the works.My inspiration comes from…
My poetry gives voices to the voiceless, it is both cathartic and for the community. My poems are full of pieces of my perspectives, personal experience and puzzles in the world around me. I wouldn’t exist without poetry, as it is my intricate spider’s web of self expression.
I’d love to tell you what my poetry is like, but in all honesty I think there’s beauty in the lack of labels, as each piece is so different from the other. I touch on cultural stereotyping and racism, taboo topics such as SA, men’s mental health, as well as childhood trauma.
The Story…
‘Bangalore to Britain’ is a poem inspired by the struggles of my Amma (mother) - who came to this country just before I was born. The way that she experienced racism as an immigrant with very little knowledge of this country is appalling, and she is an inspiration to us all.
Our heritage should be worn as a badge of honour and treated with respect. The poem explores the impacts of racism and the harsh reality of many of the global majority who move to the West in search of better lives.
A Hidden Hero to Highlight…
Hanumankind - he is a South Indian Hip-Hop Artist, and he is breaking the mould and stereotypes of South India. I'd say we are still a very disrespected race globally and artistically, so the fact that his songs include parts of Keralan culture musically and visually (e.g. Chenda drums) is big for our scene. Definitely one to watch.
Arthi - she is a Chennai-born multi-genre DJ who fuses sounds from London and across the world, from Dancehall, Reggaeton and Afrobeats to UK Funky, Garage and Bass. As a young South Indian woman in a scene that being a female of the global majority is already rare, she is waving our flag proud and high.
