Staff

Hakeem Furious is a wordsmith hailing from Jacksonville, Florida. and developing his roots in the Rocky Mountains. He graduated from a southern arts high school as a theater major and developed a knack for words when he was involved with the spoken word community established at Florida A&M University. An HBCU that cultivated his understanding, appreciation, and preservation of black culture and resilience. Currently, he travels the country performing poetry, curating shows, writing curriculum, and grants as CEO of the #UltraTerrestrialTour.

Furious’ notable performances include final stage appearance at the 2015 National Poetry Slam, two-time appearance at the infamous Apollo Theater and ranking #6 in the world at the 2019 Individual World Poetry Slam. He is part of lyricist collective CAP 6, who has shared stages with various artists including Earl Sweatshirt, Vince Staples, Talib Kweli, Dj Premier, Saba PiVOT and many more.  In 2018, CAP 6 released and toured their debut project “Jelly”, available on all platforms. In 2014, he released his debut project, “Leaky Nostrils, Monogamous Swans”, a blend of Hip Hop and Poetry. Following it with his 2017 release of his first book, “Dinner with The Ego and i” accompanied by a national book tour called, “The Ego Trip”.

Aerik “phaentompoet” Francis is a Queer Black & Latinx poet based in Denver, Colorado, USA. They are the events coordinator for Slam Nuba, an instructor for the Youth Writers Program at Lighthouse Writers Workshop, and a poetry reader for Underblong poetry journal. Aerik is a recipient of poetry fellowships from CantoMundo and The Watering Hole. They are also the recipient of the Amiri Baraka Scholarship for Naropa University's 2019 Summer Writing Program, as well as the Robert Hayden Scholarship for Stockton University's 2021 Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway. They have poetry published in Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, Wildness, Santa Clara Review, Ghost City Press, Kissing Dynamite, and other locations and anthologies. Find them on IG/TW @phaentompoet