Candid Interview with the Sensational Neo Soul Poet and Recording Artist Hakim Crampton

Hakim Crampton is a man of many talents. Hakim is a Spoken Word performer, a Neo Soul Poet, Recording artist, author, motivational speaker, founder & Editor of the Journal of Neo Soul & Poetry, and the CEO of Dream Team Entertainment (DTE). Dream Team Entertainment is an Edutainment initiative aimed at using Poetry, Lyrics and Rhyme to educate our youth. Hakim’s Freestyle performances are well known in the Detroit, Lansing, Jackson and Toledo areas as a regular feature at Open Mic venues. Not just a poet, Hakim’s artistic flavor is a unique fusion in the backdrop of what makes up Hip Hop and Soul spewed in words, thoughts, ideas, and consciousness. As an artist, Hakim sees his music as original, yet classical in the sense that his style is actually Soul music fused with Poetry, Hip Hop, Neo Soul, R&B and Jazz, each capturing the fundamental nature of what made up Soul Music that gave birth to Hip Hop in the early to mid 70's. Hakim is neither a singer nor a rapper. Rather, he has crafted a way to use his voice lyrically to deliver messages of life, thought and inspiration. His fresh style is one that singers and poets alike have come to respect and admire. Rappers have come to consider him one of their own, as do singers and poets alike. Hakim like many others, does not see Hip Hop as just Rap music. Rather, he sees it as a phenomenon of urban culture, a key segment of the musical heart of Black America now Americanized yet prominent on a global level. As for music, such elements as R&B, Neo Soul, Jazz, Rap and Spoken Word make up Hip Hop in the eyes of Hakim, who sees each of these elements as a modern rise emerging out of urban culture which can be defined as Hip Hop. "Hip Hop isn't a music genre," says Hakim.”It’s a culture”.