Toni Blackman
Encyclopedia
Toni Blackman is an American rapper, actress, writer
and State Department Musical Ambassador.
The first Hip Hop Cultural Envoy to travel with the State Department, Blackman served in Senegal
, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo
, Ghana
, Botswana
and Swaziland
where she also delivered lectures on hip hop
music and culture. Toni has also traveled throughout Europe, Angola, Brazil, Canada and toured Southeast Asia The Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan as a part of Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rhythm Road Abroad program, working in the world's most war-torn countries to promote reconciliation and rehabilitation to those regions.
Toni Blackman founding director of Freestyle Union, a cipher workshop which uses a free styling as a tool to promote social responsibility, was awarded two prestigious fellowships. Blackman served as a fellow with the Echoing Green Foundation and as a fellow with the Open Society Institute (Soros Foundation) through which she launched Rhyme Like A Girl formerly known as ADI
. She co-directs the Lyrical Embassy with hip hop artist/educator Chen Lo. A Hip hop theater pioneer, she founded the now defunct Hip Hop Arts Movement (HHAM) while at Howard University in 1992. She has featured in the Hip Hop Theater Festival and she co-authored Hip Hop Nightmares of Jujube Brown with Psalmayene 24 as an ACT-Co presentation at ARENA Stage in Washington, DC. she is also a member of the Spoken Word Committee of the New York Chapter of the Recording Academy.
Blackman has performed alongside Erykah Badu
, Mos Def
, Guru
, The Roots
, Wu Tang
, the Lilith Fair
, Def Poetry
. She performed in a host of venues including the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and at Lincoln Center in New York.
In 2009, Toni Blackman spoke at the Pio Manzu International Conference in Rimini, Italy, and in 2010 facilitated a groundbreaking artist residency at Jefferson Arts Center with girls from Liberia, Sudan, Somalia and the U.S., spoke at Harvard University as a part of Bakari Kitwana's Rap Sessions Series collaborated on and performed a song along with Azerbaijan
i rap group Dayirman
, dedicated to victims of Khojaly Massacre
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and State Department Musical Ambassador.
The first Hip Hop Cultural Envoy to travel with the State Department, Blackman served in Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
and Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
where she also delivered lectures on hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
music and culture. Toni has also traveled throughout Europe, Angola, Brazil, Canada and toured Southeast Asia The Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan as a part of Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rhythm Road Abroad program, working in the world's most war-torn countries to promote reconciliation and rehabilitation to those regions.
Toni Blackman founding director of Freestyle Union, a cipher workshop which uses a free styling as a tool to promote social responsibility, was awarded two prestigious fellowships. Blackman served as a fellow with the Echoing Green Foundation and as a fellow with the Open Society Institute (Soros Foundation) through which she launched Rhyme Like A Girl formerly known as ADI
Adi
Adi may refer to:Peoples and places:*Banu Adi, a clan of the Quraish tribe of Mecca*Adi people, a tribe living in Arunachal Pradesh, India**Adi language, the Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Adi...
. She co-directs the Lyrical Embassy with hip hop artist/educator Chen Lo. A Hip hop theater pioneer, she founded the now defunct Hip Hop Arts Movement (HHAM) while at Howard University in 1992. She has featured in the Hip Hop Theater Festival and she co-authored Hip Hop Nightmares of Jujube Brown with Psalmayene 24 as an ACT-Co presentation at ARENA Stage in Washington, DC. she is also a member of the Spoken Word Committee of the New York Chapter of the Recording Academy.
Blackman has performed alongside Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu , is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical...
, Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
, Guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
, The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
, Wu Tang
Wu-tang (dance)
Wu-tang is a dance out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, popularized in the area of North Philadelphia before spreading throughout the city and the surrounding region. The dance is normally performed to Baltimore club music. This dance, was originally invented by the Wu Tang Clan and thus made the...
, the Lilith Fair
Lilith Fair
Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during the summers of 1997 to 1999, and was revived in the summer of 2010. It...
, Def Poetry
Def Poetry
Def Poetry, also known as Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry or Def Poetry Jam, which was co-founded by Bruce George, Danny Simmons and Deborah Pointer, is an HBO television series produced by hip-hop music entrepreneur Russell Simmons. The series presents performances by established spoken word...
. She performed in a host of venues including the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and at Lincoln Center in New York.
In 2009, Toni Blackman spoke at the Pio Manzu International Conference in Rimini, Italy, and in 2010 facilitated a groundbreaking artist residency at Jefferson Arts Center with girls from Liberia, Sudan, Somalia and the U.S., spoke at Harvard University as a part of Bakari Kitwana's Rap Sessions Series collaborated on and performed a song along with Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
i rap group Dayirman
Dayirman
Dayirman is the first Azeri hip hop group. Based in Baku, Dayirman was founded in 1996 by four friends. The group's name is the Azeri word for "Windmill"...
, dedicated to victims of Khojaly Massacre
Khojaly Massacre
The Khojaly Massacre was the killing of hundreds of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians from the town of Khojaly on 25–26 February 1992 by the Armenian and Russian armed forces during the Nagorno-Karabakh War...