spoken word

Urban Lyrics, SUNY New Paltz’s newest rap and poetry-based team, was created last semester by fifth-year Black studies and sociology double-major Latosha Belton and alumnus Frederick Fernandez. Urban Lyrics helps writers express themselves through rap music and improve their craft, by creating and performing their own raps. Urban Lyrics has a different feel than organizations on campus. “Urban Lyrics embodies a much more urban essence that isn’t found in negative modern day rap music, popular poetry or even on the slam team. Every lyricist possesses a unique writing and performance style from the next, making the team extremely diverse,” said Kevin Cavanna, a third-year English major and member of Urban Lyrics. Minorities widely encompass the demographic of writers on the team who express themselves through their prior and even current oppression. […]