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"Power!" Activist | Executive Producer | Writer | Poet Bruce George | myspace Page 1 | 2 | 3 Lee: I came up watching many episodes of Def Comedy Jam as a teenager. Several years later I heard about a program called Def Poetry Jam but it wasn’t until it made its way on DVD this year that I got the chance to catch all of the episodes of the first season. On the DVD it says, “From the Makers of Def Comedy Jam.” Who was responsible for the creation of Def Comedy Jam? Bruce George: Bob Sumner was a major impetus in the creation of Def Comedy Jam, along with Russell Simmons and others. As far as Def Poetry Jam goes I birthed the idea, and brought it to Danny Simmons who in turn presented it to his younger brother Russell. I remember my first meeting at Def Jam Universal with Danny Simmons, Bob Sumner & Geddis Journet. At the beginning of the meeting Danny said to me “Ok Bruce this is your meeting!” At that point I said to them that they did a great job with Def Comedy Jam, and that I was able to come up with the Def Poetry Jam idea as a result of their project. I said to them “Def Comedy Jam has a mic, and audience and a stage, which is the prototype of the Spoken Word Poetry movement. So I said to myself “Def Comedy Jam, Def Poetry Jam makes perfect sense!” “ Bob Sumner was excited about the idea from the first time I told him about it. Danny and Bob along with myself were instrumental in relaying its importance to Russell. I assembled the team from the beginning, which included, Danny Simmons, Deborah Pointer and others. Then as the project progressed Russell brought in Stan Lathan and other partners to further develop the idea into the award winning HBO/Broadway projects that have since come about. For the first two seasons of Def Poetry Jam on HBO, I was the Co-Executive Producer/Talent Executive, in which won us a distinguished “Peabody Award.” I was the Executive Consultant to the Def Poetry Jam on Broadway project, which won a “Tony Award.” L: About how many showcases were put together with Danny Simmons (brother of Russell Simmons) and Debra Pointer before the show made its way onto HBO? Walk us through one of the showcases that is most memorable to you (location, participants, etc). What roles did each of you play in making these showcases happen? B: Debra, Danny and myself started out with a 12-city competition tour, which only made it to 4 cities since HBO had picked us up. Thanks to God and the business savvy of Russell Simmons and Stan Lathan. The New York and Philadelphia trials were most memorable to me even though we loved them all. I was the one who scouted Black Ice at the New York trials. He had lost the contest, but I pulled him aside and told him that I knew he was off the hook, and I suggested to him to go to some showcases we had in New York, at which point he performed in one of them where Russell was in attendance, and it has been history ever since. Black Ice has been in all of the seasons, and has a fan base across the world. The tour was set up and structured like a “Slam” but not an official slam. L: How was the idea of “Def Poetry Jam” received when it first hit the table? B: Like with anything new you are always going to get resistance! Its been said, “The truth goes through three stages. First it’s ridiculed, then it’s violently opposed, then it’s accepted as self-evident.” That rule was applicable to our project as well. L: In terms of the creative flexibility to manage what was going on with the program throughout the showcases, what, if anything changed when the program made its way onto HBO? B: We were very flexible in the beginning to shape the project the way we saw fit, but as the project started to grow legs, we lost a lot of creative control. Unfortunately that happens way too often. L: What responsibilities did the titles that you are credited with on the DVD, such as “Co-Executive Producer” and “Talent Executive” define? B: I had my hands in a lot of things from choosing talent, to making suggestions on dealing with the dynamics of placement of poets such as putting a funny poet after a serious one so it doesn’t become anticlimactic. I suggested to Danny, Debra and Stan Lathan to use Mos Def as the host since he’s the bridge between Rap & Spoken Word. At first I suggested to them to use a comedian from Def Comedy Jam, but they all felt that we didn’t want to have such a close association to Def Comedy Jam. It’s hard to answer your question in full because I was attached to the project like an umbilical cord. I have since moved on to other projects, but I take with me history among other things. L: What are your thoughts on the bonus feature that is included on the DVD titled “The Making of Def Poetry?” B: I think it’s a cool idea, but I was not in it so to me that was like not adding fish to gumbo. Go-figure! L: Going back to the very first program that was broadcasted to the masses what was your initial reaction when you watched Steve Coleman perform his piece? B: I was elated beyond my wits. Steve is a very powerful performance poet, and a dedicated activist.
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