• PERFORMANCEMarc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Umi Vaughan Marc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Umi Vaughan
  • PERFORMANCEMarc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Umi Vaughan Marc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Umi Vaughan
  • PERFORMANCEMarc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Umi Vaughan Marc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Umi Vaughan
  • PERFORMANCEMarc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Umi Vaughan Marc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Umi Vaughan
  • PERFORMANCEMarc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Bethany Hines Marc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Bethany Hines
  • PERFORMANCEMarc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Bethany Hines Marc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Bethany Hines
  • PERFORMANCEMarc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Bethany Hines Marc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Bethany Hines
  • PERFORMANCEMarc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Bethany Hines Marc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Bethany Hines
  • PERFORMANCEMarc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Bethany Hines Marc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s Image: Bethany Hines

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Marc Bamuthi Joseph: The Break/s: a mixtape for the stage

In this “mixtape for the stage,” the poet and hip-hop theater sensation Marc Bamuthi Joseph traces hip-hop’s evolution from a local and highly political art movement to a worldwide cultural force. Taking its lead from journalist Jeff Chang’s Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop, The Break/s is a multimedia travelogue of Planet Hip-Hop, where an art form forged in the street meets the commercial and cultural stresses of globalism. Through movement, spoken word, and personal narrative, Bamuthi shows us a world where even kids in Senegal dress in counterfeit FUBU-wear and sing along with Tupac Shakur. The Washington Post calls The Break/s “a thunderous, expansive and deeply felt wrestling match with being an American in the 21st century.”

Featuring live music by remarkable human beatbox/percussionist Tommy Shepherd and DJ Excess, and live video by David Slzasa.

Directed by Michael John Garcés

Produced by MAPP International Productions

Images: Richard Termine

Curator: Hélène Lesterlin

Tickets are REQUIRED for this event

Marc Bamuthi Joseph:

Originally from New York City, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, is an arts activist currently living in Oakland, California. He is a National Poetry Slam champion, Broadway veteran, a featured artist on the past two seasons of Russell Simmons' Def Poetry on HBO, and a recipient of 2002 and 2004 National Performance Network Creation commissions. He recently returned from Tokyo, where he was presented during the 1st International Spoken Word Festival, and Santiago de Cuba where he joined the legendary Katherine Dunham as a part of the CubaNola Collective. He has entered the world of literary performance after establishing himself in “traditional” theater, most notably on Broadway in the Tony Award winning The Tap Dance Kid and Stand-Up Tragedy.


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