WHAT HAPPENS WHEN hip-hop and poetry merge? Great rhymes and baller beats is what.
Meet Lamar Manson, known as Black Ice in the spoken-word community. Black Ice has successfully bridged the gap to take advantage of the accessibility of hip-hop and the formality of poetry to create a new art form. Basically, he's the best thing since sliced bread.

He spits sick rhymes and flows like a rapper but the issues he brings up are deep and thought-provoking. Black Ice has starred in five consecutive seasons of HBO's “Def Poetry Jam,” and once you start listening to him, you can't stop. He's sure to add a little depth and meaning to your day, so read on to discover the wonder that is Black Ice.

Excerpt from “TRUTH IS”
by Black Ice

Let me ask ya'll a question
When you look at my brothers, what's your first impression?
Does the sight of us leave you guessin'? Or do you understand the stressin',
The aggression, the look of no hope on me and my n***az faces
Like the lord overlooked us when he handed down his graces
You see embraces, fall short on the numb tips of street entrepreneur fingers,
stuck in the walls of the project halls where the coke smell still lingers —
External blingers is all we can be, 'cause on the inside we been given nothin' to shine on
and a gig is harder to get than coke, so n***az get they grind on
'Cause the TV tells us, aim high n***a, make all goals lateral
But that takes paper that we don't have so, n***az put they souls up as collateral
Now, some n***az reclaim 'em, some blame 'em, make an excuse to sell 'em
But when a n***a goes from not doin' to doin', what can you tell him?
Not to be a n***a? S**t I gots to be a n***a, that's how I pay the bills
And I'm a do that whether I got to sling this coke or exploit these rhyme skills
See, America makes you an opportunist, and at the same time they institutionalize you
So the fact that n***az get these big record deals,
big money and go to jail shouldn't surprise you
[…]

Read the full text of the poem here.

Watch Black Ice recite this poem here.

Black Ice is also featured on Pete Rock's album “Soul Survivor II.” Check out his CD here.