Tenesha The Wordsmith - Peacocks & Other Savage Beasts (2019)

Tenesha The Wordsmith presents a hard-cutting, gut-wrenching, and extremely moving spoken word album produced by Khalab that brings together different lines of black music – folkloric, jazz, and electronic dance – into an afro-futurist narrative with thunderous results. ‘Peacocks & Other Savage Beasts’ lays bare difficult truths and projects the stories of hidden voices, with a warm and heartfelt delivery that envelops the soul.

The poems are dedicated to the intersection, the places where we contemplate identity, culture, trauma and love. ‘Peacocks & Other Savage Beasts’ is a place where they all meet. “I hope between these lines you find healing,” says Tenesha. “I hope your compassion for others grows. I hope you will make the decision you were afraid to make. I hope you will learn how to turn pain into power and purpose. Decide which type of beast you want to be and if you can’t make up your mind, watch the women…”

Originally from Oakland, California, “a place where revolutionaries are born,” Tenesha the Wordsmith originally began to fuse hip hop and poetry while living in Albany, New York, where she created her first collection ‘Body Of Work’. Her early influences have returned with features from beatboxers and vocalists that give the album a distinctly urban hip hop vibe.

Blending music and poetry is also a distinct nod to the unique rhythm of the San Francisco Bay Area, where she is now living. ‘It’s a place filled with art, music and romance,’ says Tenesha.
“I write about what I want to celebrate; family, community, resilience, and hope. I also write about what I want seen; poverty, racism, sexism and trauma. I want to put into words concepts that I struggle with on a personal level that are also concepts that exist on a broader human level. After hearing me perform or reading something I write, I want people to celebrate what is good but under-appreciated and I want people to think about the way they think and question what they value. It seems like I want to do a lot with just a few poems but, words are powerful...”