At age 19, writer and spoken-word artist aja monet became the youngest ever Nuyorican Poets Café Grand Slam Champion. To this day, the New Yorker, who brilliantly exposes societal issues in her slam poetry, is one of the few women ever to win this prestigious competition. But monet is much more than a writer activist and spoken-word artist. Over the years, she has evolved into an inspirational blues poet, who brings her work to life through music, backed by a renowned jazz ensemble from her hometown. On her Grammy-nominated debut album when the poems do what they do (2023), monet surrealistically tackles long-standing issues such as gender inequality and discrimination and also explores the true meaning of basic human needs such as love, identity and joie de vivre. Live on stage, a monet performance is nothing short of an emotionally and intellectually energizing experience.
