This summer, we were joined by a cohort of three stellar interns, each of whom contributed their diverse talents and interests to the Poetry in America team. 

Read below to hear from Eniola Sodeke, a junior at Spelman College, whose interest in hip hop and artistic cross-cultural transmission led her to spend a summer with Poetry in America. Eniola used her newly-acquired video editing skills to produce the below video introducing an emerging Boston rapper whom she met during her summer in Cambridge. 

Budding Massachusetts rapper/producer eTTo is a “lyrical chameleon” whose gruff voice and unconventional flow highlight his potential to emerge into the Hip Hop spotlight.

eTTo’s love of poetry prompted his eventual pursuit of a rap career: he began with writing sonnets and reciting them a capella. Through his music, eTTo promotes a movement he calls SOUL, in which he refers to himself and like-minded people as SOULitarians. “It is based on the realization that spirituality has no right or wrong but rather it is right in it of itself.” His inspirations include Shel Silverstein, Maya Angelou, Nas, and Andre 3000.

See eTTo performing live on August 20^th, 2016 at Pass the SOUL in Cambridge, Massachusetts!