Poetry and music will take centerstage at The Nimoy on Feb. 9-10. (photos courtesy of UCLA)

UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance is pleased to present two nights of deep-rooted storytelling through music and poetry at The Nimoy with Martha Redbone Roots Project on Friday, Feb. 9 followed by the continuation of the Poetry Uncut series: Part II as J. Ivy hosts performances by Ursula Rucker and Abiodun Oyewole on Saturday, Feb. 10.

Afro-Indigenous vocalist, songwriter, composer and educator Martha Redbone performs on Friday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. for an evening of folk, blues and gospel. Redbone is known for music inspired by her childhood in Harlan County, Kentucky, infused with the eclectic grit of Brooklyn, New York. The performance will be filled with songs that tell the story of her life experience as a Southeastern Cherokee/Choctaw Native, Black woman and mother with the purpose of giving voice to issues of social justice, bridging traditions from past to present, connecting cultures and celebrating the human spirit.

For her live shows, Redbone draws from her album “The Garden of Love – Songs of William Blake,” which fuses Redbone’s voice and Blake’s poetry for a combination of blues, bluegrass, soul and traditional Southeastern Woodlands.

On Saturday, Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. Poetry Uncut, a four-part series of curated poetry and music, continues with Poetry Uncut: Part II as Grammy Award-winning artist J. Ivy hosts an evening featuring performances by poet, activist and Pew Fellow Rucker along with founding member of the legendary Harlem-based Last Poets, Oyewole. The series will continue with additional artists presented by Ivy on Feb. 17 and culminate in a final poetry jam on April 6. Ivy is well recognized for his appearances on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and his feature with Jay-Z on Kanye West’s Grammy-winning album The College Dropout. He was also instrumental in advocating for the Grammy Awards to add a new category dedicated to Poets and Spoken Word Artists worldwide and, in 2022, the Recording Academy finally created a new category for “Best Spoken Word Poetry Album.” Following this, Ivy received his second Grammy nomination and his first Grammy Award for his Spoken Word Poetry album, “The Poet Who Sat By The Door.”

Ursula Rucker has a longstanding history in the global music and poetry scene and has spent nearly three decades utilizing prose and imagery to engage and inspire her audience. She is known for her performance on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam as well as several solo albums with wide-ranging musical diversity including Supa Sista, Silver Or Lead, Ma’at Mama, Ruckus Soundsysdom, She Said and No Stranger Here. In 2022, Rucker had the distinct honor of being selected for the Philadelphia Cultural Treasures Fellowship in recognition of her continued commitment to the advancement of art and artist advocacy.

Oyewole is a poet, author, teacher and founding member of the American music and spoken word group, The Last Poets, which laid the groundwork for the emergence of hip-hop. During the course of his 50-year career, Oyewole is one of several poets credited for liberating American poetry by creating open, vocal, spontaneous, energetic and uncensored vernacular verse. He has dedicated his craft to speaking out about the dangers of poverty and racism and uplifting his people. Oyewole is known for his albums created with The Last Poets including “Holy Terror,” “The Time Has Come,” “Understand What Black Is” and “Transcending Toxic Times” along with his poetry collections “The Beauty of Being” and “Naked.”

The CAP UCLA winter programs continue on Thursday, Feb. 15 and Friday, Feb. 16 with India Carney and Saturday, Feb. 17 with Poetry Uncut: Part III: J.Ivy hosts Def Sound and Sunni Patterson.

UCLA’s Nimoy Theater is located at 1262 Westwood Blvd. Tickets are available now at cap.ucla.edu, by phone (310)825-2101 or at the UCLA Central Ticket Office.