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 | | SKIM is a singer/songwriter and one of the unique voices to emerge out of the underground hip-hop scene in the last decade. Her debut album, For Every Tear, was released in 2006 and produced by Leila Steinberg and Femi Ojetundi.
Her art is created with the intention of building lasting relationships among diverse people and cultures. "One of the most important issues facing America is our prison/slavery system. Our youth are being cut down before given a chance to grow. We must identify the cycles of violence and criminal behavior and create new cycles of long-term survival for our communities."
In 2007 SKIM appeared on Def Jam Poetry, on HBO. She has performed at LA schools and juvenile halls with AIM and recently traveled with the Korean Language & Cultural Foundation's drumming tour, playing in Seattle, Chicago and Michigan.
|  | Greg Bell calls himself PAT's Justice in honor of his uncle Pat who died when Greg was 14. After his death Greg began to write poetry and listen to a variety of music including rap, hip-hop, R&B and classical. Greg showed immediate talent as a lyricist and a rapper but got in trouble as a juvenile. PAT's Justice performed in juvenile hall with AIM, the same facility where he was once locked up. His appearance on HBO's Def Poetry Jam resulted in the most requested performance in the history of the show, a piece called Innocent Criminal that he wrote at Leila Steinberg's workshop in juvenile hall.
|  | Mark Gonzales is a playwright, an HBO Def Jam Poet and performance lecturer. An Alaskan-born Chicano, Mark spent his formative years playing piano and dreaming of worlds beyond the tundra. He came to California in 1999 and has been a member of four national poetry slam teams. His performances are intended to spark dialogue among diverse audiences, to examine and unearth what is real and what is perceived in our sentiments about difference.
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