Miss the Old Kanye? Watch His Slam Poetry

Looking back at Kanye West's Def Poetry Jam days.

Back in the height of super conscious backpack rap, in the wake of positive Afrocentric acts like Arrested Development contrasted with the woke militant attitude of Dead Prez, spoken word was having a moment.

Places like the Nuyorican Poets Cafe became hotspots for BIPOC bohemians, giving rise to artists like Saul Williams, Beau Sia, Emanuel Xavier, and…