Spoken Word Artist SLo SmiFF
This week’s Writer Wednesday features Detroit spoken word artist Jessie Smith, who goes by SLo SmiFF. Jessie has performed alongside the Legendary Last Poets and was featured in the Detroit Institute of Arts "D-Cyphered," a first-of-its-kind exhibit honoring influential artists and their contribution to Detroit's arts and hip-hop culture.
In celebration of National Poetry Month, SLo SmiFF is participating in our Black Voices Series ft. Detroit Poets on April 29 at 7 p.m. Check out the virtual event to hear him present and come ask your poetry questions!
Tell us about SLo SmiFF. What does it stand for?
My Southern drawl (even though I'm born and raised in Detroit) has always made people ask what part of the south I was from, and people always said I had a Slow Southern sounding voice … And my last name is Smith, but the way I talk it always comes out as Smiff. So, Slo Smiff ended up being a nickname that just stuck. I like it because it is unique, and I truly feel it fits me as an artist.
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
The initial spark or thought, it can be just one phrase or an original thought that makes me feel as though no one has ever had this exact picture I have in my mind and I challenge myself to say it in a way that has not been heard before.
What does your writing workspace look like?
My writing space is totally cerebral. I actually see words as sounds or tones and usually do not put a pen to paper until I have spoken the thought to myself over and over again. When I actually start to write, it is usually very early in the morning around 5 a.m. when it is very quiet with just a pen to scribble while I think and a cup of coffee.
How have your roles as lyricist and poet influenced each other?
They truly go hand in hand. I actually started rapping because my friends would never give an ear to my Poetry and would say stuff like, "Oh goodness, here he comes with that philosophy junk.” So I started recording myself beat boxing and would tap on table tops and say same poems and then they would listen. I would shake my head and say, “Wow...that's the same stuff you guys wouldn't listen too, but now you think it's cool.” Go figure that. Lol.
What is your favorite non-writing hobby?
I luvvvv golf!! I've been playing for about 25 years. It's not a game, it’s a skill. Golf is one of the things that got me off of the street corner. I would go practice and listen to the old guys talking junk and every time I would get back to the neighborhood there had been a shooting or a raid, so I started staying at the course more and more. It's my personal getaway without leaving to go anywhere.
What is your favorite thing about Detroit?
The Cultural District and specifically the DIA. My mother would not let me go to the playground because that's where all the drug dealers hung out at when the crack era hit hard in the early 80's. So I spent a lot of time at the museums and the main library. I used to feel like the DIA was my personal clubhouse. To actually be featured in a museum exhibit (“D-Cyphered” by Jenny Risher) was a surreal experience for me.
What is your favorite piece of writing advice?
My favorite advice to young writers is to NOT try to write a poem, but to first just write down exactly what you are thinking at the time you are thinking it, in the exact way you are thinking it. Then you can always go back to your thoughts as they were originally and paint your picture.
What writing projects are you currently working on?
I am working on an autobiography "Existence as a Myth" The SLo SmiFF Story. And a screenplay called "Derelict," a twisted story of a once affluent and prominent-man-turned homeless person due to traumatic issues in life who then turns stalker slash love interest for an unsuspecting woman who shows him kindness and he becomes obsessed with getting his life back on track to get her love interest through deception. It’s a creepy, but totally original and unique concept.
Follow SLo SmiFF on Instagram at @slosmiff.