In this full presentation of the 2012 Louder Than a Bomb (LTAB) Team Finals, the top four (out of over 90) teams compete against each other, with the winning team headed to San Francisco this July to represent Chicago in the national competition.  Listen in as the poets from Percy L. Julian High School, Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Kenwood Academy, and Northside College Prep go head-to-head for the top prize.

LTAB is the largest youth festival in the world that brings together young people from many different backgrounds and sides of the city to celebrate the expression of their identities and values. LTAB is a friendly competition that focuses on community and self-reflection utilizing oral story-telling, hip-hop spoken word, and poetry. Not only are the stories real and inspiring but the program boasts an 85% high school graduation rate among its participants and has had zero incidents of violence in its 12-year history.

The audio for this event in in two parts. For the first half of the competition, stream or download the audio using the “Listen to this Story” link above. To access the second half, stream or download the audio here:

PROGRAM:

* Chuck D. Lyrical Terrorism Award: Kuumba Lynx
* Duo Slam winners
* Emcee winner
* Spirit of the Slam Award: TEAM Englewood’s “What Black People Say to Racist Republicans”

ROUND 1
* SacPoet: Indy Winner Keith Warfield - “Whatever you are, be a good one.”
* Faith Lloyd (Whitney Young) - D.A.D.
* Poison Ivery (Julian) - My Generation
* AJ Tran (Northside College Prep) - Dear First Grade Teacher
* Kristen Turner (Kenwood) - Washing Delicates

ROUND 2
* Tri-flow (Julian) - Say Cheese
* Ashley Gonzalez (Northside College Prep) - 51 Stars
* Briana Thompson (Kenwood) - The Human Mouth
* Essie Lindzy (Whitney Young) - Rosie
* Guest Poet: Lamar Jorden - Blink

INTERMISSION

ROUND 3
* Guest Performer: Chance the Rapper
* SacPoet: George - Beauty and the Beast
* Tyler Sauter (Northside College Prep) - [TBA]
* Rachel Smith (Kenwood) - Hallelujah the Saviors are Here
* Christian Palacios (Whitney Young) - To Be Dr. Seuss’s Son
* CeeJay Hannah (Julian) - Confused Consciousness

ROUND 4
* Kenwood group piece - Social Damnation
* Whitney Young group piece - To Save a Monster
* Julian group piece - [TBA]
* Northside College Prep group piece - The Commute

END

Click here to hear many of these pieces as part of the 2012 studio recordings, alongside nearly 200 Louder Than a Bomb Finalist pieces recorded by Chicago Public Media (WBEZ-Chicago) over the past eight years.

Recorded Saturday, March 10, 2012 at the Vic Theater.