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Dakota Camacho, Change Agent.
Photo by Katıa Roberts |
Every last Friday of the month, Hidmo Eritrean Cuisine fills with people of all ages ready to get down to some of the best hip hop in Seattle. The event is Hip Hop Period and the man behind it is 16-year-old spoken word artist Dakota Camacho.
Camacho sits across from me at the Hidmo, a place he calls his home away from home. He is articulate and calm, but when it’s time to slam his quiet voice can rise into rapid, impassioned vociferation. He writes about everything from police harassment and corporate imperialism to his love for his sister.
Dakota started to perform after getting involved with Youth Speaks, an organization that fosters poetry in the lives of youth. He sees poetry as a force that both communicates struggle and provides safety. “The spoken word community is a place where no matter how I’m feeling I have family,” he says.
Check out Hip Hop Period on April 25 at 2000 Jackson. Doors 7:30. $5 for those over 21, free for youth. Web Site: http://www.seattleyouthspeaks.org/news_events_1.html
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