Check Out Poet Ali’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Poet Ali.

Hi Poet, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It all started with family. I would have never anticipated being an international speaker & performer who uses my gifts of writing and music to help connect people to themselves and each other. It was a curvy path that led me here and it started with a language that is universal: Music.

Music was like the 6th member of our family. Always present, always on and always loud. My family immigrated to the United States in 1984. After the Iranian Revolution of 1979, we set off. I was born in Tehran, the capitol and am middle child to an older brother and a younger sister. I was raised in one of those families where music was like air for us. My Dad was a prominent radio Disc Jockey for NIRC Radio broadcasting throughout the Persian Gulf. On his show, he brought his music knowledge from Detroit and New York back to Iran. It was for this very reason they captured and tortured him twice thinking he had ties to the West. The second time the government took him, he barely escaped and we left. My mother was a tennis champion, seeded 3rd in the country and she was also dismayed by all the regulations around her dress as an athlete. In America, Dad started our family business, which was a mobile DJ and limousine business. It’s here that my music education began.

From a very young age, there were two things that seemed to come very naturally for me: writing and rhythm. These manifested in a variety of ways but mainly through poetry and musical expression. I started on the drum set and played for 10 years before I transitioned to percussion. I also grew up steeped heavily in the culture and tradition of Hip Hop music. My brother was the DJ and I was the Emcee. Around middle school, I started to flex some of my skills on the microphone at local competitions and by high school, I was battling at lunchtime and developing a reputation for my skills on the microphone.

During this time I was consistently writing music and although the battle competitions generally reflected a lighter and more satirical tone, most of writing seem to gravitate heavily towards unearthing truths around social injustice, human connection and interpersonal relationships. When I started performing shows, it became very clear that there was a heavy Spirit of humanitarian and connective elements to my work, even though it was “entertainment” and I was performing in clubs. These themes deepened as my journey with the Liberal Arts continued. I attended Loyola Marymount University, right here in Los Angeles in the Westchester area where I ultimately received two bachelor’s degrees. One in English, the other in Spanish literature and a minor in Dance. I used to get kicked out to the dance department for going to practice late at night until finally, I decided to become a minor. Diving heavily into these subcultures gave me an accessibility to many people and many forms of expression.

After graduating I left to live in Spain and upon returning after about a year, I played in a flamenco ensemble for several years while teaching dance and running a hip hop orchestra where I bridged the gap between classical and urban music. From there, my talents employed me as a Speaker for one of the largest school assembly programs in the United States. It was here that my words took flight in a new way, without the aide of the music or instruments but speaking directly to people’s hearts. Finding a way to connect through the tradition of the spoken word. Ultimately, this shift in how my gifts were being used brought everything full circle.

I have spent the last 10 years on the road, speaking and performing in communities, schools, organizations, businesses, Fortune 500 companies, conferences & events. I’ve created and executed campaigns for mega-brands like HP, Chlorox, Kind Bars & Organon just to name a few and my TED talk, “The Language of Being Human” is one of the most widely searched and watched TED Talks on the internet. I’ve worked with and opened for such musical acts like, One Republic, Wyclef Jean, Colbie Caillat and currently run my own record label & production company based in New York City, working with Artists & brands.

I believe that I’m just getting warmed up and most excited about the incredible, like-minded people I will meet along the way, who are just as interested in lighting up the darkness as they are in great music and entertainment. There is an intuitive intelligence inside many of us that drive our choices. I never decided to be an Artist. I was born one and spent the rest of my life trying to figure out how to manage this gift, responsibility and blessing.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Rocky as hell. Lol. I’ll save you the novel and try and break down the treacherous terrain that has been my path into a few concise struggles I learned from. One of the struggles is finding collaborators who desire to be 2 things: Great & Original. You can almost always find one or the other, but a lot of the times, people in the industry or wanting to get in the industry are chasing the trend (what something sounds like or looks like) instead of birthing or defining it. I never understood that as an Artist. So it can be quite difficult to remain true to an artistic vision while making room for those knowledgeable enough to take it to the next step on a technical and production level. Also, something that was difficult in the early stages of my career to get around was that my connection with my Art and my message has a greater purpose than the immediate moment. Actually, because I create with the intention of forever and timelessness, there is a degree of the “now” that I choose to eliminate from my work. Things that I know are passing like the tide. And that is sometimes the opposite of what those in the industry want to hear because the relevancy to the trend is often the insurance that a speech, or song, or line, or campaign will resonate. I’ll end on a bit of positive encouragement and that is to remember there are people who want to make money off you and others who want to make money with you. You can tell the difference by noting, who is blocking the sun from hitting your eyes as you dig, versus who is in the hole with you, sleeves rolled up and dirty.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My name is Poet Ali. I specialize in connecting with people’s hearts and getting them to approach their problems via an artistic catalyst that leads to a life-altering perspective. I call this method, The Connection Perspective. I am known for speaking and performing all over the world and showing people the Secrets of Connection. What sets me apart from others is that I use my gifts to spread a universal message of connection and love. I rely heavily on my experiences and the timeless artistic traditions. The goal is not to have my audience learn from my knowledge but rather to feel something on a very deep and profound level that will not be forgotten, therefore embedded into their bodies as wisdom.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
In the next 10 years, I think what we will start to see is a re-emergence of real true art and artistry. And please do not mistake this to mean that there are not good artists out there. That is not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that we will NEED the true artists as the visionaries and leaders to help steer us back to truth and wholeness. I believe people are starting to get tired of the mechanization and will begin deeply in search of something human, something pure and real from the soul. Music is one of the few places that we still have an opportunity to do that. I’ve actually bet on it. Quite literally. Most of my music is meant for the future. The virtual world will be so polluted by then people are going to need to uplift their spirits with something human. That’s one of the reasons for my tag #DownloadUplift. It explains the entire reason behind all of my work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.poetali.com
• Instagram: @PoetAliOfficial
• Facebook: @PoetAliOfficial
• Twitter: @PoetAliOfficial
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/poetaliofficial
• Other: www.poetsociety.org