Aja Monet announces debut album and shares "Castaway" video

Surrealist blues poet and community organizer aja monet has announced her debut album when the poems do what they do is set for release June 9th via drink sum wtr, a new Secretly Canadian imprint. As previewed by the recently released piece “the devil you know,” and the newly shared “castaway,” the album’s thematic origins center around Black resistance, love, and the inexhaustible quest for joy.   “I started writing when I was 8 or 9 — [but] I think I was a poet before I wrote my first poem," Monet said in a statement.

VIDEO: Young Chicago Poets

Chicago - Poets, lyricists, singers, musicians and even fashion designers came together to showcase their talents to the public for one night. Except most of these artists would probably have trouble getting into a 21-and-up venue, merely small problems in the lives of the young and talented.

[RELATED: "Do the Write Thing" national competition ]

By the end of the night, collaborations between different avenues of creativity mashed together forming a brotherhood and sisterhood of artists.

The M Report caught the sights and sounds of what they had to say.