Calgary Herald Alberta hip-hop, R&B artists join for ambitious Afro-fusion album called LYFE

Being part of L.Y.F.E. has been one of the highlights of my year. Spoken word and poetry don’t often get their own space in music programs or events — usually they show up as an “intro” or when the whole project is explicitly spoken word.

In an interview with WH Calgary at the 2025 YYC Music Awards, interviewer McKenna Layne asked what I’d like to see at the awards. I said: “A Spoken Word category.” As a poet currently based here, that’s not something I can realistically compete for, unless it’s folded into another category as a feature— it needs its own recognition.

With spoken word now included in the Grammy Awards, I hope more award bodies follow suit. And if they don’t, well… maybe I’ll be the first to change that.

Being able to create a full poem for a track by ChefBeatz was a process I had only done once before on the first song I had ever been a featured artist on an EP by KTheChosen (who is also featured on L.Y.F.E.)

Symphonii, founder of 3rd Verse Records, shares some insight into the project and the other featured artists on the project so give it a read !