Ace Boogie, spoken word poet, performs at Oscar Ritchie Hall last night. The event was presented by Delta Sigma Theta and Harambee. LESLIE CUSANO | DAILY KENT STATER

Credit: John Proppe

Every set of eyes was trained on a figure barely 5 feet tall – a music stand had to be moved for the audience to see her face.

Speaking through a red folder and microphone, psychology major Kaisha Sherrills molded sex, respect and admiration into captivating spoken word.

And she was just one ace Harambee and the Delta Sigma Theta sorority had up their sleeves last night.

Ace Boogie, spoken word poet and Akron hip-hop artist, “shined like the star of Bethlehem,” performing for a packed house in the African Community Theater. As the “keynote speaker to your emotions,” Boogie, a former Kent State student, read slam poetry and sang over beats from DJ Drama – even calling students to sit on stage and share in hip-hop culture.

The last of several poetry readers to speak, Boogie first hit the mic about “gettin’ the mind right” and discussed “real” musicians such as Mos Def, Common and the Roots. He then slammed words about respecting women and growing up without a father.

“I gave my mother a card on father’s day – for real,” he said.

Boogie finally lit up the room with music, taking advantage of a guitarist and smooth background vocalist reminiscent of R&B singer Houston.

Shanelle Smith, president of the KSU-NAACP, viewed Boogie’s performance as encouraging.

“It made me want to hone my (poetry) craft on the open mic for next time,” she said.

Preston Mitchum, first vice-president of the KSU-NAACP, echoed Smith’s view.

“Ace was awesome – he understands hip-hop.”

Contact minority affairs reporter David Yochum at [email protected].