The University Board’s first Unplugged Hip Hop Café kicked off with a performance by Leah Stevenson, the winner of the last Open Mic Night.

Stevenson, a freshman journalism major, performed a rap and spoken word piece during yesterday’s Unplugged Hip Hop Cafe.

When performing onstage Stevenson said she can’t help but feel like she’s in another world.

“I feel like a different person when I’m on stage. I feel like (being on stage is) a way for people to get to know me,” Stevenson said.

Gina Loring, a poet, singer and songwriter from Los Angeles was the main act amongst a sea of student performers.

Loring started off by reciting a prayer she wrote. As the prayer moved along, it turned into a song and then into a spoken word piece about what moves her.

Throughout Loring’s time on stage she would stop and talk to the audience about diverse topics that have affected her life such as: love loss, growing up with an absentee father and the hip hop world.

She also recited many poems, such as: “Right love, wrong man,” which was about a guy she loves, but he wouldn’t commit to her.

And another one was called “Open letter to absent fathers.” Loring got the inspiration for this poem by her own experience growing up without a father and also from the e-mails she received from people who came to her shows.

People would e-mail Loring about certain lines in her poems that made reference to absent fathers. These e-mails inspired Loring to write this poem.

In addition to being a poet, Loring is also a full time vocalist. Loring performed two of her songs from her CD “The Git Back (Lovely)” during Unplugged Hip Hop Café.

Loring hopes to inspire people to write poetry and hopes they take something away from her performance.

“It’s a really powerful thing to articulate experiences and share them with others,” Loring said. “It’s empowering for me to tell my story. And what inspires me is to inspire others.”

A student herself, Loring feels that she can relate to the experiences students are going through.

“I know for me it’s a pivotal time. People are starting to form opinions of the world,” Loring said.

During Unplugged Hip Hop Café many students (some returning open mic night performers and some new) also showcased their raps, poems, songs and spoken word pieces onstage.

Brittany Brooks, a freshmen psychology major, performed her original poem titled “Glass.” Which is about a girl who went to the doctor and was diagnosed with a broken heart.

This was Brooks’s second time performing and she hopes her inspiration will get people’s attention.

“My inspiration is to be a voice of the broken hearts,” Brooks said.

Samantha Bilharz can be reached at 581-7942

or slbilharz@eiu.edu.

Gina Loring recites one of her many poems Wednesday in the 7th Street Underground. (Samantha Bilharz

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