Spoken Word & Music Event | Home Not Home

Mars A. Caulton

An open mic / slam poet from Lit-X and the Chicago Mad Bar team in the 1999 National Poetry Slam, Mars Caulton co-hosted Word Gourmet in Printer’s Row and the all-women open mic Sister Sense in the mid-to-late 90’s. A grassroots street activist fighting against war, police brutality, right-wing anti-choicers and the wrongful conviction of Mumia Abu-Jamal, she uses her poetry to engage and educate others at rallies, protests, speaking engagements and as a catalyst to rally other poets into collectives such as Poetic Service Announcement (who did street performances and produced a CD) and the all-female poetry/percussion mob She Laughs. Born in New England, Mars is a proud Black mother, animal-defender, earth protector and a teaching artist at the Old Town School of Folk Music.

Kao Ra Zen

Kao Ra Zen, born Kenya Fulton, hails from Chicago, Illinois. Kao’s art practice involves creative writing, spoken word, music, video directing, and performance art. He has also worked on creative projects in the mediums of drawing, painting, acting, modeling, and dance. He has curated events and performed at many prominent venues throughout Chicago including Symphony Center, Links Hall, Dank Haus (German American Cultural Center), Subterranean, Alhambra Palace, and Elastic Arts. In his travels, he has performed and exhibited artwork in Germany, performed at an Open Mic in Guatemala, and helped to install solar panels in El Salvador.

Kao’s poetry has appeared in ‘Not My President-The Anthology of Dissent’ from Thoughtcrime Press, ‘Illinois’s Best Emerging Poets’ and ‘America’s Best Emerging Poets’ from Z Publishing, ‘A Love Supreme’ (an oral history of Chicago Hip Hop collective, the legendary Nacrobats), Fnewsmagazine, Tuck Magazine, Highland Park Poetry, and ‘Gut Check digest’ from Shady Pines Radio.

In February 2020, Kao released his first official music video, “Morning In America”, a controversial work that would twice be removed from YouTube. Kao would direct the debut music video, “Killing in the Name of Love” for longtime friend and creative collaborator, Dodo Mafioso, first released in April 2020. Following the murder of George Floyd, Kao would team up with another Chicago Hip-Hop stalwart, Ness The God, to release the single and music video, “I’m Tired”, on the 4th of July, 2020. Kao would continue to release a string of music videos, “G.O.D. Bless”, “Advent”, “F.T.A.”, “Fight Forever”, and “Live Forever” featuring production from long-time collaborators Yodaroc and SILIS101, two of his fellow crew-members in the Nacrobats collective (founded in 1993), which also features prominent Chicago Hip-Hop artists such as Pugs Atomz, Thesselonious, and Thaione Davis.

Kao is a member of IAG (International Art Group), a loose collective founded by German-born Marianna Buchwald. IAG has presented performances, screenings, workshops, and exhibitions in Chicagoland and Germany that have included work from artists of many disciplines from across the globe.

In 2015, he would earn an Associate in Fine Arts degree from Harold Washington College. A recipient of a Presidential Merit Scholarship, Kao would earn his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in December 2020. He teaches weekly poetry classes at Hyde Park Academy High School and is also pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing at Chicago State University. Kao has facilitated numerous family art-making workshops at public libraries, community centers, and events such as the Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest.

Kao has been recording material for his solo debut album, as well as working on music with his performance art/music troupe, The Ungovernables. In 2021, Kao was a featured performer as part of the inaugural Afro Utah Festival in Salt Lake City. In 2022, he performed as part of the annual Chicago Hip-Hop Theater Fest, the TEDx: Showtime: Chi✶Time event, as well the annual Chairman Fred Hampton Streetz Party. Kao was recently commissioned by NON:op to create a response to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Salvatore Martirano’s L’s GA. For this project, Kao developed a multimedia performance entitled ‘FATE of the UNION ADDRESS’, that was presented during a concert tour in March 2023 that saw performances in Bloomington, Urbana, and Chicago, IL. Kao has many upcoming performance events and art exhibitions throughout 2023, including a September performance with every house has a door at the Turku City Theater in Finland as part of the New Performance Turku Biennale, and October performance at Links Hall in Chicago. Kao will also been invited to attend the 8th annual Summer Poetry Teachers Institute at the University of Miami by the Poetry Foundation. 2023 will also see the 6th installment of ‘HIPPY HOLY DAZE’, an annual music and art holiday celebration curated and hosted by Kao Ra Zen, that always features a diverse lineup of performers and visual artists.

Angelique Ambers

Angelique Ambers is passionate about inspiring and uplifting people of all ages and backgrounds. Ambers has used her poetry and her own personal story to empower people. She has also used poetry to educate people on social issues and bring awareness to changes that are needed.

As a single-mom of two kids Ambers uses her own life as a testimony to show individuals the power of never giving up. Even when things are difficult it is important to keep pressing forward, knowing that all things are working for a better good. Ambers encourages people to walk into their calling by recognizing their gifts and passion, Angelique Ambers believes that the passion we feel when doing what we love connects us to our bigger purpose and assignment. “Each of us have been given unique gifts, it’s a disservice to the world and ourself when we do not use them.”

Mira Raven

Mira Raven aka Miranda Sprague, is a multi-instrumentalist, teacher, composer, producer and the founder and owner of Coffee Jazz Collective. Coming from a unique background and raised in coastal town in Maine, she came Chicago to 2011 to study music and fell in love with jazz. Throughout her time studying at Chicago College of Performing Arts she frequented jazz jams across the city and sang with several local groups at venues like Elbo Room, Martyrs, House of Blues and Emporium.

After graduating with a B.M. in jazz studies and vocal performance from Chicago College of Performing Arts she was awarded a Luminarts fellowship in 2017. That year she decided to start a new project: Coffee Jazz Collective. Coffee Jazz Collective is a fluid group whose members have included several local emerging and seasoned players. The Collective grew from playing at small coffee shops to playing for larger events, private events, galas and community events. The Collective features several of Sprague’s original compositions and arrangements.

Since 2017, the collective has worked with non-profit organizations, Streeterville and Uptown Chamber of Commerce, American Bar Foundation, Pullman Porter Museum and several others. Highlighted members include: Robert Irving III, Ernie Adams, David Boykin, Thaddeus Tukes, Justin Dillard, Larry Brown Jr. and many other local musicians. Sprague has also played with Robert Irving III, David Boykin and Justin Dillard in their respective projects and enjoys collaborating with various local musicians around Chicago. She enjoys creating an elevated experience through music and loves finding the balance between familiarity and experimentation in her work.

Tanae B.

Tanae B. is a spoken word artist, singer, community organizer, author of Joy & Contradictions, and founder of Tanae Speaks LLC. With a heart for society and arts, she aims to use her voice to uplift and empower our inner love to shine outwards to each other.

Sunshine

Chicago native Sunshine Lombré is a dancer & poet who specializes in expressing sensuality & emotional authenticity through her words & movements. Sunshine performs poetry and choreography throughout the Midwest Area while also curating seasonal artist showcases based around Black heritage. Sunshine strives to share her passion for Spoken Word and choreography while uplifting Black communities worldwide through teaching creative writing classes through “Poetry for Personal Power”, the Chicago Public Library system & other Arts Organizations. She’s been an opening act for Twista and has recently released her debut poetry album called “Fading Away.”