As a world traveler and troubadour, Camil Williams is, to me, the definition of artist. Having never been restricted to the realm of poetry, Williams is an artistic powerhouse and renaissance woman.
She has performed and presented art workshops at a host of conferences, high schools, and universities; locally and abroad, as part of the women centered activist-performance duo, AquaMoon. The duo co-authored several choreo-poems, including Love Does Not Hurt and Aqua Beats and Moon Verses Vol. I. Williams has also authored and released her debut, Butta to Fly: a collection of poetry, art and music (2007). Her artworks have been featured in the Ascend: Live Art and Jazz Showcase and the Humboldt Park Art Exhibit in Chicago. She’s appeared in several short and full-length films, including The Lies We Tell and Secrets We Keep and the hit web series, Between Women. She also writes and produces music for commercials, films and stage productions.
William’s art is multi-faceted. Her art isn’t defined by any one form, because she seeks to reach as many as she can with her voice. Despite, iWilliams has all the soul and stylings of an engaged poet, and it oozes into all of her work. Her art tends to be social-political, lovng, and hip-hop related. Hearing pieces in tribute to Tupac are both unexpected, but deeply appreciated in the typical hip-hop/Spoken landscape.
Camil Williams is on a mission to create the ‘flyest interpretations’ of life. To her, “Poetry is a way to intersect different ideas in a short form. Its more accessible than books are. Its a part of activism, getting ideas out.” “People learn differently. Movement, sound, and lyric. I want them to come together and give you a sense of the time. It is important to touch everyone.”
Camil takes her inner activism and focuses it into “Using art as a weapon — a weapon for empowering, uplifing. Something they might not get on Fox or CNN. When I speak, I want it to be different.” “Most of my work has to have meaning. Has to be useful. Art should be more purposeful.”
An inheritor of an Afro-punk tradition and an Afro-futuristic philosophy,
Camil Williams is a name to know for the progressive poet and social revolutionary. Check out her written, spoken, and artistic works and be prepared to be impressed.
The Griot Beat 