Today we’d like to introduce you to Eros The Prince of Poetry.
Hi Eros, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I was born and raised in the Englewood community in Chicago Illinois. I was born at home on 59th and Marshfield in one of the most gang-affiliated and D-drug-infested areas of the city. I was raised by a single mother along with my two other siblings – Mikael, my older brother, and Nyoka, my older sister (10/15/83-6/28/21). Our fathers were not around and that took a mental and emotional toll on the overall health of our family. I started writing at a very young age as a way to cope with my environment and the absence of my father.
My mother was one of my biggest supporters; she always listened to my poems no matter how corny they were or how little sense they made. In high school during my junior year, my teacher, by the name of Kwame Burton took a personal interest in me and my writing and encouraged me to push further, and to perform what I was writing, so I did.
I started to perform at local talent shows around the city, and I started to win first place in every competition. What turned into my way of coping with pain eventually became my way of life. Not only was the little boy inside me healing… I was also inadvertently healing anyone willing to listen to my story.
Thus, Eros the Prince of Poetry was born.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t believe that any art can be born on a smooth road. Art is created in between the ugliest moments in life. My art was created from loss and a mindset of lack. Along the journey, loss has been a familiar face.
Poetry is a healing platform, and my life has always given me something to heal from. Be it the loss of my cousin Bobby, at 17, the murder of my uncle Gregory, the loss of my grandmother and grandfather in the same year, the loss of my cousin Spqr, the absence of my father, my divorce, leaving a religion, the loss of my Uncle Robert, or the murder of my older sister, my pen has never found reasons to run dry.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an international award-winning spoken word artist, that specializes in love, forgiveness, and inclusion. If you’ve listened to any of my art, you’ve likely found yourself wondering about your brushes with love and the ways you’ve handled these experiences. My poems, my album, and my books, all speak to the feeling of love.
Lots of artists focus on creative writing, unique punchlines, witty phrasing, or big stages – however, my art focuses primarily on one thing; touching the heart. I don’t care if there’s one person in the audience, or 10,000. My goal is simple, convince someone every day that love is always the best option. Be it loving others, loving self, or loving God, never let go of that feeling.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
There’s no place on Earth like summertime Chicago.
The sights, the events, the sports, the lake, the skyline, the nightlife, the restaurants, or the people cannot be compared to anything else. Chicago is a country inside of a city. It is the place where dreams are born and honesty is always in season. Chicago is real, Raw, and authentic. And if you’re an artist, Chicago is unrelenting. They tell you the truth and they don’t hold back.
What I like least about Chicago is the thing that most people like least; the devastation, the murders, the carjackings, the violence, the politics, and the obvious and intentional separation of races and social classes in the city.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_princeofpoetry?igsh=ZTBydGd0bm5wMGFu
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musiq.lovingman?mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Youtube: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mYOOWlWydcd_4U8RD6BZgR1mm767Mmkxs and https://youtube.com/@princeofpoetry87?si=ZbLqIRpLflU488cI
- SoundCloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/N9Wnp
