From The Slam Stage to Social Change JRose Inspires Through Words

Image Credit: Jasmine Rosario

Poetry is more than words on a page. It is self-expression woven from the soul, carrying thoughts, feelings and emotions into the world.

That same passion and innate gift live within JRose, whose mind, heart and spirit embody the essence of a true poet.

She uses her skills and passions not only to build herself a career as a musician, slam poet and teacher, but she also has a mission to impact the lives of others through her work.

Her journey into poetry began when she was 16 years old. The first poem she ever wrote was about her high school boyfriend.

The year was 1998, and JRose was inspired to capture her experience through poetry, in part because of her love of Hip-Hop and the lyricism crafted by some of her favorite artists.

Around this time in her life, there wasn’t a lot of encouragement from the adults in her life for her to pursue this passion.

“Especially back then, there was no way a girl could be a rapper, right?” JRose said.

There weren’t a lot of adults in her life telling her that she was a good writer, or that it was a talent she should try to build upon. JRose found her voice as an artist after seeing one of her good friends writing poetry in her notebook.

“I thought it was so cool,” Jrose said, “I was like, oh my gosh, I want to write poems.”

From there, she fell in love with her craft.

She mostly kept the poems that she wrote to herself, but was lucky enough to have friends in her twenties, when she started to engage in poetry more seriously, who were rappers and fellow poets. They urged her to crawl out of her shell and share her work with more people. To take up space on stage.

“10 years ago, I just took a leap of faith,” JRose said, “I stepped on a stage, and my life was never the same after that.”

Now, the lyricist that lives in her head guides her work, taking her all over the country and the world.

“Listening to Hip-Hop my whole life, there’s like subconsciously a lyricist that lives in my head,” JRose said.

She has a powerful cadence and rhythm that drives her work. Not to mention an appreciation for and masterful wielding of metaphor, double-entendres and other literary devices that only elevate her work.

In her album, “Pieces Of My Crumbled Thoughts,” JRose continues to tap into many of the themes and emotions that drove her to start writing poetry as a teenager, while continuing to expand and grow as an artist.

She shares stories of heartbreak, familial relations, self-discovery and reflection necessary to overcome trauma.

JRose’s words speak to everybody. As a teaching artist with The Recording Academy, she gives women and youth who have been incarcerated the tools necessary to move forward with their lives.

“I work with justice-impacted women and youth, and a lot of the work that I do is, you know, just to show these young people that there’s another way to express themselves. A healthier way to express themselves,” JRose said.

Through this work, JRose wants to help build this community up, teaching them that they deserve to be both heard and respected.

“I think that’s one of the biggest impacts that I’ve had on young people’s lives is like, showing them that it’s okay to be confident,” she said.

She said that when a student breaks out of their shell after being in class with her or she gets an email from a parent telling her how proud they are of their child, those are the moments that truly allow her to see the legacy that she’s leaving behind. Especially for incarcerated women and youth, JRose said that poetry can be an incredibly meaningful medium for expression.

“It’s an art of revolution. It gives them an opportunity to have a voice in a space where they’re usually silenced,” JRose said.

Particularly for the women that she works with, poetry can be powerful.

“These women get no support at all,” She said, “So giving them a space to be heard, you know, in a time when they feel abandoned, disowned, ignored, silenced […] this is something really big.”

Poetry can act as a form of therapy. Through all of this work, JRose’s ultimate hope is that it keeps those whom she works with out of the prison system indefinitely.

“A lot of times, they get released and they don’t even have somewhere to live. So we have to connect them with organizations that provide housing and things like that,” JRose said.

But diving into a creative community where they feel welcomed, and like a part of something positive, JRose said, can make all the difference.

Now, JRose’s teaching artist skills are taking her to Costa Rica, where she’ll have the chance to teach a workshop, amongst her other projects that are in the works.

“I’m working on writing all of these new pieces and I’m looking to record in the next year, release another album and publish another book,” JRose said.

She’ll also be a part of Legends—a spoken word poetry showcase at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center in Queens, New York, on Oct. 12.

To keep up with JRose and all of her upcoming work, be sure to follow her on social media @mycrumbledthougts and @therosegardenevents.