Album Notes

His passion for poetry comes from the depth of his soul. His energetic performance and strength are heart felt within his performance. He can speak on many topics which include political, love, erotic, and historical.

According to Freedom Verse Cafe
by Tshombe

So of course you all already know that I am in the business of promoting spoken word artists globally, right? Well about two weeks ago I was in a chat room at someone’s online radio show when a poet whom I have come to respect and enjoy his poetic works made mention that he was preparing for an album release and was running pre-sales; well I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check out the works of this Oklahoman Poet. Mannie the Poet was just preparing for his sophomore project “Reinvention” and he makes good on his commitment to do so as this is a transformation from his debut album “Openly Crying” which was released under the moniker “Defiant Sun”. Now Mannie is no new kid on the block when it comes to the spoken word thing; he has left his words on stages from the NY to the big O.

So let’s get to it. I spent the better part of a week slowly listening to Reinvention; track by track, breaking down the poetry, studying the music, and letting it swish around a little bit before swallowing it whole like a shot of good bourbon. Let me say, I called Mannie several times every time I found something new that caught my mind and to talk about what I was listening to. This project is filled with pain, love, suffering, overcoming, and struggle….life! It is laced with beats that you can ride to and some you can chill with, but all compliment their story. As indie artists—particularly in poetry—this is really important and I think Mannie and his engineers got it!

My Take


Arrangement and Engineering: From beginning to end this CD is well arranged; it has continuity, good transitions, and a full storyline from track one to eighteen. Oh yeah, eighteen tracks with some bonus stuff for those who buy the hardcopy. From poetry enthusiast to those who like the hip-hop beat, this is a project that will indeed leave you happy.


Lyrical Depth & Value: I find that the storytelling and poetic message that Mannie provides in this project to be relevant and even the most well versed individuals can learn a lesson or two from the messages in and between the lines of this poet. I expect to hear more of his work hitting podcast shows, and poetry circuits.

Edutainment Factor: This project both entertain as well sustains thought for the listener to ponder and reflect on life and world issues. The one thing I noticed about this project is that there are no comedic poems, so it tells me that this poet has something serious to say and that it is no laughing matter. So, prepare to be moved mentally and spiritually. Contains: Politics, Love, Sensuality, Consciousness, and Erotic contents.

Replay Value: High, I have listened to this CD 5 times in the past week and it is currently in my car waiting to be fired up again as I drive to work tomorrow.

Price: at $12.99 (CD format) this is a decent price value for this amount of work.

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