erikandrade

Erik Andrade is poet, artist, educator, organizer, and community activist living in New Bedford. He was the 2012 SouthCoast Music Awards Poet of the year. As a performance poet he has opened for Mos Def, Sonia Sanchez, Climbing PoeTree, Wise Intelligent, Dead Prez, Masta Ace, Killah Priest, Ursula Rucker, Jessica Care Moore, Everett Hoagland and others.

Erik has performed at local clubs, open mics, college campuses, high schools, and rallies and protests, for crowds of up to 3,000. He has featured at EarGasms in Staten Island, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in Manhattan, World Cafe in Phillly, AS220 Providence, Lizard Lounge, Connecting for Change, Bridgewater State University, RISD, Rhode Island College, Medgar Evers College, and other venues across the East Coast of America and Internationally on the islands of Santiago, Fogo, and Sal Cabo Verde.

Erik is the founding member of La Soul Renaissance and the Overflowing Cup Project. La Soul Renaissance is a local spoken word and hip hop venue focusing on social justice issues and spirituality. The Overflowing Cup Project is an artist circle that works to encourage, recover and inspire creativity through a collective process.

Erik's poetry has featured on the Foundation Movement album Greatest Album which was awarded 2006 Best Hip Hop Album by New England Urban Music Awards, Busted Fro's album Lost and Found, Junior's album Inside, Sheisty L album Shiestology 3, The Egalitarian Ensembe (Simon Desjardin, Andy McQwain, and Royal Hartigan) unreleased album. Erik is working on his first solo album and ep of music with scheduled for release in 2014.