B1 - (le Crusader)

The poet B1, otherwise known as Brian De Benedictis, has toured and tested the spoken word underground for years, impacting a variety of organizations along the way.  Originally based in San Diego, and former member of the official San Diego Slam Team, B1 (Brian) climbed the spoken word ladder, winning regional and national competitions during his brief circuit odyssey.  

 

Eventually, he met up with the performance outfit Hattrix, based in Long Beach, and after a small string of their events he took a hiatus to work with them on his post-a cappella CD project, Voices.  Only now has he formulated plans for it's release.  On the CD Voices, B1 implements new vocal techniques for a cappella performance rarely used by others.  Using modern recording methods, he treats himself as an ensemble, backing up areas of his pieces that he feels need emphasizing, with his own voice, and additionally breathing more life into the work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a poet, and an individual, B1 (Brian) holds a genuine desire to reach others for the express purpose of enhancing their awareness of beauty and liberation in everyday life, thus enhancing his own in the process.  Originally a street poet and a Hip Hop MC for groups like the We Crue, he takes on a pro-active, slap-you-in-the-face-with-it approach to instilling openmindedness with his audience, but never looses site of the emotional relativity we all share, or the power of clever metaphorical aesthetic.  Hip Hop, R&B and performance art are but a few of the influencial modern techniques used in B1's stylistic repertoire, and his subject matters fluctuate as such.  He uses examples and stories about everything from average every-day experiences to traumatic life-changing ones in an attempt to draw the listener in and seduce him-or-her with suggested self discovery and self-defined spirituality.