Meet Yo’ Sis | Spoken Word Artist, Visual Artist, Creative and Humanitarian

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yo’ Sis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yo’ Sis, what do you attribute your success to?

The word “brand” has always kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I have often backed away from that word because it feels so impersonal. That’s why I like this question. It was the one that challenged me the most.

I looked it up before answering to be sure I could answer in the way most authentic to me.

“The process of creating and shaping a distinctive identity for an organization, company, product, or service in the minds of consumers.”

Hmmmm, I guess my “brand” is my character. My character is the driving force that moves anything one might consider a success in my life. It is the spirit in which I do and see things that makes me successful. The process of creating and shaping who I am and how I express pieces of that to the world.

Yo’ Sis is a name that represents how I strive to love people and how people reflect love back to me. The poems, the performances, the paintings, the murals, the work I do with people and organizations… they are all creative endeavors….just different mediums to express how I perceive the world around me, at any given moment in time.

Art is perception. My perception is a choice made by way of my character. I choose to see things through the eye of passion. I choose to place importance on small things as if they are big. I choose to see ugly challenges as means to uncover beautiful truths. (This question is a perfect example of that.) Those choices aren’t always easy. They are daily practices that require discipline, honesty, humility, courage, integrity, compassion, conviction, and respect. Character, like I said.

Finally, I have never identified myself as an entrepreneur. I guess because the “product” is invisible. What the “consumer” gets when they experience Yo’ Sis is not something tangible and I don’t aim to be anything in anyone’s mind, as the definition above put it. Uh-uh! Society, as we know it, is so conditioned to mental illness that, most certainly, whatever peoples’ minds say about me (or you), is far from any truth. I want no parts of that.
Success, to me, is fulfillment. That’s what the God in people feels from the God in me, through connection.
My “brand” is somehow connected to what people feel in their soul. It’s how their spirit is moved. It can’t be quantified or bought, really. That’s why I don’t prioritize selling “merch” or moving like other “entrepreneurs.” Selling invisible products is one hell of a hustle. Ha! (I do have some stuff coming out soon though, so keep your eye out if you would like to support.)

I hope that answered the question.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

My work is…Raw. Healing. Authentic. Honest. Bold. Bright. Those are the words coming to mind right now, as far as how I describe the art. If you ask me tomorrow, it may, very well change. It’s fluid. It can warm you or freeze you. It can embrace you or choke you. It can be soft or tough. It can take shape of the environment, or it can shift the whole atmosphere.

How I feel when I’m creating is how a person feels when they experience it. I feel passionately when I create so people feel passionately when they hear it. If I cry while I’m writing, people cry when I perform.

My first thought in behind that statement was, “That’s not me. That’s just the magic of art.” But that’s not necessarily true, which brings me to the answer of “What sets you apart from others?”
Now that I think about it, I have experienced plenty of art that was not moving at all. I’ve been exposed to some of the most talented literary geniuses and artists in the country. Creating art with talent is great for the senses and tantalizes the intellect. I thoroughly appreciate that because I love art. But intellect and talent separate us more than they bring us together. What did anyone gain if people walk away from my work thinking about how smart and talented, I am? An applause is gone when the people leave and the ego just makes us sick so, if that were the case, everyone involved in my art exchange would have lost something.

What sets me apart from others is that I don’t perceive myself as apart from others. I’m extraordinary because I’m EXTRA ordinary. My pieces, whether written, spoken, or visual.. are not created by an untouchable talent or by way of some intellectual phenomenon. Artificial intelligence is about to put all that showy smart shit to rest, and I know 100 artists just in this city alone who are more talented than me. I am no longer attempting to impress people who are so far removed from themselves that they are looking at me to distract them. Nah, folk. That’s not where it’s at for me.

My work is created with a meshing of soul and spirit. I don’t make people think. I make people feel connected. Mostly, connected to themselves. Don’t get me wrong, I value intellect. That’s how our species has created solutions to problems that make my life easy today. Our biggest challenge now is that, as human beings, we are removed from the human experience.
My work…as simple as it sounds… is human. Human like the interconnectedness of the spirit and the soul. Human like pain and love. Joy and grief. Good times and hard times. Human like you and I.
The other thing is, I don’t speak for the artist, to the artist, or for any specific group of people.
I speak for anyone and to everyone.
I go as hard in a room for 3 as I do in a room of 3,000. I spit for people experiencing homelessness with the EXACT same effort and integrity that I flow for the folks at the country club. THAT is what I’m most proud of and that’s what has gotten me every opportunity that’s worth anything.

Anything worth something is not easy and any path a person takes comes with challenges. The challenges of choosing to be an artist and humanitarian are different than those faced by an engineer, financial advisor, or any other identity or endeavor a person takes on…but, none the less, they are still challenges. I walk through my challenges with honor because I choose who I want to be and what I want to do with my life. There are a lot of people who didn’t get the opportunity to choose and more people who aren’t empowered enough to.
I overcome life’s challenges like I imagine any person does.

Keep going.
Sometimes it’s slow. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it’s rough. Sometimes it’s physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and spiritually exhausting. That’s life.
Keep going.
(If you’re looking for a sign, this is it.)

The best lesson I’ve learned is to trust God.
The moment you think you’re in control, you have lost it.
The man who knows he knows nothing, knows all he needs to know. And that’s all I know.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If it was a week long trip, they better have other friends and some shit planned for themselves to do because I’m not a tour guide and I’m only good for about an evening of hanging out. The people who know me, know I’m telling the whole truth, but I’ll play.

For food, I’m going with Tassili’s Raw Reality first. Get ’em some shea butter and copper jewelry for a proper and authentic Atlanta souvenir from a black owned vendor on the porch who calls them a goddess.
Baby, it’s the black love and southern charm for me.

Next choice would be Pappi’s Cuban Restaurant for some cafecito, yuka fries, and guava empanadas.
It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t tell them about The Varisty but I’d give them a pepto bismal tablet if they chose that for themselves. I would tell them to ignore the 46 hookah lounges with wing specials and just go to J.R. Crickets.

EAV would be a dope spot to enjoy an afternoon or evening.
If they had never been to Atlanta and were touristy folk, I’d tell ’em to get a city pass and go to the aquarium, the zoo, and The National Center for Human and Civil rights.

This city is a hub for local artists and the incubator of southern hip hop.
I’d take them to a spoken word open mic in the city, preferably one where ADAM’s RIB is featuring.
We’d have to hit up Trap Music Museum and the interactive museum out near Buford.
If we were already out on Buford, might as well get some Vietnamese or stop at a Taqueria somewhere in the area.

I love the city of Atlanta but I’m country and I like free parking.
As diverse as the city is, is as diverse as the state is.
We have city, we have country, we have mountains, lakes, oceans and beaches all in one state.
If they’re here for a week… after they visit downtown, we’re either going to the mountains and stop by the little shack where some old man who looks like some hillbilly version of Noah sells muscadine smoothies or I’m driving down to Savannah for the beach.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Ah, MAN! I love any opportunity to shoutout the people who have had their hand in shaping me. I have often been criticized by the some of the people closest to me for giving too much credit to others for who I am and what I do. I’m not moved by that. I believe remnants of God are brought through people and without them, there is no becoming. (ooo, that sounded very poetic.)

My biggest shoutout has to go to my grandmothers. The one who prays, the one who cusses, and the one who does a little bit of both. They are the first people who made recognize love. They are love personified.

My parents, who are like oil and water or sugar and spice. They gave me contrast and balance. Two distinctively different individuals from whom I inherited beautifully contrasting qualities that make me, me. And, my younger older brother, who was the first person I learned to nurture and protect.

I had two teachers… Ms. Reagan and Ms. Baer, who passed me off to one another. They cultivated my intellect and uniqueness, and taught me the importance of literature, language and culture which are HUGE parts of who I am today. My high school sista, Cherie, introduced me to poetry while she braided and beaded up my hair. (I’ve been doing poems with that hairstyle ever since.)

Tupac was the first poet I ever loved. Even after his death, he represents how purity and truth can transcend time, space, language, age, and race. He imprinted in my soul, like he did most people in this world.
Tamika “Georgia Me” Harper is the first living poet I fell in love with. She displays how to stand on a stage alone with an entire community, simultaneously.

The Atlanta Poetry Community for years of opportunity and platforms.

The angels, who will know themselves by that name… taught me responsibility, how love requires resilience, and gave me my first taste of purpose.
The Lucky Street crew who gave me a space to belong, teaching me that sometimes having nothing is everything…
The Jones family, for almost 20 years of unconditional love and support.
Mary “Mama Granny” Preston who relentlessly honked her horn in my driveway and called me 10x in a row to come to church when I wanted to sleep in and get high all day. The churches she took me were the first places I did poems and the first times strangers told me I had a calling on my life.

Alexia, for the years of mentorship, teaching me how to better use my art to facilitate healing for others and the value of difficult conversations. HUGE Shoutout to R2ise, The Red Penny Crew, and the extended Georgia recovery community that continues to show me what recovery looks like, how community heals, and the healing craft of peer support.

To my friends and sisters who tell me when I’m wrong and love me until I feel like correcting it, who appreciate cuss words as terms of endearment and who hold space for late night laughter. I wouldn’t be me without you. Specifically, the three other members of PDC and “Bes Bes.”

Most recently, my reflection, who teaches me a renewed commitment to reverence, how we make forever with today, and how we can create sacred space wherever we are.

Family reaches far passed the bloodlines.
I SHOUTOUT every person in my life in the past and in the present who love me, support me, give me grace, show me favor, and allow me to show up as myself no matter what that looks like. You are God’s gift to my life, and I love you profoundly.

Website: www.yo-sis.com

Instagram: @yo_sis__

Facebook: @TheYoSisFamPage

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f1w25sjHwU

Other: @yosistok

Image Credits
Carolyn Grady with Rhythmic Images Winston Walker