Griot Quotes

I apply the warrior energy to the blues by tapping into the ancient job of the griot class.That wasn't a job you did because someone said you had to do it;you did it because that's what you did.
It was your right as a person.In terms of warriorship,you had to stand up and do what was right,what you were born to do……
In warriorship you have to be very present,very aware of where you are,where you've been and where you're going.
Part of what a warrior does,the compassion and generosity of warriorship,is to get the door open and hold it open for other people to come through.That means the warrior is often out there alone.
Sometimes the door closes behind you and you don't know it happened.Then you have to stop,put the guitar down,go back and get a wedge,and get the door open again,so..people can hear the music. You can't be afraid,no matter what's going on."
Taj Mahal

Autobiography of A Bluesman ~ Taj Mahal

This poet is a griot in search of a village. ~ Kwame Dawes

According to a study conducted by the Oxford African American Studies Center, hip hop is part of and speaks to a long line of black American and African traditions. Many observers also make a connection between rap and West African griot tradition, the art of wandering storytellers known for their knowledge of local settings and their superior vocal skills. ~ Carlos Wallace

And here's to the blues, the real blues - where there's a hint of hope in every cry of desperation. ~ David Mutti Clark

I believe a writer is...the scribe-griot of his/her nation. S/he has the power to incite, ignite, excite, pacify, edify, motivate and eliminate others with the slash of a pen, click of a mouse or swipe of a finger. Though coloured by time, class, age, geography, childhood and other factors, a writer crystallises a slice of his/her society's culture, mores and its dark and light truths. A writer makes everything real. ~ Sandra Sealy

I preserve my world
in journals so my children
can eat without me ~ Nikki Skies

I acknowledge immense debt to the griots [tribal poets] of Africa - where today it is rightly said that when a griot dies, it is as if a library has burned to the ground. ~ Alex Haley

In the pursuit of greater equality in our education system, from K to PhD, technology access, print literacies, and verbal skill all collide as requirements for even basic participation in an information-based, technology-dependent economy and society. ~ Adam J. Banks

The word griot ... is the word for what I do and the role that the filmmaker has in society ... the griot is a messenger of one's time, a visionary and the creator of the future. ~ Djibril Diop Mambety

Your muse ain't singin' on your MTV? Can't even see him on your HD TV? ~ David Mutti Clark

And a ride in a hearse tells us we're all close to that final cruise ... when the body dies and we move on. It's just the body, man. It's just the body. The soul's already gone. So don't be afraid of a dead body absent a soul. It's empty, man. No resident. What you need to worry about is a living body that's lost its soul. Now that is scary, man. - Funk N. Wagnalls, owner of the Grim Reapers auto lot, a character in Professor Brown Shoes Teaches the Blues. ~ David Mutti Clark

You got infinite channels and limitless rhymes, but the riddles of livin' stay undefined? ~ David Mutti Clark

There's something lyrical about an eternal truth. It's a graceful riff. A free-flowing melody. Light and airy, it floats all around you. And when it lands on your ears, when you hear it for the first time, you instantly recognize it― because it's like bumping into an ageless, best friend. ~ David Mutti Clark

The music echoes in the emptiness. It reminds us where we came from and where we're bound. ~ David Mutti Clark

I see myself as the oldest griot tradition of speaking to truth out here. There's a dark side that people don't even know is there. ~ Malik Yusef