Malcolm London

POET-EDUCATOR-ACTIVIST-RAPPER

MALCOLM LONDON, called the Gil-Scott Heron of this generation by Cornel West, is an internationally recognized Chicago poet, educator, activist & rapper. A member of the Young Adult Council of the prestigious Steppenwolf Theater, London brings vim & vigor to his energetic performances tackling tough contemporary issues head-on. He has appeared on PBS for the first ever televised TED Talk with John Legend & Bill Gates & has shared stages with actor Matt Damon & rapper Lupe Fiasco as a part of the The People Speak, Live! cast. He also appears on Season 2 of TVOne’s Verses & Flow.

In 2011, Malcolm London won the Louder Than A Bomb youth poetry slam in his native Chicago, scooping the top award as both individual performer & with a team. The poet, educator, activist & rapper wrote & directed a spoken word infused play responding to the Zimmerman verdict called Two Years Later at the Goodman Theatre. Malcolm’s work has been featured on national outlets including CBS, NPR, Huffington Post, The Root, and the Chicago Tribune. Only 23 but he has wielded a dynamic spirit for speaking engagements & performances utilizing his feisty passion for words as encouragement for next generations to tell their stories. London, who runs the largest youth open mic in Chicago alongside friend Chance The Rapper, sees art as the intersection between justice & poetic imagination.

As an organizer London was apart of a historic youth delegation to the United Nations in Geneva to address police violence in Chicago. In November of 2015 London was arrested by Chicago Police on false claims London assaulted a police officer but due to a international outcry via social media & hundreds of people's presence at Cook County jail for court hearing to address these claims all charges were dropped the very next day(#FreeMalcolmLondon). Coming off a powerful recent release of his debut #OPIA and landing a documentary with Billboard Magazine, London has been focusing his involvement on music. #OPIA is available free on Soundcloud & for streaming on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify & TiDAL.