Karen Gibson Roc

This Brooklyn-based (by way of Jamaica and Canada) poet and musician is a musical chameleon (she calls herself a “poetist” or poetic vocalist), she combines elements of rap, downtown-diva poetry slamming, and an urgent backing band called Fluid (both for the easy flow of the grooves and the tendency of musicians to come and go). Producers from East and West Coast America, Germany and Japan have contributed some truly nice beats for her that range from jazzy to soulful, with a rock edge that the hip-hop pioneers used to such great advantage.