Charleston spoken word artist and musician Christian Morant recently released a striking song on YouTube called “The Greatest Showman.” Joined by singer/actress Jenn Bedell on vocals and Lubomir Rzepka on acoustic guitar, Morant soars over the music with in this passionate ode to his late grandmother and grandfather.
“Doin’ what I can for my old man,” Morant says, speeding up his delivery until it becomes almost like one long sentence, “And my grandma too, because she’s the sweetest person to walk into any room.”
The video is important not just because of the intimate poetry that flows from Morant; it shows how important music still is to a man who has found success as a spoken word artist. He recently published a collection of his work called Growth, and earlier this year he presented a TEDx Talk about spoken word poetry.
But music is still a big part of his artistic picture.
“I come from a musical family, and I still do music,” Morant said. “I moved into spoken word because I really felt like that’s where my voice fit, but I never want to lose the music element. So I actually have an incorporated show of spoken word and music.”
That’s what Morant has planned for his Dec. 13 appearance at the Awendaw Green Barn Jam. Charleston singer/songwriter Emily Curtis will join Morant for the artistically integrated performance.
“It’s going to be an interesting mix at the Barn Jam,” Morant said.
He added that it’s sometimes difficult for him to find the right musicians for what he’s trying to accomplish.
“I have actually had hard times finding those people sometimes,” he said. “I guess it’s really the musician understanding the emotion of the piece. And when I find a musician that can respect that and understand that, then things mesh. So I think it just comes down to that natural instinct.”
Morant said he often allows the emotion of a piece to influence his own delivery as well.
“I think the pieces themselves speak out with their own emotion,” he said. “I think any artist, whether it’s spoken word or music, each one speaks its own emotions. So if it’s a darker one, it comes with that heavy delivery. And then there’s another piece of mine called ‘What Have I Learned About Love.’ The piece is about love, so it has a chipper, more loving delivery. But it’s all still me.”
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.
