Naki Akarobettoe (born May 11, 1984), also known as Naki Akrobettoe, is an American poet who has worked with prominent singers and is cofounder of the organizations D.E.E.P. (Developing Empowering Enhancing Poets through Poetry) and Azucar Morena Ent.

Biography

Naki Akarobettoe was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

where she also grew up. She is the daughter of an American

coalminer Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

and of a granddaughter of some members of a family that were royals in part of what is now Ghana. She wrote her first poem when she was twelve years old,Get familiar: Ghanaian-American poet, Naki Akarobettoe
Posted by

Ameyaw Debrah Ameyaw Kissi Debrah, known professionally as Ameyaw Debrah, is a Ghanaian celebrity blogger, freelance journalist, and reporter. He founded AmeyawDebrah.com, an entertainment website and blog that primarily publishes news about Ghanaian celebrit ...

on July 16, 2011. Retrieved on December 10, 2011, to 17:40 or in the 8th grade.Getting to know poet Naki Akrobettoe
Interview to Akarobettoe. Posted by Lorraine Cipriano on May 23, 2010. After of studying the work made for writers such as

Phyllis Wheatley Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly ( – December 5, 1784) was an American author who is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry. Gates, Henry Louis, ''Trials of Phillis Wheatley: Ameri ...

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

and

Toi Derricotte Toi Derricotte (pronounced ''DARE-ah-cot'' ) (born April 12, 1941) is an American poet. She is the author of six poetry collections and a literary memoir. She has won numerous literary awards, including the 2020 Frost Medal for distinguished lifet ...

, she attended The University of Toledo in 2002, where she met her mentor Rane Arroyo. Arroyo helped Akarobettoe to develop as a spoken word poet, and she began receiving requests to perform both on and off campus. Since finishing college, Akarobettoe has lived in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

. In 2004, she co-founded D.E.E.P. (Developing Empowering Enhancing Poets through Poetry), a student organization for students who wanted to study poetry. She was also a writer clinician for organizations such as Covenant Youth Development and Youth Arts at Work. Akarobettoe has worked with artists

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

and

Dwele Andwele Gardner (born February 14, 1978), better known by his stage name Dwele, is an American R&B singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. Biography Gardner was raised on the west side of Detroit in a musical fam ...

. She also serves as co-host on the radio show "The Session" WXUT 88.3 FM. Akarobettoe also did work on the Tripple Croxx Entertainment production "The Signature: A Poetic Medley Show." In May 2010, she released her first album "Penstrokes," with her first single entitled “Black Is". In 2010, Akarobettoe co-founded Azucar Morena Ent. Azucar Morena created the live poetry series “The E-Zone.” On May 5, 2011, she opened at a ceremony (that was organized by Stand Up For Ohio), performing the song "I Speak." Her most recent album was "D.O.P.E," released in late 2011. She founded The Poetic J.A.M. event, called so ''because Poetry is my foundation and my avenue to do all the things I love to do''. The Poetic J.A.M. have the aim of ''inspire people to do what it is they love to do'' and have great artist "doing what they love to do", including poets, singers, rappers, painters.The sojourner´s Truth... And she shall know the truth.... Toledo´African-American Newspaper: A Poetic Farewell
. Interview to Naki Akarobettoe. Posted by Michael Hayes, Minister of Culture. Akarobettoe has also worked as a medical writer in the Covenant Youth Development and Youth Arts in the Summer Work Program, with the goal of teaching students aged 12 to 18, "to use his voice" to improve the lives of individuals and the community. She is currently working on what will be a second album, "A Timeless Miracle: Improv Poems & Sound"NAKI - RAWartists.org

References

External links

Reverbnation: Naki Akarobettoe
(Some of her poems can be heard on this page).
Naki Speaks- High Volume Spoken Word

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akarobettoe, Naki 1984 births Living people Writers from Columbus, Ohio American people of Ghanaian descent Ga-Adangbe people Poets from Ohio American women poets 21st-century American poets 21st-century American women writers