Curry: In 2020, Mayor Muriel Bowser named Go-Go the official music of Washington, DC.

A subgenre of funk, Go-Go is the sound behind DC events, from proms to protests.

♪ Put me in the straw of your mind ♪ Curry: It's also the soundtrack for a spoken word competition that's part of a movement to create an arts district in Anacostia.

Woman: Barbecue Battle, can you hear me?

[Crowd cheering] Curry: At the Go-Go stage at the 31st Annual Barbecue Festival in downtown DC, 3 poets gather for a showdown.

Welcome to the "Spoken Word to Go-Go" finale.

Curry: They are the finalists in a competition called "Spoken Word to Go-Go."

I'm a little nervous now, but I'm prepared.

I'm excited.

Right now, I'm just thinking about doing what I know I can do.

I'm prepared for this.

I have lost a lot of sleep in the weeks leading up to this moment 'cause I really want to win this.

Curry: Spoken word means poetry intended for performance.

Try not to do too much damage.

Curry: Performing poetry to a Go-Go accompaniment involves layering words on top of the kind of percussion and bass-driven music pioneered by Go-Go bands like Rare Essence and Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers.

Crowd: ♪ Ho ♪ Brown: ♪ Uh-oh, uh-oh ♪ Crowd: ♪ Uh-oh, uh-oh ♪ I want you to love DC like Chuck Brown loved his beats.

Curry: Sir Harvey Fitz first entered the contest in 2022, the first year of the competition.

Didn't make it past the first round, but I purposed that the following year, I would study, do my research, and dedicate myself to competing in this.

And here we are in the finals.

Love DC...

The title of my piece is "Ode to DC."

The love I have for it I want everyone else to have for it.

Curry: The poets are competing for a prize of $1,000, bragging rights, and a professionally produced album.

I want to win, but I think even more important than winning is just impacting the people that hear what I have to say.

We were members of the streets.

We were tender in concrete...

The piece is entitled "Backdoor."

It was a time where my family and I were nearly homeless and an auntie of mine, she moved us in in her basement, and the way that we would get into the basement was through the back door.

The poem that I'm using for this competition is called "Dead Man Walking Freestyle."

In a few months, I'll be saying, "I'll do," and when I say those two words, pardon me, wish I was saying them to you.

I don't write about the birds and bees and trees and things like that.

I write about, you know, situations that I'm going through.

Curry: WPGC radio personality Poet Taylor is emceeing the competition for a second year.

The idea of allowing you to bring your thoughts to real life, to the sounds of Go-Go, sound like a good idea to me.

As a kid that grew up in foster care, sometimes it was hard for me to find my voice or how to express how I felt.

Taylor: We have DC and DMV natives that are bringing their best to the stage.

To see these babies on stage inspire another generation of kids to come forth and try being heard and making music in a way they never saw has been magical.

I'm glad that I said yes.

Curry: Performing spoken word poetry to Go-Go music was created by Kristina Noell, executive director of the Anacostia neighborhood's Business Improvement District Organization, BID for short.

I am charged with being creative and providing opportunity for the community that we serve.

I happened to be looking up at a stage and I said, "You know what?

"Go-Go is the music of the city.

"And the stories that are told through spoken word are amazing."

Change hasn't come today.

We need to do spoken word to Go-Go.

Two weeks later, we created a contest and it just took off.

I met Freedomwriter during this competition.

Joezy, we've been in the open mic scene for a few years now.

The spoken word poetry scene here is more lively than a lot of places I've seen.

You can find an open mic spot almost every day of the week.

Johnson: I've been able to tell my story to say, "Hey, use this as a coping skill.

"You don't have to use violence.

"You don't have to be angry.

You know, use your arts, use your mind."

We used to be next to the stars and now those stars are out of reach.

These poets are getting work.

They're getting paid to do their spoken word.

That's what I want to do.

Relationship went on.

Something was wrong.

Curry: Over 20 contestants competed in the preliminaries and semifinals, all performing to prerecorded tracks.

The finalists, however, will perform to music played live by a band called The Experience Band and Show.

The mindset behind creating the tracks was really just trying to create music that had some emotion to it.

It's not really hard to put poetry with Go-Go groove because they was already putting poetry to jazz.

So, all you have to do is really change the syncopation.

♪ ...your love ♪ I believe that the judges will be moreso looking for creativity.

Creativity and really content.

♪ The contest for the "Spoken Word to Go-Go" is getting ready to happen.

Taylor: Our wonderful judges are judging on message, originality, technique, content, form, and overall performance.

Man: What I want to hear from the contestants that day, I'd like for them to show me the passion behind their words.

It's always hard being a judge because there are so many great poets out there.

You want to have somebody be able to bring some great writing and also the performative part where they can actually captivate the audience.

Taylor: Can we please put love and light in the air for Joezy Joe?

Nearly homeless, Auntie moved us to her basement.

We were lucky.

Ain't no cases ever called us.

Praise the father that his daughter raise the sons.

Ain't no guns, there ain't no bullets, ever bullets from her presence.

She was working to get presents in December.

Come around downstairs, 'cause that's where we stay.

No windows to peep, no cable to see.

Only father was Jesus, but it was all that we needed.

Never ask God for more.

Two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, through the back door.

Back door, back door, back door, back door, back door.

Back door, back door, back door, back door, back door.

Back door, back door, back door, back door, back door.

Back door, back door, back door, back door.

♪ Taylor: Ladies and gentlemen, put love and light in the air for Freedomwriter Johnson.

No way.

No way her new dude an upgrade.

Give it 13 months.

She's James Harden requesting a trade.

Houston, we got a problem.

We used to be on cloud nine.

We used to be next to the stars.

And now those stars are out of reach.

New dude.

Good dude.

I shouldn't be saying this.

I'm tipsy, 'cause the rock got me saying this.

In a few months, I'll be saying, "I do," and when I say those two words, pardon me, wish I was saying them to you.

Thank y'all.

Freedomwriter, baby.

♪ Taylor: I bring you your final performer Sir Harvey.

I want you to love DC like Chuck Brown loved his beats.

Like how Marvin loved to sing.

Like 1978 when the Bullets won that ring.

Love DC like fire wings fried hard with mumbo sauce, salt, pepper, ketchup on your fries.

A large half and half [indistinct].

Love DC like how Mr. Henry's loved Roberta.

Love DC respectfully on purpose.

Love DC like how preachers over in Union Temple love saying, "I'm getting ready to soul" in their sermons.

Love DC like how we all know its legacy deserves it.

Peace, y'all.

Thank you so very much.

[Crowd cheering] ♪ Taylor: Your 2023 Spoken Word to Go-Go Champion Sir Harvey Fitz.

[Crowd cheering] Fitz, voice-over: So, plot twist.

I won.

Um, I aced it.

I'm even more speechless than about a hour or so ago.

A check for $1,000.

[Crowd cheering] Fitz, voice-over: This means the world to me.

I rarely compete for anything 'cause my nerves.

[Crowd cheering] This is going to carry me for a while.

It's definitely gonna carry me for a while.

I'm really happy.

Taylor, voice-over: Kristina and the BID, first of all, I love y'all and thank you.

They've managed to do something that sometimes people in the act of wanting to do good forget, and it's invite the people that you want to do good for to the table and simply ask, "What does that look like for you?"

You can find spoken word open mic nights every night of the week, including all 9 Busboys and Poets restaurants and Bloombars at 3222 11th Street Northwest in Columbia Heights.

Also, sign up for the newsletter from the folks working on a new Go-Go museum planned in Anacostia.

Go to gogomuseumcafe.com for more information.