Kia Flow

Seeing Takia “Kia Flow” Dickens stand on stage with a gleam in her eye and a boost of confidence, wearing skinny jeans and a short natural haircut makes it hard to believe that just 6 months earlier she was 50lbs heavier, lacked confidence and was known for her big hair wigs. Right after high school Kia went through a series of events that would lead to the transformation of an extraordinary woman. Kia, raised by her grandma, was always thin and always practiced good eating habits. However, moving out on her own and working late hours aided in her gaining more weight than she had anticipated.

Even with these noticeable issues, Kia carried the weight for over 6 years. It wasn’t until her grandma, her biggest inspiration, started getting sick that Kia decided it was time to change her eating habits and change her life.

In 2012 Kia’s grandmother passed away shortly after suffering a stroke. Constantly in and out of the hospital seeing her grandmother’s health decline made Kia decide to really focus on rebuilding her image and her health. Kia started eating healthier, working out at the gym and even doing body cleanses. She encouraged others to go on this same path by posting health facts along with her health journey on social media sites. Kia also took her transformation a step further by removing the big hair wigs she often wore and revealing her short natural hair. “I wanted to tap into my inner self and my inner beauty.” Just as her inner beauty was flourishing, so were her dreams of performing all over the world one day.

Kia enjoyed singing but could never really dive completely into it. She often practiced singing with her talented brother Antwan when they were young, but that never stopped her from being extremely nervous on her solo performances at church. After a huge break-up from a serious relationship, Kia put singing on the backburner and focused on writing. This break-up became a blessing in disguise when she wrote a poem about it. Although she was a little stage frightened, she managed to stir up the courage to perform this poem at The Poetry Spot in Jacksonville, Florida. A week later she decided to perform again, this time adding another poem she wrote called Bring Those Days Back at an open mic venue called The Cypher. “I was amazed at the response I received. The audience interacted with me and laughed at the funny parts. I can be self-centered sometimes so I liked the attention,” she joked. Performing her poetry helped build her confidence and she began to write more and more.

IMG_20130506_160344The realness in her poetry, along with her witty, comedic, and genuine personality made her become an instant hit with the venues and it wasn’t long before Kia Flow became a regular name on the poetry scene. Immediately doors began to open for Kia and she started hosting and featuring at various venues through-out Florida. At one of these shows was play writer Jana Bradley of Be Dynamik Productions who offered Kia a chance to audition for one of her monologue plays after seeing her perform. Although Kia had never acted before, she was intrigued and wanted an opportunity to explore her hidden talents. “When I got the part and performed my own monologue in the play Blak.Woman.Dynamik-ReBorn, it was an amazing experience and taught me how to put more passion and emotion in my words.”

In 2012 she was chosen to perform at the Savannah Urban Arts Fest, featuring her talents to an even larger crowd. Because this venue was on a different scale, she wanted to provide the audience with a CD to purchase. Kia spent countless hours in the studio creating her first CD entitled Just Use It as a Coaster. The CD consists of her most popular pieces and a little singing to remind her audience of the other talent that she rarely displays. After her CD was released, she had a desire to indulge in her singing a little more. In doing so, she started singing back up for the Free Quincy band and for the group Reflections in the Room.

Currently, Kia is due to release the first of 8 YouTube web series entitled Going with the Flow. This will be a web series following Kia Flow in her everyday life, filled with characters and comedic plots to have her audience laughing and looking forward to the next episode. The series, produced by Sozo Jaxson, will also highlight footage of other artists performing through-out the scenes. Kia, born and raised in Jacksonville, FL. has immediate plans to relocate to Charlotte, NC. to further her networking and entertainment ventures. Kia Flow’s transformation is still evolving and she is actively seeking elevation on physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels. Her grandmother always pushed her to go after her dreams and to live her life to the fullest and that’s exactly what she’s doing. “If you have a dream, go after it. It won’t be easy and even when you feel like giving up – don’t. It’ll all pay off in the end, just never give up.”

To order Kia’s CD and/or to learn more about Kia Flow, visit www.therealkiaflow.com - NToU Magazine

Kia Flow

“I’m told my swag, voice and southern drawl makes my poetry so real,” said Jacksonville, Fla. native Kia Flow. A member of this year’s national championship poetry slam team, she gives life to verses that make you pay attention. Representing for the ladies, Kia reminds me of the floacist/songstress style of R&B duo Floetry but mixed with a booming voice and expressive hands that speak of past struggles. And it’s a beautiful thing. - Q City Metro

COURTESY SLAM CHARLOTTE
Slam Charlotte members show off their trophies after winning the 2018 National Poetry Slam in Chicago. The Charlotte troupe has earned three national championships in the last 12 years.
Slam Charlotte has another national championship.


Seventy-two teams competed last month in the 2018 National Poetry Slam in Chicago, where Slam Charlotte earned its third victory. Their previous wins: 2007 and 2008.


“It’s still surreal,” said Slam Charlotte Artistic Director Inkera Oshun. “We are all still soaking it all in. We had two rookies on our team this year who had never been to a National Poetry Slam. It was an amazing summer working with them.”


April, which is National Poetry Month, is also the month in which the Slam Charlotte team is assembled.


“We have a monthly show at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center,” Oshun said. “Every month, the top four poets earn points toward our finals in April. We invite the top 12 scoring poets back to our final stage. The top five poets become the team that will go to regional and national competition.”


Regional competition takes place in June, followed by the National Poetry Slam.


“The practice really depends on the team,” Oshun said. “From forming the team in April up until probably mid-July, they normally practice two times a week. The closer it gets to nationals, their practicing goes to three, four times a week. They practice four, sometimes five hours.”


Practice entails not only writing, but memorization and other aspects of performance rehearsals.


“Once you write the poem, you have to memorize it,” Oshun said. “You have to put movement to it. In order to be synchronized, in order to be as perfect as perfect can go, it’s a lot of time and practice. It’s a lot of sacrifice. The team gave up the majority of their summer in order to go to practice. They sacrificed being away from home for the seven days that we were in Chicago. It definitely takes a lot of dedicated time and sacrifice.”


Rookies Kia Flow and Jordan Bailey comprised Slam Charlotte’s 15th team, along with Jay Ward, Breeze and Jahbu. Bluz still serves as slammaster.


“We don’t write for a particular scene,” Oshun said. “For any audience that may hear our work, we hope it will speak to someone.”


Oshun is interim executive director of Poetry Slam Inc.


“It’s a short-term assignment,” Oshun said. “I’ve loved this poetry community and loved Poetry Slam Inc. for half of my life. Just being there with them, and being able to witness them being celebrated by all their peers was a great experience.”

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Last month, SlamCharlotte, the city’s premiere slam poetry organization, did something even our mighty Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Hornets haven’t accomplished yet: it won a third national championship. SlamCharlotte is the only slam poetry team in the entire country ever to be crowned national champs on three separate occasions (the others were back-to-back victories in 2007 and 2008).

You can see this all-star team perform its winning poems Friday, September 21, after the regularly scheduled monthly Poetry Slam in McGlohon Theatre. The championship trophy will also be officially presented to the team and audience members can join in a free post-show celebration. (Event location and details will be announced from the stage.)

This year’s winning team included six poets--five performers and one alternate. They trained together and competed in various regional competitions leading up to the National Poetry Slam (NPS), which took place this year in Chicago, August 13 - 18. The 2018 championship team members are: Jahbu, Eyeambic (Angelo Geter), Kia Flow, Jay Ward, Breeze, and Jordan Bailey. - Blumenthal Performing Arts

The fourth annual BOOM Festival is this weekend and it’s filled with music, art, theater, dance and spoken word. Here’s what you can expect from the local festival. - WCNC - Charlotte Today