CHICAGO (CBS) — Chicago’s own Malik Yusef was nominated for a Grammy Award this year for his own spoken word poetry album.
Yusef didn’t win this time. It also was not Yusef’s first time at the Grammys — far from it, with eight Grammy wins and 44 nominations.
But it was still an absolute thrill for the South Side kid, whose first passion of poetry led him to the art of the spoken word.
“I’m living a dream way beyond my own dream,” Yusef said.
CBS News Chicago caught up with Yusef before the awards ceremony Sunday night. Inside Agriculture Custom Clothier at 67 W. Chicago Ave. — which draws NBA and NFL athletes, R&B crooners, and other notables — Yusef picked out the perfect outfit for a walk down the Grammy red carpet.
He explained the tradition of spoken word.
“Spoken word is ancient. It’s Griotism. It’s how people pass down information throughout generations — and they made it catchy,” Yusef said. “It’s music without singing — a form of rhythmic poetry made for the ear, not so much the eye.”
Yusef got his big break after performing during a poetry open mic night at Chicago’s iconic Green Mill Lounge, 4802 N. Broadway, over 30 years ago. He caught the attention of other artists and the media there.
“It literally catapulted everything,” Yusef said.
Now, Yusef counts the biggest names of the era as collaborators — Drake, Chance the Rapper, Jay-Z, John Legend, The Weeknd, Common, Fall Out Boy, Jennifer Hudson, and Adam Levine. He even cowrote “Sandcastles” for Beyoncé.
“Beyoncé singing a song that I wrote with my daughters in the backseat of my truck — It still feels like a fantasy,” Yusef said.
Yusef received two nominations for the 2025 Grammys. While he has previously won for writing collaborations with major stars, this year was his first nomination for his own spoken-word poetry album.
“I’d like another Grammy. I would love it. But it’s not really about that,” Yusef said. “It’s about creating and expanding the category, and expanding and enriching people’s lives.”
Yusef wants more people to learn from and love spoken word the way he has for so long.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicagos-grammy-nominee-malik-yusef-spoken-word/
