“Laugh, cry, and feel inspired.” That’s the motto for the beloved spoken-word poetry organization marking 25 years as a South Florida space for poets and musicians.
“Poetry is church for some people,” said Ingrid Basin, founder of ON THE B SIDE, one of South Florida’s longest-running spoken word platforms. It’s also competitive.
Basin, better known as Ingrid B, is hosting a poetry slam, “The B-Side Slam,” in honor of National Poetry Month and her organization's anniversary.
Spoken word poets at the Red Rooster in Historic Overtown will battle for a $500 cash prize before a live audience and panel of judges, backed by live DJ sets.
Each poet performs original work for three minutes, with five audience members scoring them from 0 to 10. The top poets advance. Judges look for delivery, tone, message, stage presence, among other factors.
This is a long-running tradition.
Performance poetry has been an artistic staple in South Florida for decades, reaching a fever pitch in the early 2000s. HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and the films Love Jones and Slam helped bring spoken word into the mainstream.
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In South Florida, funk and jazz lounges thrived, local radio featured poets, and stations mixed soul music with spoken word. Among them were local Miami poets like the late Will “The Real One” Bell, founder of the former Literary Cafe in Miami — one of Florida's top spoken word poetry hubs in from 2003 until it closed in 2011.
Poets like Bertrand Boyd, Rebecca Phoenix Vaughns and others helped pave the way for local representation.
Ingrid B, who was in the mix during those days, is recognized as a popular host and “Soulcialite” promoter across various venues, where poets explore topics ranging from politics, history, and romance to trauma and comedy.
The spoken word poetry and open mic scene often serves as an authentic, unfiltered literary space for the community to congregate.
“ People leave saying, 'I needed this,'” Ingrid B said. “There are those of us who are not the writers, who are not gonna express ourselves, who are not getting on stage, but the poets speak to all of those things.”
The modern poetry slam and Neo Soul music eras were instrumental in shaping funk and jazz lounges throughout the mid-1980s, 1990s and 2000s, when the funk-jazz aesthetic became pivotal for mainstream audiences.
However, the lounge vibe began to decline by the late-2000s as digital media and YouTube fragmented open-mic culture.
And since the funk and jazz lounge era ended, independent soul music has largely disappeared from mainstream South Florida radio, which in turn hurt the spoken word poetry scene.
But Ingrid B said it never truly went away. Fans are still showing up and supporting.
Her events, which caters to a multigenerational audience blends “West Indian sensibility, Southern hospitality and Northern flair," she said.
It’s a third space for the small business community, too — a place for creatives to grow, she said, including through poetry competitions.
“The B side is an ecosystem. It is where artists develop their craft. It is where vendors are able to show their goods and sell items. We recycle dollars on the B side.”
IF YOU GO
What: THE B SIDE SLAM
When: Sunday, April 12, 2026; 5-9pm
Where: Red Rooster Overtown, 920 NW 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33136.
For more information, see here.
