Co-created by Bruce George, Danny Simmons, Deborah Pointer, Stan Lathan, and Russell Simmons, the show is a spin-off of the popular Def Comedy Jam which began airing on HBO in the 1990s.
Not since Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf has a poem like that been on the stage.
[2]However, Marc Smith, the founder of the Poetry Slam movement, is more critical of the program.
"[3] In November 2002, a live stage production, Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam, opened on Broadway.
Directed by Stan Lathan, the show featured poets Beau Sia, Suheir Hammad, Staceyann Chin, Lemon, Mayda del Valle, Georgia Me, Black Ice, Poetri Smith, and Steve Coleman.
The show ran on Broadway until May 2003, and won a 2003 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event.