Good word of mouth built it

For more than two years, the artists appearing in “Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam” have nettled, inspired and practically throttled live audiences with one verbal confrontation after another.

During one of his seven appearances in the show, a 32-year-old North Philadelphia bard named Black Ice recites a poem challenging the audience to “find something that you are willing to die for -- then live for it.”

Fellow poet Staceyann Chin dares the crowd to envision “St. Nick as holiday transvestite.” And Chinese American writer Beau Sia crows that Asians “are everywhere! Programming your websites, making your managers look smart, getting into your schools for free -- and we’re not just kissing other Asians, oh no!”

On Saturday, these cultural insurgents, along with six other spoken-word artists, will honor the last formal leg of their “Def Poetry Jam” national tour, offering their machine-gun blasts of DJ-backed poetry at the 3,400-seat Kodak Theatre.

It won’t be the final time the group appears live; there will be the occasional poetry festival or college workshop (in fact, they’ll make a stop at the 1,000-seat Campbell Hall at UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday). But otherwise, after two years of touring, producer Stan Lathan says the production is simply ready for a break: “It’s time to let the show breathe.”

“Def Poetry Jam” is the partial brainchild of hip-hop mogul Simmons, who had already barnstormed through pop music with Def Jam Recordings, fashion with the Phat Farm and Baby Phat labels and television with the “Def Comedy Jam” series on HBO. (It hasn’t stopped there: The Def Jam name has been applied to ventures such as video games and cellphone applications.)

As the new millennium dawned, Simmons and co-producer Lathan began to see a connection between emerging urban poets and the hip-hop patois that had permeated their childhoods in the 1970s and ‘80s. A late-night “Def Poetry Jam” series on HBO followed in 2002, introducing young spoken-word artists -- mostly of color, mostly covering topics closely related to the concerns of rap artists: racism, sex, inner-city violence or just being misunderstood in various ways.

A chubby, Michigan-born performer named Poetri waxed lyrical on Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Ishle Yi Park, a Korean American from Queens, vented spleen over her less-than-ideal grasp of her mother’s native tongue. Chin wondered if she would still be a lesbian in the future.

The show met with enough success to spur a live Broadway offering that won a Tony for best special theatrical event in 2003. Ever since, critics in more than 50 cities have drooled over the “Def Poetry Jam” live tour, hailing it as everything from a “wham-bam jam” to “the most singular offering in mainstream New York theater these days.”

Audiences have responded well enough to allow the company to return to favorite cities like Los Angeles for encores. Some theatergoers have glommed onto the mostly left-of-center political messages; others, the cultural awakening of discovering a new art form.

“This show did just what it was supposed to do,” says Lamar Manson, who performs as Black Ice. “There are young people out there who think progressively.

“In the beginning, we felt we were in the minority on some social and governmental issues,” Manson says. “But as the tour went on, we saw there is a vast amount of people who feel the same way we do -- or, at least, will listen to what we have to say.”

Besides, he adds: “People who never, ever intended to go to a spoken-word or poetry show have fallen in love with it. We have laid new groundwork for the spoken word.”

The brag isn’t an empty one. Selling Americans on something that isn’t exactly a rap show, and isn’t exactly a poetry slam, and isn’t exactly a musical, and isn’t exactly a concert -- well, it hasn’t exactly been easy. The show also has faced competition from mainstream musicals and concerts by gangsta rap gods and pop divas.

Even the task of promoting the show has proved daunting because it marries an artsy, NPR-type of crowd with hip-hop radio listeners.

“People don’t know what to expect when they come to our show,” Lathan says. “The word ‘poetry’ throws them off, and ‘Def Jam’ throws them off. We had to actually build word of mouth to get over that title.

“Promoting the show has been difficult.”

Nonetheless, the beat goes on. The first season of the HBO series was recently released on DVD. Producers also have announced that “Def Poetry Jam” has been picked up for a fifth season.

And Lathan hints that another live run might be in the offing, though he won’t say when.

“This ain’t the end of the end,” Lathan says. “But it is the end of a phase.”

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‘Def Poetry Jam’

Where: Kodak Theatre, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood

When: 4 and 9 p.m. Saturday

Price: $25 to $45

Info: (323) 308-6363