Keys Poetry (ft. Keys Will)

This is the Poet Speaks, a show all about.

Or tradition, hip hop and cardboard boxes on the Bloc rege Bandolero so your heavy metal punk rock and La Junior Hyde pop.

What makes poetry so amazing, so incredible is this absolute fascination and ability to change our lives, the old tradition, the reason why we speak.

This is the Poet Speaks. Hello everyone, and welcome back to the poet Speaks podcast. Now our next Best is a spoken word smith, lyricist, teaching artists, and a published author from Queen's New York. She's been writing poetry for over two decades and performed on many stages including The Bowery, New York, and Post Cafe, Lemon College, Poetry met Please, jc Al and Wan Poetry Us, to name a few. Now they're also published author of Chris Sales Not Quite

How are you?

I'm good? I'm good, Thank you, Thank you for that intro. Man that beautiful.

I feel like everyone everyone needs an intro. Everyone deserves a nice intro to whether you're starting.

Your day ending your day, Milia day.

It also feels good, right, yes, yes, absolutely, we alls need that reminder of how great we are. But no, it's such an absolute pleasure to have you on the show today. Tell me, I mean, first and foremost, I ask every guest on the podcast, where are you speaking to us from today? We're in the world.

I am in bestar Brooklyn, New York today.

Okay, Brooklyn, New York, all right, in the borough?

All right?

How's New York?

Teeing you?

How's New York these days?

With a lot of time.

Well, first, first and foremost, it's weather is trash. This is the fakest spring summer I've ever seen. As I mentioned earlier, I did just get back from Jamaica. So to come from beautiful ninety degree weather to this, I don't know, seventy degree cold weather not exciting. But aside from that, I mean, New York is New York, man. It's overpriced, crowded, but still good vibes, still good vibes for sure.

Okay, but of course for sure tell us a little bit. I mean, tell us what is I mean? I think everyone knows New York is the epicenter of culture. I swear I've been all around the world. I don't think many places still to this day are like the hub that is New York City as a poet that lives there and as just the artist that lives there. What is it like to be in the place that is the envy I believe of many other creatives from around the world, What is it like to be in New York City as an artist?

So to be in New York specifically in Brooklyn, because I'm originally from Queens and I moved to Brooklyn for that reason, because especially in Bedstide, it's it's still a lot of culture here despite the gentrification.

But one thing that I do love.

And appreciate about New York is that there's always something to do, especially for creatives. Like there's always an outlet, there's always an open mic, there's always some type of event for us to go and be able to, you know, express ourselves and share our artwork.

And the community is very supportive everyone.

I haven't experienced any like conflict or like any envy or any jealousy or it's like, oh, your poem is whack, or it's like very much like we go out to each other's shows and support each other.

So the community here is really great.

I've built a lot of great relationships with people, And yeah, I think that there's so many different platforms that you know, you'll you have the opportunity to be able to share your creativity regardless of what day of the week it is. There's something from Sunday through Saturday with time of the day. You have early days, you got weekends, and the evenings they have after hour spots.

Like it's just it's it really is here.

If you want to be able to, you know, put yourself out there, the opportunities are absolutely here.

You had mentioned earlier how expensive it's still overpriced for people that let's say, you know, you hear the kind of famous you know, famous lore move to New York City with ten dollars in my pocket.

Here you can make it anywhere.

Do you suggest, I mean, do you suggest what just how expensive it is for like an artist that wants to make it moving to New York City. It's just so many pros and cons I would.

Think, Yeah, yeah, I think I think the pro to that would be, as I mentioned before, the community.

You know, like if you come out here and.

You're really on your grind, you really will get the support because once people see how you know, how into what you are, and they see how much you want, you make those connections and people will start plugging you in.

So in that sense, yeah, I would recommend it on the.

Expenses part, as far as like living here for real, I mean, like you got to have about four or five jobs just to you know what I'm saying, be able to like really see your money because just the cost of live in even for like, for example, if you wanted to rent a room.

Let's say someone comes.

Here, they just want to rent a room somewhere, You're easily looking at paying maybe like thirteen fourteen hundred just for a room.

This ain't even for a whole apartment, you know.

So it's just like you don't really get your bang for your buck in that sense. But if you're if you're someone who's going to be on your grind and really are committed to your craft whatever it is, I think definitely you'll you'll do good here.

No, No, that's a I think that's just valuable information for people to know because people don't always talk about that side of you know, especially a romanticized city like New York City. But kind of moving a bit along. Tell us a bit about I mean, tell us a bit about I mean your name Keys, Will tell us is that stage name or is that you for real? Tell us what is the kind of origination of Keys?

Will you name?

So it is my stage name, But it didn't start off that way.

A long time ago.

I was living in a youth shelter and this was like my late teens, early twenties, and there was a staff member there that I got really close with, and he just started calling me Keys. Like I don't know why, but that's the first I had ever heard anyone. Because people got all types of nicknames from me, but Keys was the one that stuck with me for several reasons.

One because Alicia Keys is like my like I love Alicia Keys.

That speaks for itself, you know, And when she came out I had that was around the time I had started writing poetry, and like, I just that stuck with me, and I was like, hey, so whenever I introduced myself, I'm like, he's like Alicia, and you know, it's like.

A like a whole thing.

But it's also I would say, like a derivative of my full name, like my given name, which is Ikea Williams. So I kind of just like took that and Keys will and it just it just stunk.

So yeah, for sure, that's what's us. Okay, Yeah, since you live in Okay, So Alicia Keys, since you live in the city, and have you seen her the Broadway.

Play Where is it Our Hell's Kitchen? Yeah?

Have you seen it?

I have not yet, but it is on my summer bucket list.

I have been trying to get to that show for months now, but I absolutely will be going this summer for sure. I've heard nothing but great things about it, and I just feel like, as a New Yorker and an Alicia Keys fan, I have to go.

So I'm definitely going.

Absolutely. No, I've heard great, great things about that one too. It's interesting, though, it's kind of you know, you talk about how that name kind of came to be and how it's been inspiration from obviously your love of you know, the artist Alicia Keys, just derivative of your actual given born name. It's kind of interesting how that kind of plays a role as we are as artists, you know, we take from different parts of our life to create what has kind of been your main inspiration for how

Most importantly, mainly, my poems have been about.

Just anything that's happening, like current events, social justice issues, just anything that I feel like, you know, it's happening to either myself or just.

A community or people around me. I like to speak to that mainly.

But my vision is to get a little bit more personal. I think a lot of my work is more broad, and I feel like as long as I've been performing, I feel like people still don't know me. So I've been wanting to tap into, like geting a little bit more personal, telling more of you know, my story through my poetry.

So that is what I've been working on, because.

I mean, being on the stage is a vulnerable position, you know, and I really applaud the people who really get out there and bear their souls for real, for real, and I just feel like as an artist, I have a responsibility to really just share more of myself.

So that's the direction that it's going. But typically it's.

Usually like social justice issues or just you know, some current event stuff things of that nature.

For sure, how do you for you, I mean, like you said, you mentioned something really pivotal. They're getting on stage is such a vulnerable act. Talk to me a little bit about how for you you did you ever have anxiety jumping on stage being a poet, And if you did, how did you ever get over that vulnerability to really open up that part of your self performing poetry.

Interestingly enough, I.

Never really had stage fright, like even when I started, so I started performing really like in school, like high school, they had opportunities for us to like do spoken word.

And it was just so it came so natural to me.

I don't have a problem like speaking in for the crowd and and you know, big rooms of people, like for some reason, I just I.

Just enjoy it.

I don't know, I know, and that's weird, like certain people like what I can never do, but I don't know.

For me, it's it's always been second nature for me.

I do still get like that little bit of nervousness right before I perform, and that's I feel like that's normal. But I actually embrace it because I feel like, because I'm feeling that way, that means that I still love what I do.

That means that I still care.

You know, if that feeling is not there, then I don't I don't even want to do it. So yeah, yeah, that's that's so true though, because it's you know, when you don't have that feeling of it, like if you just felt whenever you jumped on stage, it's whatever, let me just try.

I'm ready to go, that means that you don't really have much to work towards cause you're already You've already reached the finish line, right, So it's like, I possibly still have that feelings of butterflies and things like that means that you know, you definitely you still love, you want to perfect what you do, so I guess that plays a big, big role in it. Tell us a bit about I mean, you have a poetry collection out

Correct, Yeah, tell us how.

That came to be when that came out, and just kind of the DNA of that project for you.

Yeah, for sure. So Chrysalis is the so.

As we know it as a cocoon, right, Like, that's the stage that the butterfly or the caterpillar rather is and as they're becoming the butterfly.

Right.

Hence the reason why I put not quite the butterfly, because I was still in that phase of like growing and you know, changing, right. I chose that because that's where I felt like I was at in my poetry journey at that time.

The book is the book will.

Be nine years old this year, So at that point in my journey, I was still in the beginning phases of performing. I don't think I actually even started performing yet. I was just writing. And I just wanted to show that growth from when I was younger, because I started writing at nine, So from I have poems in there for when I was like nine, ten eleven up until I believe I was like when I published the book, I might have been like twenty three, twenty four or

That's insane though, I mean, poems from when you were nine years old to the age of twenty four. How did you even unearth those poems? Where'd you get them from? Did your just from your Where did you even get them from? How did someone on poems from nine years old? Oh?

Yeah, I still have Luckily, I still have like all my poetry books. I think I might be missing about two which got lost and like you know, moving around.

But for the most part, I've always made sure to.

Keep all of my notebooks and poems and everything with me because that's, like I said, like I love poetry, you know, and that's like if my house was burning down.

I'm grabbing my poetry books first, you know.

So yeah, so I just kind of sifted through, you know, which poems I wanted to select and I thought would help to create the picture because I want to show. I wanted to show it's a biography or autobiography rather, so you know, showing like my thought process at this age and how I felt.

About it as I got older.

There are some to post poems in there where you'll see a poem from where I was at a certain age and then later on my new perspective on that same you know.

That same topic.

So yeah, yeah, that was just it just kind of fell into place that way. I didn't really plan it out like that, but to me, it was the only thing that made sense.

So tell me a bit about what that kind of process was for you then unearthing those poems and you really at that point. I don't even know what your distributor who that was in terms of press or publishing, but tell me about what that kind of even just journey was for you to see from age nine to now you were twenty four to twenty five, whatever may have you early twenties, What was that even processed? Just was it cathartic for you to look back on that?

What was that like? I think for me.

When I read some of the poems from when I was younger, I really sat with them and I was just like, I wrote that, like just to think like my mindset, like what was I going through at that time?

Like why why did I Why did I write that?

And just seeing how powerful those pieces were, because even though they were simple, they were still powerful, like they spoke to whatever I was going through at that time, and I didn't even believe that I had wrote them. Like reading back at them, I was just like I wrote that. Like I still feel that way about some

It has been consistent throughout all of my poets.

Like I can hear my voice and I'm like, yeah, that that rang truth for me, Like that was me. It wasn't me making up this, you know, poem just for the sake of like, yeah, I wrote a poem.

It's like no that's that's me. So it was very reflective, and.

Yeah, the experience was I don't I don't even know where I got the idea to create a book out of it. I think I just felt like it was time and I did self publishing.

So you published self publishing through Amazon. It's called uh, I.

Forget the name of the program, but it's a self publishing program through Amazon that I did. And I just did research on, you know, how to do everything, how to get the ISBN number and the bar code. I worked with an illustrator on fiver to do some of the little images in the book. But it was pretty much a DIY process and I was very proud of myself at the end of that. You know, it was just seeing something through to completion and yeah.

Yeah, it was. It was a dope experience.

Where'd the name chrysalist come from?

So that is the that is the name of the So it's the I guess the just for lack of better better words, the correct term for what a cocoon is.

It's called it's actually called the chrysalist.

Yeah, got you got you? Okay, Wow, tell me out of that whole process. Now, you said that was about nine years ago, you said, I believe that that got published. What is the most what is the most profound or most important thing you learned about yourself during that whole process of getting that book published, reclaiming some of those poems that you wrote in childhood. What was the most what was the most significant or important thing you learned about yourself?

Definitely like perseverance, you know, and like I mentioned, just seeing something through to completion because it's tangible, right, It's something that's like, you know, I did this thing. I had this idea and I followed through with it. I complete it, and now it's something that lives on forever, Like you know, you have a book, and it's just like it's not something that expires. It's like, no, I have this thing that really represents like this is me. This is at some point in my life, I wrote

Absolutely and tell us how was that kind of how was that poetic memoir even nine years later? How is that still received? How is it still being received and kind of how is that still such a epicenter of your your career as a spoken word artist today still interesting?

Interestingly enough, because I don't talk about the book and up a lot of people still don't know that I have a book.

Like I have people that are like, wait.

What, you got a book, and I'm like, yeah, the book is almost like you know, ten years old now, it's over a decade old.

Wow.

The only topic because I also have this thing where and I've spoken to other artists and poets as well, it's like when I release something, even if I perform a poem or I write a poem after our performance and if it's recorded, I won't watch it. Like it's like once I let it go, it's gone. So that's kind of how that went with the book. So it was just over time that like I would do events and they'd be like, oh, if you have any merch or any books for sale, make sure you bring them.

You know, something that I did.

I create it, and I'm still just like, oh, yeah, by the way, I have a book, So.

Tell me what's up with that? Why?

Why?

Why? Why? Why is that? I'm so curious because you did. The way you describe it, it seems like such a passion project. I mean from I mean you literally birth that, I mean, you created the illustrations, the self publishing. Those are such labors of work. Like I said, the pull poems from when you were childhood till now, that's like even an emotional labor that. So what what made you? Then?

What's up with that?

I'm just so curious what made you not want to press that as much as I like, I.

Don't know, honestly, I really don't know. Like in the beginning, I did, like I had two book releases, you know, book signings and everything, and then I celebrated it on its one year. I did like a one year birthday party for it, and then like after.

That, it just kind of was just like Okay, onto the next thing.

I think for me, because I'm so creative and I have so many different creative ideas that it's hard for me to just hold on to something when I know I have way more to do.

So I think that's what it is for me. I just kind of just like move along, like once it's done.

So that's an interesting thought process because when I think of the things I've done, I always look at it from the perspective and this isn't even good, but like, this is just my perspective. Keep talking about the things you've done, because it's easier to get more when you've done things already. So if I had a book, I keep mentioning, oh yeah, I have a book to them, people are like, oh, you're trying to write a second one. I can give you even more, you know what I mean?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But then I guess there's also the side of me, the well mental wellness. Just celebrate the fact that you've even accomplished this. Most people can't even self publish a book.

That's hard as.

Heck, you know.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm getting I'm getting better, you know, celebrating my wins, I'm learning. If that in itself is a process. But yeah, I'm learning.

Well, tell me more about kind of you know, moving on from your first poetic memoir?

What it for you?

I mean in between you know, as we see you know, you've been writing poetry now over two decades. You've performed in places like New Riekn's posts, cafe, colleges, poetry me. Please tell us now kind of what is that journey

Yeah, so there's it's it's several different areas, but all in alignment. As far as the second book goes, I've been in my mind for years like I'm going to write the second book, going to write the second book because I want it to be like a part two to Chrysalist. But I didn't feel like I've grown enough, or I didn't feel like I had enough new experiences to talk and write about, you know, to even just

That evolution I have been.

I've been performing, but I also started slamming a couple of years ago, So doing more of the slams for people who may not know, Like, it's different from just performing because it's competitive, right, Sometimes it is for you know, cash value, or other times it's just for like you know, bragging rights, depending on the platform, you know, and that does push you to sharpen your pen for real, because I mean the New York scene alone, these poets out here,

So it pushes you to grow because you can't just be like, oh, oh yeah I wrote.

It's like nah, like you gotta do some reading, you gotta do something, some research, you gotta like you know, really put put put in that work. So just for myself, despite aside from just the competing part of it, it's just for myself to be able to grow as a writer. And then also I do perform private events. So I actually have a wedding this Thursday that I'll be performing at.

That memorable moment for people.

Has been like, it's just one of my favorite things to do and I really enjoy it. So that's more I guess, I would say, like on the professional side of it. And then in addition to that, I also started my greeting card company, so I do, Yes, I do make greeting cards.

You know, for all occasions, all events.

Right now, I have an Etsy shop for it, and I'll be eventually moving that to my own website, which.

Is being built right now. So yeah, all in all in alignment. You know, different different little little pockets.

But absolutely no, I see, I see the absolutely uh, all of it is all in alignment. It's about that poetic expression, right. A little bit more about that. I remember I talked to a guest on this on this podcast, like about two years ago. I remember her telling me one thing she loves about poetry, and one thing she advits people is, you know, expand your read of poetry beyond just writing a book, right beyond writing and performing.

I love that one because.

I've never heard of someone a poet doing that, I think. I mean, I've heard I've definitely seen poets perform. I guess maybe it was like in a movie, but I don't think I've ever seen that in real life. I don't think think people think enough of that, right, tell us a bit about how you've been managing to really expand poetry outside the bandwidth of what we consider just what a poet does you're in so many your hands in so many pots that are so creative and innovative.

Yeah, So going back to your point of like you know, you're saying like you've never heard or seen it in that arena before and not just plishing a book, right, because that's everyone's go to, right, Like, you become a poet, you write a book, you perform, and for me, my mindset has always been like, but is that it?

Right?

Like, is there more?

Because for poets, even though musician music and poet goes, poetry goes hand in hand for poets.

Like so, for example, as.

A musician, right, like, if I was to be making music, the goal typically is to be mainstream, right, and like be you know, at this pinnacle, right, I want to get a Grammy, I want to do.

All these things.

But for poetry we kind of hit a ceiling very fast because as far the furthest we get typically is just on like major stages, which is great, right, but you do have to constantly do it and do it and just you know, put yourself out there and be like, Okay, you're one of the top poets in the country or the world even, but then what else, you know what

The starving artists, know stereotype.

It's like, no, we really can monetize this and in ways that are that are tangible and actually like sufficient for us. So that was what my mindset was when I was really thinking, like what can I do with this? Where can I take this and how can I do it in a way where it's actually like wanted and needed and beneficial, you know, because I'm like, yeah, I can write poems for people, but like, okay, you know, how do how do I do it in a way

I mean, people are still like that was.

Like the best part of the whole you know, ceremony, and it was.

It was It's still one of my.

Favorite things that I've done so far because the way that I'm able to craft these pieces in a way where it's super personal for you know, both partners, but also including the families and friends in it as well.

And it's all like immersive experience with the poetry.

And that's my way of exposing people to like, because people I still meet people that are like, I've never been to a poetry show.

I've never seen it. You know, it's like do people snap?

Do they And it's like people have this idea of what poetry is, but it's just so much more. It's so much more, you know, even from a creative writing aspect. So yeah, I think my my thing is always just like what's the next thing?

And how can I do it in a way where it's innovative?

Yeah, And I guess the next natural question for anyone that's listening would be kind of how does someone even begin to get inside those spaces? Because I'm sure it's like a lot of people that'll hear that, but they'll be like, well, how do I even find people that would want me to perform my poems at a wedding? How do I even get a greeting card business with poetry?

How do I even get that off the ground?

So what is your advice for people to even start that want to be more innovative with their craft.

This is where like unity comes in for real.

You know, just you in any arena that you're in, whether you're an artist and anything that you do, culinary, whatever, you have to put yourself out there, right, people are not coming to you, especially in the age of social media. It's an oversaturated place and it's really hard to like, you know, stand out. You got to really push out the content and you know, maybe even put some money behind it, you know, marketing and all of those things.

So for me, like I'll just be.

Talking to people or I have I'm at that age where a lot of my friends are getting married, right, so it's like I'll hit them up like, hey, I would love to write a home for your you know, your wedding kind of thing, and just being in the top of their mind and reminding them like this is what I do and I can do this for you. So it's still that like, you know, reaching out to people individually as opposed to just putting up a post and hoping that, you know, it finds you.

And I'm not saying don't do that.

You know, it's a both and kind of thing, but I think going back to like hitting the ground and really putting yourself out there to be like, hey, this is what I do, this is the service I offer kind of things.

So yeah, I mean, yeah, I think it's really like a networking game.

I completely agree with you, and like.

It's not even who you know, but who knows you kind of score those types of jobs and things like that, and that's why, Yeah, I think that's the tough part for most people, you know, if you don't have that kind of and it's one of those things I'm with you on that. It's the in person vibe is so much different than sending an email. That setting email really like I could go straight up in someone's spam people. Someone gets that on a Friday afternoon, they'll forget all

Yeah, I'm not responding.

They'll never respond back to it. So it's like with email, it's very tricky, right, So it's all those things and then some kind of starting from the network that you have on the ground in person and really build it from there. But I think that's the issue too. It's a grind. It takes time to really make relationships and really get on people's radars. For you, I mean, what

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

I think for me what helps because I'm big on timing and like I feel like, oh, it's been this amount of time.

Why isn't this happening yet? Right?

What I've learned and this is within I would say the last the most recent year to two years, is not comparing my journey to anyone else's and just knowing that, like the opportunities are gonna come right, Like I am who I am, the people who know me and know what I.

Do, like the opportunities come to me.

Right in the beginning, it was very much like, you know, you got to reach out and say.

Hey, can I you know, perform or things of that nature.

And that's in the beginning, right because you're still you know, putting yourself out there. But now it's like people will be like, hey, I got this event, can you come perform?

You know, So that.

Already is a testament of itself of like, Okay, I got you know, I got that part down packed.

I don't still have to go looking, which is a blessing absolutely.

But like I said, not comparing my journey to anyone else's.

So whenever I'm working on something, I just know that I.

Have to commit to at least ten years, right, Like, if I'm going to do this, it could take ten years for this to pop off for real, you know what I'm saying. But being okay, being okay with that and being realistic about that, because like, if I know myself and I know that I'm not putting in that work, I can't expect this thing to just pop off.

In a year, right, Like I haven't put enough work, I haven't.

Put it out there enough for people to really know, Like, oh, she's doing this thing, you know. So for me, it's just you know, remaining consistent and knowing that really, consistency is the name of the game for real.

No, you're totally You're completely correct. It really really is. And it's like I said, yeah, it's it's consistency, and it's it's keeping that positive attitude. You're right, But also I like what you said being realistic about it as well. It's like I really yeah, ten years is definitely probably the benchmark. I mean, people see people see overnight success, but you don't really see what they've been through that mark. And even when you quote unquote hit the mark, it's always well, how do I.

There's always something else right, right? How do I maintain that? Yeah?

I mean, and maybe because you can speak more on that, you know, it's one of those things, you know, people talk about getting to your dreams, climbing up there, but then once you achieve your dream, how do you now maintain your dream?

Yeah? Yeah, I think.

For me because someone someone wants to ask me like, oh, like how are your dreams going, or like are you living your dream or something like that, and I'm like, yeah, I'm I'm living the part of the dream that I had before, right in terms of like me being able to get on stages and travel and perform and people know who I am. It's that right, Like that's part

But like, how is this going to sustain me? For real?

Yeah, like this this gets to go from just a dream to like a lifestyle. So really just being intentional around why you're doing it.

If it's just for the joy of doing it, that is great too.

Write not saying that it has to be like this big old turn it into a business, this empire or whatever, right, but if you're gonna be in it, and if you really this is what you see yourself doing whatever, that is really having an end goal and then creating those

Right. It's not always gonna be yeay I get to get up and write a poem.

There's days I'm just like, I really don't want to perform today, But you.

Know what I'm saying.

But it's like that's part of you know, you just never know what could come out of that, whether it's exposure where you connect with someone who connects with you, someone else somewhere else, you know what I'm saying. So this is part of that grind. This is part of the process. And for me just reminding myself, like this is something that I chose to do, but I mean, honestly, I feel like it chose me and it's a gift and I feel like it's only it's only.

Right to share that gift.

So any opportunity that I get to do so I'm like this, as long as it's in alignment with the goal, I'll do it.

So absolutely absolutely.

Now kind of talking about that gift, I mean, can you pinpoint a time when did you know you were a writer? Was there a time in your life, just an exact moment where you said, I know now that I am a writer.

Well, I started, I mentioned before, I started at nine, and I literally, like I can still see the day.

I literally just picked up a notebook.

That I had laying around, and I remember it was raining outside and I just started writing about the rain and I was so excited because I was just like, I don't I just did something like I wrote this thing and I love it. And I remember going to show it to my older sister and we have an eight year age gap, so she was like sixteen seventeen at the time, so she's kind of just like I showed her a poem and it was just like go.

By, like you know what I'm saying.

Like she wasn't even like pay me no, like she was going through whatever she was going through, so like, oh, okay, you know, and I was just like, Nah, she don't even know, like this is dope, you know what I'm saying.

It wasn't until I think, maybe like high.

School, where I really realized that like I had a gift, or maybe even earlier than that, because I remember writing poems in elementary school or like little raps. I would write little raps and like all my friends would like to learn the words and stuff like that, and I was just like, oh, like this is this might be actually this actually might be good.

This is pretty good, you know.

So I would say definitely from nine was a moment where it started, I think where I really pinpointed that.

I was a writer writer for real. Might have been in college.

Because and this is before like the era of chat GPT, right, so I was chat GBT. I have people who literally are like, oh, you don't use chat GBT right because you are chat ept because I can bang out a ten page paper in like a few hours, you know what I'm saying it, and it'll be like grammatically eloquent, everything is, you know, like and it just it comes easy to me.

It's natural to me.

So for a long time I didn't see it as a gift because I thought that gifts were something that you really had to work hard at, and for me, I didn't have to work hard like I have to work at it. Don't get me wrong, but it's not.

Something that I have to like, it's not forceful. It just comes so easy.

So for a while I didn't really I didn't really see it for what it was, you know.

I think until I started like getting on stage, and.

That's when I was like, oh, okay, like this is really an art, you know, this is really a gift.

So yeah, wow, okay, awesome, awesome different points in your life. All right, now, Keys, the last question I have for you on today's podcast, all right, please tell me why do you need to get your words out? Hmm.

Yeah.

So, going back to what I said about the gift, that goes right into that, you know, it's not gifts are meant to be given, you know. And I think that in the beginning it was more so just about like, you know, me wanting to.

Get my thoughts out there.

But one of the joys of my journey so far has been people who have come to me and said, like, oh my god, you really inspired me, like that pone that you said, I love that, like I would love to write like that one day, or just you know, ask me about.

My process to support them with their journey.

So because it's bigger than me, and it's not about me is why I feel like I have to write, I have to create, I have to share my work because it's it's it's not just about me.

So yeah, absolutely all right, not just about her? All right, Thank you so much, Keys, We really appreciate you being on the cop podcast today. Now before we end, and for real, for real, please tell us what is next for you in twenty twenty five as the year is almost halfway done. What's next for you? Any projects? And give us where we can check out all of your amazing work websites, social media handles, all that good stuff.

Yeah, yeah, so potentially the second book may be coming that's in the works.

Definitely check out my ATS store.

It's that right occasion, as I also have my Instagram page right occasion for that for the business page for my personal work. Most of my work is on Instagram, which is at only keys will to underscores.

That's only keys will to Underscore.

And yeah, I mean, who knows, something may come up and I'll just drop a project, so just you know, be on the lookout for that.

Absolutely all right, and everyone. All of keys links to all of her descriptions as well as her website, all of her social handles will be down in the description box below, no matter where you're listening to this podcast. All right, Keys, thank you so much for being a guest today on the Poet Speaks Podcast. Thank you absolutely all right, everyone again, check out off Keys will amazing work again. All of her links will be down below