Imagine a young lady, on stage before an audience. She has a microphone in her hand and her bass-playing boyfriend at her side. They exchange a look and for a moment when the music starts, the energy begins to flow, we forget that she’s pregnant. Imagine a newborn baby being rocked to sleep, while his aunts sing to him and his uncles practice obsessively in the basement. Now imagine this child being anything but an artist. This is the calling of Bobby Drake. As a poet, Bobby Drake has traveled across the United States. He is honored to have shared his talent at prestigious universities, nightclubs, radio station sponsored events, block parties, high schools and even street-corner sessions. He has shared the stage with national talent including, Dan Vaughn, Muhibb Dyer, and Harry Belafonte to name a few. As a volunteer, full time organizer and field director for The Campaign Against Violence,Bobby Drake has left his personal touch on many of the small victories that spelled the difference between winning and losing an election. His hands-on approach to organizing, including the disenfranchised in the political process to foster change, has given him a credibility that cannot be bought. Always aware of the power of words, his peers have labeled him, “Provocative!”; “Poignant!”; and “Necessary to the spoken word movement!” His fans have said of him, “…Bobby has a way of saying what everyone is pretending they don’t know. And saying it in a way that forces you to deal with it.” Slated for release on November 12th 2013, “Hands Down” draws on the experiences of a millennial coming of age. With a decidedly cross genre feel “Hands Down” is thought provoking, emotional poetry seamlessly blended with Bobby Drake’s expertly orchestrated, live drummed music production. It has the repeat appeal of an Alternative or Hip Hop album, with the content often missing from today’s music: a message of Hope and Perseverance through personal revelation.