I have a lot of guests on this show who inspire me. I would say no one inspires me more consistently than my good friend and spoken word poet In-Q. I have seen In-Q perform live so many times and I’m always left speechless. Poetry is something that not only gives us a glimpse into the poet’s soul, but also into our own. I wanted to bring In-Q back on the show to share his work with you. He has created incredible impact through his work in the past few years and I knew he’d have some amazing new insight to share with us. I even asked him to perform one of my favorite spoken poems he does titled “85.” Some Questions I Ask: Not many people do spoken word for a mainstream audience like you, do they? (8:52) You originally wanted to be a rapper, is that right? (11:00) When did you first start writing songs for other artists? (13:46) How do you come up with these ideas? (18:54) What do you think is holding you back from letting it flow effortlessly? (21:32) How long have you been working on this craft professionally? (24:31) How many years have you done poetry full time? (25:52) Would you say using your voice and sharing your truth is the only way an artist can be successful for a long time? (28:56) What is an insecurity that’s holding you back? (43:36) What is the greatest lesson you still need to learn? (47:13) Do you want to continue to go through those darker times? (49:31) In this episode, you will learn: How In-Q feels about “selling out” (12:31) A live poetry performance based on a true story (14:14) How long it usually takes to write a poem (19:55) If IN-Q still gets stage fright (22:31) Where he used to perform rap battles (25:12) When he first made a chunk of change from poetry (26:05) A poem about speaking your truth (30:07) What In-Q learns from his own poetry (38:45) If an artist needs to continually feel negative emotions to make great art (48:40) The 85 Poem (1:00:00)