The Big Poppa E Experience

Walking in to MacBride Auditorium, I was both shocked and slightly embarrassed by the weak turnout for J[amnesty]—the combination slam poetry and music performance put on by the University of Iowa Chapter of Amnesty International. Benefits from this program went to the Iowa City’s Rape Victims Advocacy Program and to Pretty Bird Woman House in South Dakota.

Arriving a little after 7:00, the declared start time for the event, I anticipated a packed auditorium. Contrary to this, I walked in to a crowd of maybe 25 people along with several members of Amnesty International and other associated University groups. Nothing was happening on stage, and seemingly no one was approaching the booths set up by these groups to educate the attendees on human rights advocacy. Though the event was, so far, scarcely attended, it became apparent that the few people in attendance have very big personalities that seemed to make the large auditorium feel fuller than it actually was. The biggest personality in the space was a man walking around, barefoot, and addressing everyone by name. Unbeknownst to me, this was the man I had come to see. This was Eirik Ott, Big Poppa E.

Big Poppa E wore camouflage cargo shorts, silver nail polish, and hoop earrings. He took the stage with a big grin on his face that would produce an equally large smile from whichever audience member he chose to direct it toward. His excitement was contagious from the minute he stepped in front of the mic. Instead of starting with an introduction or by performing one of his poems, Big Poppa E chose to relocate the audience from their strategically placed and spread out locations around the auditorium to a place where everyone was directly in front of him. He then decided to give nicknames to the members of the audience that he had succeeded in relocating. Behind me sat “Red” and “Angry Girl”, to my left were “Green” and “Hollywood” and right in front of me sat “Jeff”. Just “Jeff”. After nicknaming the greater portion of the audience and some of the crew members, like “Sound Guy”, Big Poppa E announced that he would be the host for the evening and would start by performing some of his poems—just as soon as he went pee.

After a few minutes of waiting for Big Poppa E to “take care of number one”, as he so politely put it, Eirik returned to the stage, taught the audience how to clap properly, and began his performance. He started with his poem called “Road Trippin’”, an upbeat piece that seemed appropriate for introducing the audience to his style and to the things that he really stands for. He read mostly from his self published book, Greatest Hits, and a couple times from his own personal notebook. Several of his poems really stood out to me, but overall I was thoroughly satisfied with everything he presented, especially his contagious personality. Before each poem and musical act, Big Poppa E would give some personal commentary, tell a story or a couple of jokes to keep the audience right where he wanted them—totally engaged with what was happening on stage.

Big Poppa E’s performance at the J[amnesty] event was successful and entertaining and could not have happened without his enthusiasm. As many of his poems address the different issues involved with human rights, his performance was a great support to the message of Amnesty International. Despite the small turn out, Eirik made an impact on nearly everyone in attendance and provided a thread that kept the whole program running.

by Allie Noelle