I am the daughter of a baptist preacher (Dad) and Painter (Mom). My brother is a songwriter. My son also writes/ performs. I come from a long line of ministers, musicians and artists.
I started performing at the age of 6- my Mom put me in a church based poetry class where I learned about Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, etc.
I've performed on the same stage as Nikki Giovanni, Yolanda Adams, Dead Prez, Saul Williams, Nona Hendryx, Ruby Dee, Jean Baylor, and Sonia Sanchez. My work has appeared in VIBE Magazine, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Magazine, Local Buzz Magazine and several online publications. I have released three cds- Bee's Are Admired, Easybreezybeautifulcoloredgirl, and MOJO. My fourth CD (not) Just a Girl will be released this winter.
I am now a full-time college student. So please pray for me!
Bio:
In the early 1980’s, when most children living in Upper East Tennessee were huddled around Atari game systems and playing with Strawberry Shortcake dolls, 7 year old Crystal Senter Brown was sitting in a church basement, learning how to write and perform poetry and spoken word. By age 8, Crystal was sought out to travel to nearby events to sing and perform poetry from legends such as Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou.
Through the years Crystal has received several Massachusetts Artists grants, has been nominated for awards such as Spoken Word Artist of the Year (Urban Music Awards) and Singer/ Songwriter of the Year (Valley Advocate.) Crystal’s song “In the Dark” received honorable mention from the Billboard Music Song Awards and in 2006, Crystal was named as a Peacedriven Songwriter (Crystal’s song “Large and Lovely” placed in the top 40 out of thousands of entries.) Crystal’s music can be heard across the U.S. and abroad on commercial and college radio stations, as well as on many podcasts such as “Rockin Mom’s”
Partial listing of Performances/ Readings
American Cancer Society's We Can Weekend retreat for cancer patients
American International College
Amherst College
Apollo Theatre (audition)
Artist Corner
Barnes and Noble (Book release/signing)
Baypath College
Berklee School of Music
Cadavez (DC)
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Valentines Day event
Dunamis Cafe
Duggan Middle School
Elms College
Florence Poetry Slam (Winner)
Gumbolive
Gerena School
Girl Scouts Camp Bonnie Brae
Hampshire College
Holyoke Public Library
Inda Streetz Magazine Release Party
Jesters Cafe
Jimmy's Uptown
Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity Eastern Province Conference
Ladyfest East (NYC)
Large in Charge Radio
Mercy Medical Center Cancer Survivor Day
Mercy Medical Center Christmas Tree Lighting
NABFEME Tribute to Nona Hendrix- Charlotte, NC
NABFEME Music Conference, Toronto, ON
Nuyorican Cafe
Odyssey Books
Olive Tree Books
One Hundred Ladies in Red
Organix Soul
Pioneer Valley Girl Scouts Camp Bonnie Brae
SayWord TV
Springfield Technical Community College
Starving for Art Open Mic
Toads Place
University of Massachusetts
Vansickle Middle School
Valley Advocate Grand Band Slam
Wadsworth Musuem
Westfield State Poetry Slam (Winner)
WEIB 106.3 FM
WFCR 88.9 FM
WTCC 90.7 FM
Prince, Tweet, Raheem Devaughn, Algebra Blessett, John Legend, Aarahdna, Jason Mraz, Ingrid Michelson, Michael Jackson, Hannah Bingman, Ndambi, Jill Scott, The Roots, The Foreign Exchange, Common, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Sting, Simply Red, Christopher Cross, Robin Thicke, Amy Winehouse, Herbie Hancock, Dolly Parton, D'Angelou, Cee Cee Winans, Yolanda Adams, Rick Ross, The Isley Brothers.
My voice. Lungs. Mouth. Brain. Hips. Cleavage. Pretty toes. Thick legs. Southern accent.
Just listen.
