Lamont Wilkins

Lamont was originally born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1977. The majority of his schooling, teenage and young adult life was spent in Woodbridge, VA where he graduated from Gar-Field High School in 1995. He grew up as a child without siblings to parents who both descended from Spartanburg, SC giving him a very southern upbringing and culture, built on politeness and character. He didn't do too much writing as a youth or in high school, but as he became more exposed to the trials and tribulations of life as he grew older, he found the need to have some sort of creative outlet for venting purposes and internal peace of mind. In 2003, those very hardships started weighing heavily on him with the loss of his mom at the tender age of only 54. Within a three-year span after her death, he went on to lose aunts, uncles, one of his grandmothers, and then his dad in 2009 at age 64. Stricken with grief and a feeling of hopelessness, he had two options at that point. Succumb to going down the wrong path full of self-destruction and self-medicating, like he witnessed so many of his peers, friends, and family struggle with. Or find an outlet for venting purposes and internal peace of mind. Thus he learned to channel all of his pent-up emotions and grief into creating spoken word poetry that showcases his uncanny ability to take listeners on a roller-coaster ride of emotions, to say the least. Soon thereafter, a DJ named B-Easy the DJ, from the rap entourage Fly America reached out to Lamont after hearing him spit his vocals on one of his pieces called Bitterness. Not only did he put Lamont on his upcoming mixtape entitled Let's Get It 5, but he was also the opening track feature! He was so impressed with Lamont's spoken word and smooth delivery, he was featured a second time on his upcoming mixtape in the fall of 2017 entitled What We Doin' 2. This time not only featuring Lamont again on the intro but also tracks #14 and# 22 as well. Earlier that same year, Lamont went on to pen the first spoken word poetry movie, "The Call" which made it to the consideration phase of the HBO Short Film competition at the 21st Annual American Black Film Festival (ABFF), held at the Lowe's Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. "The Call" also made it to the Artist Circle at the NOVA Film Festival in Alexandria, VA as well as the final review round at the Harlem International Film Festival in New York, NY. Tragedy struck once again in November 2017 when Lamont's cousin was killed by her boyfriend due to domestic violence. The next three months were spent coping with depression which sparked the creation of his next spoken word poetry film, "The Abused", both as a coping mechanism & a form of creative self-medication. The film's rather candid & disturbing viewpoint on domestic violence hit home with numerous credible film festivals across the country, racking up a total of thirteen awards to date including Best Social Commentary and Spoken Word awards in Las Vegas (Aug 2018), two more awards in Malibu (Oct 2018), Best Social Justice/Liberation/Protest, Experimental and Music Video awards in La Jolla (Nov 2018), and two Best Inspirational Film awards in both Los Angeles & Long Beach California (Jan. 2019). While the world was shut down due to the Covid pandemic, Lamont's unwavering focus & dedication to his craft landed him a performance spot on Episode 4 of the "I Got The Mic" Experience, which was hosted by Beyonce's mom, Tina Knowles Lawson & her husband Richard Lawson for Black History Month in 2021. In June of 2021, Lamont also caught the attention of casting directors for the hit show "Ready to Love" on Oprah's OWN Network in Association with Will Packer Productions. After the reunion aired in January of 2022, Lamont caught the attention of celebrity comedian Michael Colyar, whom he had also met at the Oscars in 2020. Michael was such a fan of his spoken word, he surprised Lamont by inviting him to perform his on the day of his 45th birthday for Episode 396 of the Michael Colyar Morning Show. From his dynamic performance, he was then connected to Emmy-nominated celebrity voice actor and coach Rolonda Watts, in which he attended her voice actor masterclass, graduating in August of 2022. Lamont also continues to write new story-lines for the film festival circuit and his fan following, as well as continuing to share pieces of himself in an extremely deep and compelling way through his spoken word poetry. He gives a very honest and transparent glimpse inside his life albeit his frustrations, heartbreak, anger and of course his fears as well, all in a very poetic and engaging format that showcases his storytelling ability. His passion to uplift and inspire others can even be read in his tagline, "Be Motivated So You Can Be Remembered". He is definitely one to watch.