George Watsky

George Watsky is a poet and rapper from San Francisco, California. Watsky performs slam poetry, and was featured on Season 6 of Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry on HBO.[2] Watsky’s talents began to receive national and international acclaim in 2006 when he was the Youth Speaks Grand Slam Poetry Champion, and was also named Brave New Voices International Poetry Slam Champion.[3]
In 2006, Watsky was described as the «Bay Area’s reigning teen champion» as the winner of «nearly a dozen slams» and «was on the team that took fourth place in the national contest» in 2005.[4]
Watsky’s poetry incorporates political and social themes. In 2006, in the midst of «a lively performance» to a «sold-out crowd», Watsky «likened politicians behavior to a common bar pick-up line» and «won the night’s top score».[5]
Reviewing a 2008 performance at Brandeis University, Sarah Bayer wrote, «Skinny, quirky George Watsky was next, with the night’s most innovative piece. Watsky, a sophomore at Emerson College and a member of the grand prize-winning team from San Francisco at the National Youth Poetry Slam in 2006, adjusted the microphone to different parts of his body, imitated the sound of rewinding tape and recited binary code (a trope that caught the eye of headliner Saul Williams) in an altogether amusing performance.»[6]
Watsky graduated from Emerson College in 2010[7] and has achieved newfound fame with his viral YouTube video «Pale kid raps fast.» He was featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on January 24, 2011, performing a slightly modified version of that rap.[8]