For the first time since the African Student Association beganAfriCafe, a quarterly event showcasing spoken word performances,students sat in the audience Thursday night.

“We’ve never had a multinational crowd,” said ASA president andDaily columnist Malena Amusa. “This is the first time we’ve seenSouth Asians, whites and Latinos all in the Black House listeningto spoken word.”

About 100 students attended the event, held at the Department ofAfrican American Student Affairs, or Black House. Emceed byWeinberg sophomores Naliaka Wakhisi and Pauline Ekholt, AfriCafefeatured 12 performers who each prepared short spoken-wordperformances.

Audience members described spoken word as an open way to expressa person’s personality and emotions through poetry, rap, dance,music and narrative speech.

“You just gotta hear it and you know it’s spoken word,” saidTodd Johnson, a Medill freshman. “There’s no structure; the speakerdetermines the rhythm. You know when you give a spoken word thatyou’re going to get attention. Your individuality comes out. Youlet people know what you believe in.”

AfriCafe began with a number of short raps by spotlight artistAndrew Davis, a McCormick sophomore, who weaved humor into hispassionate words.

“If you bring beef like Ronald McDonald do, I’m gonna show youfilet mignon,” he rapped during his performance, eliciting cheersfrom the crowd.

Other students focused on poetry and personal narratives theyprepared, such as Weinberg junior Marissa Jackson’s anger-tingedpiece, “Fickle,” about a friend who had changed, leaving Jacksonfeeling “defiant” and hurt.

“I won’t have 99 problems if I don’t make you one,” saidJackson, referencing rapper Jay-Z’s recent single, “99Problems.”

Students stressed the importance of an enthusiastic crowd duringspoken word performances. Though the unusually large turnout –organizers noted with surprise how the room was too small — hadstudents sitting on the floor and peeking in through doors,audience members actively participated in the performances bylaughing and cheering on the artists.

“Spoken word is communal with a spoken word audience,” saidAmusa, a Medill junior. “The oral tradition is an Africantradition.”

Gary Lee said he attended AfriCafe to show his support for theblack community.

“There’s a lot of talent here and I wanted to support them,”said Lee, a Weinberg freshman. “It makes you think about differentthings people go through. Everybody has a different outlook onlife.”

After the scheduled performances ended, the floor opened for 15minutes of “open mic” time.

“It’s just good to come together to see what the black communityis doing in their spare time — positive things,” said Brandon Lee,a McCormick freshman. “Our reason for being here is to give us agood outlook of things at Northwestern. It’s a good thing that wehave a compilation of young adults with positive minds and positiveintentions.”

Reach Andrea Chang [email protected].