About Olu Butterfly

Co-founding Director of Poetry for the People Baltimore, Olu Butterfly Woods is co-producer and host of Organic Soul Tuesdays (one of the area's most
successful weekly events since 2001), a youth arts instructor and
distinctive performance poet who has received a Maryland State Arts
Council Individual Artist Award, Favorite All Around Female Poet at The
People?s Poetry Awards and was voted ?Best Grass-Roots Poet? by The City
Paper. Born in Nigeria, raised in St.… more

Ladies Verse

12 Seasons has led Ladies Verse to be a successful institution recurring every March for International Women's History Month. Ladies Verse is a highly creative fusion event showcasing African and Native American culture along with innovative expression through some of the area's fiercest socially-conscious poets, rappers and songwriters in order to promote balance. Ladies Verse has been produced at the Walters Art Museum, Artscape, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the American Visionary Art Museum and now has a home at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum
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  • Interactive art
    Interactive art
    Audience members are invited to co-create before and after the performances
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  • Ladies Verse 10 Dance
    The Sheroes are just waking up from a dream that revealed individually how they must prepare to fight the Sewer Heroes.
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  • Oral Report
    Ladies Verse 10 at the Baltimore Museum of Art opening as Gangsta Rainbow tha Bargain Hunter among a crew of Sheroes

Selected Performances

Olu Butterfly would be over the audience's head with spaced-out urbaness but she invites them to go with her! Favorite places to perform on the East Coast include Artscape, SOB's, Creative Alliance, the Nuyorican and the 930 Club.
  • Be Free Fridays @ Eubie Blake Center
    Be Free Fridays @ Eubie Blake Center
  • National Society of Black Engineers National Conference
    National Society of Black Engineers National Conference
  • Capital Jazz Festival
    Capital Jazz Festival
  • Clown with No Circus CD Release
    Clown with No Circus CD Release
  • Denver Film Festival
    Denver Film Festival
  • Intro
    From Sign O the Times at CenterStage
  • Love?
    From Sign O the Times at CenterStage
  • Olu Butterfly - The Meanest Poem Ever
    A weekend of good stuff at the Creative Alliance
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Selected Recordings 2003-2011

Recordings with various producers on internationally licensed tracks.
  • The Few Jah
    Featuring NiyoRah. Produced by Kwesi Dawes
  • Innard Pieces
    Produced by 40D
  • Mama Nature
    Produced by David Borsu
  • Take Knowledge G
    Production by Joel Mills
  • A Black Girl Without A Big Butt
    Production by Joel Mills
  • If We Do Nothing
    Produced by James Collins. From Counterpoint Records's Jazz Bizniz 3 compilation
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  • An Artist Prayer
    From Fertile Ground's "Black Is" album
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Produce Organic Soul Tuesdays weekly live performance venue

Organic Soul Tuesdays is an artist development series founded in 2001 to promote independent art as a catalyst for the industry-dry but extremely talented region. There is a live band, open mic and featured artists from all over the world. It has been a breeding ground for strong focused artists, such as Fertile Ground, Raheem DeVaughn, JSOUL, 5thL and Ama Chandra. Past features have included Natalie the Floacist, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Jessica care Moore and the soulful soundwaves of grammy-nominated or winning artists, such as Jill Scott, Anthony David, Carolyn Malachi, Wayna, Maimouna Youssef, Gordon Chambers. The Who?s Who of independent artists also include N?Dambi, Julie Dexter, Akua Naru, Batch and Midnite reggae Band, stripped bare of their press kits and intimately connected with an open-minded audience.

The event, which has garnered many Best Of Baltimore accolades, now currently housed at Eden's Lounge in Mt. Vernon reaches beyond the typical parade of artists at a regular open mic and often has themed nights, and educational campaigns, such as EthnoMusicology night that has featured Kurdish folk music, afro-cuban dancing, theatrical spoofs and Health Month.
  • Che Ray at Organic Soul Tuesdays
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    Organic Soul's extremely lively and open-minded audience
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    12402_324512599755_509919755_3356062_2151510_n.jpg
  • JC of fertile ground @ organic soul
  • Jill Scott & the Winslow Dynasty @OST
    Jill Scott & the Winslow Dynasty @OST
    Grammy-award winning Jilly from Philly enjoys the Winslow Dynasty on stage after her concert at the Lyric with the rest of the Organic Soul audience
  • Balancing producing & hosting
    Balancing producing & hosting
  • Substantial Live @ OST (Beatbox)
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