Toni Blackman's creative approach gives you the technique needed to speak authentically and confidently in ways that impact your audience!
About this Event
Public speaking is not something most folks look forward to but Toni's approach will help you build skills and confidence! She injects creativity and fun exercises that inspire an authentic connection with listeners. Whether you're the everyday person who would benefit for learning how to use your voice, have an idea for a talk, an interview or and event or meeting to host, this is something you'll enjoy!
About Toni Blackman
International champion of hip hop music and culture. Powerhouse performer. Dynamic speaker. Innovator and visionary social entrepreneur. These are just a few of the terms that come to mind when thinking of Toni Blackman. Her steadfast work and commitment led the U.S. Department of State to select her as the first-ever hip hop artist to work as an American Cultural Ambassador. Blackman has traveled to 48 countries performing and speaking and has shared the stage with a host of luminaries in North America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Brazil.
Blackman’s musical roots were nurtured in Washington, DC and include a bevy of experiences and sounds from hip hop and neo-soul, to reggae and gogo, jazz and blues. Here’s just a sampling of who she opened for and/or shared the stage with Erykah Badu, Wyclef, trombonist Craig Harris, Yasiin Bey (Mos Def), The Roots, Wu-Tang Clan, Pharoahe Monch, Medeski Martin & Wood, Bahamadia, Boot Camp Clic, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Dead Prez, Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Charlie Hunter Quartet, Jill Sobule, guitarist Vernon Reid, Youssou Ndour, Burnt Sugar, Onaje Allan Gumbs, and Rickie Lee Jones. Toni is a Lilith Fair Talent Search winner and winner of the Capitol Records Girls Room Tour who has rocked festivals in South Africa, Senegal, Germany, Spain, Canada, the UK, and France. She has recorded for Universal Records Jazz, BMG Novus, Big Dada Recordings, and Radio Nova Records and appeared in spots for VH1, BET and MTV, featured on FOX, Melissa Harris-Perry Show, Tom Joyner Morning Show and CBS News and in various publications including FORBES, ESSENCE, VIBE, TOKION and a host of others.
Toni has shared the bill with several poetry legends including Nikki Giovanni, Billy Collins, Miguel Algarin, Don Matera, Philip Levine, Sekou Sundiata, Bob Holman, the Last Poets, Lucille Clifton, Haki Madhubuti, Ethelbert Miller and led tributes for Sonia Sanchez and the late Maya Angelou.
Considered a pioneer in Hip Hop Education, Hip Hop Theatre, Hip Hop Diplomacy and now in Hip Hop and Spirituality/Mental Health, she is both ahead of her time and right on time. Her innovative work with Hip Hop Music education led to her being honored as a DOVE Real Woman and selected for prestigious fellowships with Echoing Green Foundation and OSI. Toni was also the first Hip Hop artist-in-residence for many institutions and programs.
Toni is a two-time TEDx speaker, spoken in Barcelona at the World Social Forum, in Oman with Aspen Institute and for Hallmark at their national offices. A featured speaker at the Ableton Loop Summit, this NYU Visiting Scholar at recently co-led the Girls Electronic Music Seminar (GEMS) which was featured on ABC News in July. She is the founder and director of Freestyle Union, a cypher workshop that uses freestyling as a tool to promote social responsibility and Rhyme like a Girl, Blackman’s work has held great influence in the world of hip hop activism.
As a citizen diplomat, Toni traveled the world but one of her favorite places is in her kitchen where she experiments with her dehydrator, hangs out with her NutriBullet and cherishes her new Le Cruset pots and pans.
Toni is currently mixing her Hip Hop Meditation project and recording new music, collaborating on a television venture and bringing her signature Cypher workshop to corporate clients. Her new book will be out by the end of 2019! Toni's unique blend of talent, creativity, and smarts allow her to move effortlessly as the kind of creative professional our world needs.