We recently connected with Guru and have shared our conversation below.

Guru, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my album, Soul Food. I’ve always wanted to incorporate music into my poetry. I love music, and I love to sing, but I’m not the best singer—lol. I can hold a note, but I knew that singing wasn’t my calling. Still, I love music, so I had to find a way to make it my creative outlet.

When I was younger, I played the piano and the saxophone, and I really enjoyed it. But it wasn’t until I found poetry that I truly fell in love. I started writing Soul Food back in 2017. The name came to me one day while I was writing, and I instantly knew it would be the title of my first project.

At that time, the poetry I was writing was very inspirational and encouraging. I talked a lot about my life experiences and how I overcame them. No matter how dark the content, every poem I wrote had some type of encouraging spin to it. I really felt like the poems were food for the soul—something you could read or listen to and feel the emotion behind the words, truly connecting with them. I wanted to give people something they could turn to, something that would help them get through whatever they were facing.

Fast forward to 2023, I finally started recording Soul Food. It was a long journey to get to that point, with many setbacks and ups and downs. But once I started recording, there was no stopping me.

On January 11, 2025, Soul Food was released, and I feel so accomplished. This was something I had dreamed of—something I didn’t know was possible in the beginning. I had no idea how to make it happen at the time. But with faith and perseverance, I was able to turn a dream into reality.

Guru, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My stage name is Guru, and I chose that name because, through my writing and music, my intention is to teach, encourage, uplift, and offer guidance to anyone who needs it.

I got into writing poetry kind of randomly. As a kid, I would watch Def Poetry Jam on BET, and I was captivated by how the poets used words to tell stories. At the time, I didn’t think it was something I could do, but I admired the creativity. One day in high school, during Drama class, our teacher gave us a public speaking assignment. We could use any form of public speaking for the project. I’ve never been afraid to speak in public, but I wanted to try something different. So, I wrote a poem about love and recited it in front of the entire class. I memorized the full four-minute poem, and that was my first time performing poetry—and when I realized I had a knack for memorization.

What sets me apart from others, I think, is my writing style and content. In my opinion, a lot of poetry is centered around trauma. Poets often speak about the hardships they’ve endured—and rightfully so. As creatives, we pull from what we go through. But when I started taking poetry seriously, I told myself I wouldn’t be that kind of writer only. And when I do write about my trauma, it will be to show how I overcame it. I wanted to bring something different to the world of poetry.

I write about all my life experiences—nothing is off-limits. It helps me heal, and it helps others heal. I also incorporate music into my poetry. Some of my poems feature singers, other poets, or just instrumentals, blending two of my passions—music and poetry. I mix them in a way where the poetry remains the focus, but the music enhances it rather than taking away from it. I know other poets who use music in their poetry, but my sound is distinct—and I designed it that way intentionally.

I am most proud of the poetry I created on Soul Food. It was the first time I was truly involved in the music-making process, collaborating closely with my producer. I like to say that producers are translators—lol. For some of the instrumentals, I would describe the story, the feeling, or the vibe I wanted to create, and they would turn that into music. Other times, they needed to hear the poem first to capture the emotion behind it and then craft the sound accordingly. I was amazed at how they were able to translate my soul’s language into music.

Because of that, every song on Soul Food was made with deep intention. Every note, every instrument, every element was chosen with purpose. I spent a long time critiquing even the smallest details to make sure the final product was exactly what I envisioned. And now, I’m incredibly proud of it. I believe Soul Food is something anyone can listen to at any point in time and take something meaningful from it. That was my ultimate goal—to feed the souls of all who listen.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson—or rather, an agreement—I had to unlearn was the belief that nobody truly cared about what I had to say or what I thought.

Growing up, I was very opinionated—lol, my mom hated it! I had a critique or perspective on everything, and I just knew I was right. Looking back, I realize I had a very limited view of the world and a lot to learn. But instead of guiding me, my parents would say things like, “You don’t have to have an opinion about everything,” or just flat-out, “You’re wrong. You don’t know everything.” They never followed up with explanations or discussions—they simply left it at that.

After years of hearing that, I started to internalize the idea that no one really cared what I thought. Eventually, I stopped sharing my opinions and viewpoints altogether. It took me years to break that agreement, to unlearn that belief, and to replace it with the truth—that people do care about what I have to say.

Of course, there’s a time and place for everything, but believing that my voice didn’t matter kept me silent for years. Letting go of that mindset was a struggle, but once I did, I was finally able to speak my truth unapologetically.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My mission is to show my scars so that others know they can heal too. That belief truly drives me—along with my determination to make my dreams a reality.

I learned a long time ago that I can be, do, and have whatever I want. So now, whenever I think of something creative I want to experience or bring to life, I go for it. I figure out what it takes, study how others have done it, and then put my own spin on it.

I guess you could say creative freedom is what fuels me on this journey.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @PoetixGuru
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PoetixGuru
• Other: https://linktr.ee/poetixguru?utm_source=linktree_admin_share