Blaq Ice: The Inspiration King

By Obsession

De'Andre' Blaq Ice' Hawthorne has blessed the city of Chicago with nothing but hope and greatness. An award-winning spoken word artist and community activist, Blaq Ice has inspired people worldwide to tap into their God-given talents and use those talents to better themselves and others in their communities.

The founder of the infamous P.O.E.T. (People of Extraordinary Talent) organization, Legends of Chicago Hip Hop, the P.O.E.T. Teen Idol, Acts of Random Kindness, and A.C.T.I.O.N. (Artist Coming Together In Outstanding Numbers), Blaq Ice and his exceptional team mentors the youth, supports the homeless in various ways, as well a provide an outlet for poets/writers/spoken word artists to showcase their skills.

To say that Blaq Ice is praiseworthy is a gross understatement. He is irreplaceable, unmatched, and a necessity to the city. De'Andre' Blaq Ice' Hawthorne is the most significant one-person movement that has ever walked the streets of Chicago.

www.blaqice.com

Obsession: Many people who admire you describe you as rare, one in a million, and a gifted artist, but how do you see yourself?

Blaq Ice: I see myself as a servant. God has a way of humbling you. I have performed all over the world, but when I come back home, I'm still Tony, as my mother calls me, or De'Andre. I am just an ordinary man with extraordinary talent.

Obsession: What contributed to the birth of the P.O.E.T. (People of extraordinary talent) Organization?

Blaq Ice: As a teenager in high school, I sat in several of the assemblies, and many of them were boring. I wanted to use my gift to entertain and educate. That gave birth to an Edu-Tainment company and organization called P.O.E.T., established in 1990. Until 2010, I opened P.O.E.T. up for membership and began to expand our community service work from the Chicago Public Schools to prisons, community events, coat and food drives for the homeless, etc.

Read the full article in this month's issue of Intellectual Ink Magazine Amazon.com: Intellectual Ink: March 2022 (Intellectual Ink Mag Book 15) eBook: Press Simmons, Julia, Grace, Allison, Young-Foye, Charlotte: Books. Follow De'Andre Hawthorne | Facebook

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Traditionally the slogan is March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. That is basically how we should see life. We should see everything like a lion but be lambs on the inside. The problem is we can either be lions or lambs and are unable to see the difference. Welcome to MARCH! This month we are intentional about everything happening, and it’s jampacked with lots of surprises! Allison Grace has a conversation with the incomparable Brian W Smith. Many have heard of him, but some don’t know exactly who he is. Now is your chance to get acquainted because his work is phenomenal! Of course, we have our staples- "It's The Suits For Me," by Charlotte’s Closet, Erick S Gray encourages you not to give up in WTF is Goin On, Haikeem Stokes sits down with Buck Bandit Productions, and Author Obsession interviews Poet Blaq Ice. Our features will have you smiling. Before I end this, I want to honor the women of this magazine. March is Women’s History Month, and I wanted to give flowers to the women that operate and run this magazine. Long nights, short days, lots of hard work, content, and promotions, blood, sweat, and tears go into this magazine. What we do is for YOU…. We are lions and lambs respectfully and move accordingly, and in this month, we are stepping up and showing out in all aspects. Be well and be you.

Love the women in your life. Most of all, love yourself!