Is silence not an act of violence too.
I’m a Kansas City, Missouri native and consider my home to be one of the most slept-on cities in the U.S. From performing and publishing poetry to composing music, I bring all facets of creativity to the table as an ad industry Copywriter. My work has been featured in Adweek, Ad Age the Wall Street Journal and more. Since my first public performance at Uptown Arts Bar five years ago, my poetry has been featured on 41 Action News, Voyage ATL Magazine, and even TEDx. In 2018 I represented KC at the National Poetry Slam and made the finals stage with a team at the 2019 Rustbelt Regional Slam. In the past, I felt like the kid whose voice was insignificant, not courageous enough to be outspoken about my own experiences. We find this especially common in our Black youth of America. I want to pass down the same lessons I learned from my mentors in poetry and the ad agency business to let children know their voices matter in any form they choose.
Accolades:
-1 Silver Cannes Lion
-4 Bronze Cannes Lions
-4 Cannes Lion Shortlists
-10 Clio Health Awards
-Titanum MM+M Award
-5 Gold MM+M Awards -
- 2 Silver MM+M Awards
-2023 Michelob ULTRA Emerging Creative Award
-2022 Cannes Lions Creative Academy Alum
-10 Time KC Poetry Slam Champion
-2018 Best Newcomer by the Music and More Poetry Foundation.
-2019 Best Slam Artist by the Music and More Poetry Foundation.
-A whole lot left in the tank
Testimonials:
“I have worked with other creative talent in the past, and I simply feel that Darrien shines brighter. He doesn’t try too hard to impress, he doesn’t assume to know things but asks lots of questions, and when he contributes, everybody can trust that he’s informed and not just feeling like he needs to contribute. Darrien also has an independent spirit and doesn’t seem to get caught up in any interpersonal competitions or conflicts. I freaking love working with him.”
“Love working with Darrien. He’s a really smart writer and strongly concepttual creative. His writing is strong, he has a clear tone and smart headlines. Conceptually he consitently brings some of the mor interesting work I’ve seen. You can always count on a great insight or nugget of an idea from him.”
“Darrien is a fantastic writer and a wonderful creative. He brought a lot of fun to Dave & Buster’s projects from March Madness to Main Event to Phantom Fun. But, where Darrien really shone this year was on the 5/5/5 project for Dave & Buster’s. He wrote, produced, and sang custom songs for the D&B client. They were so incredibly good. The clients were blown away.”