Sevan Aydinian
Encyclopedia
Sevan Aydinian also known as Apollo Poetry, is an Armenian American spoken word
poet, hip hop
artist, filmmaker, humanitarian, and author
. He is the founder of The Traveling Poet Project.
Aydinian was born in Jerusalem and raised in New Jersey
. Since 2003, he is living in Arizona
. He became known as a spoken word poet and hip hop musician under the stage name M.C. Apollo (and later Apollo Poetry). He was the first spoken word artist to perform at the Billboard Awards (in 2007). Aydinian's major appearances include MTV
's True Life
, VIBE Magazine, The Wake Up Show
, Source's Unsigned Hype, Showtime at the Apollo
, along with performances at Madison Square Garden
and America West Arena. Apollo has won the NJ Poetry Slam, NY Poetry Slam, Arizona Poetry Slam, and represented Arizona in the National Poetry Slam competition. He also documented the Brave New Voices Youth Slam.
Aydinian did poetry, but wasn't exposed to the "slam scene" until he worked with Urban Word NYC. Aydinian also performed at Madison Square Garden for the NY Knicks.
VIBE Magazine was doing an article on Phoenix hiphop, and Power 93 recommended Apollo. This, in turn, was spotted by the Rap Olympics. They signed Apollo and put him on the official Rap Olympics team. They decided to follow the rapper on his quest to the Rap Olympics and air it on MTV'S True Life
. He also became the No.1 voted hip hop artist in the country in MTV2's On The Rise Contest and was the opening act on the Pussycat Dolls
& Cassidy Tour, plus the Pitbull tour when it stopped at the After9Events Midnight Run. Apollo also appeared on the front cover of Press Boxx magazine and was featured in XPOZ numerous times.
Aydinian then got involved in the professional world and became the Director of Marketing for Dizzler.com.
In 2007, Apollo appeared on ABC
and performed at the Billboard Hiphop Awards. He then appeared on Sway & Tech Wake Up Show
twice in 2008.
He traveled all around America, living out of his van, as he shot a documentary and wrote a book. During his tour, he interviewed Matisyahu
at the Harmony Festival, Alex Grey
, and Andrew Zimmern
from Travel Channel
's Bizarre Foods.
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
poet, hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
artist, filmmaker, humanitarian, and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He is the founder of The Traveling Poet Project.
Aydinian was born in Jerusalem and raised in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Since 2003, he is living in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. He became known as a spoken word poet and hip hop musician under the stage name M.C. Apollo (and later Apollo Poetry). He was the first spoken word artist to perform at the Billboard Awards (in 2007). Aydinian's major appearances include MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's True Life
True Life
True Life is a documentary series running on MTV since 1998. Each episode follows a particular topic, such as heroin addiction as in the first episode, "Fatal Dose." The show is created by following a series of subjects by a camera crew through a certain part of their lives.-Topics covered:True...
, VIBE Magazine, The Wake Up Show
Sway & King Tech
Sway & King Tech is an American hip hop group composed of Bay Area rapper Sway and DJ King Tech. Also known as Flynamic Force or Sway & Tech, they are the hosts of the nationally syndicated show, The Wake Up Show...
, Source's Unsigned Hype, Showtime at the Apollo
Showtime at the Apollo
Showtime at the Apollo is a syndicated music television show, first broadcast on September 12, 1987 to May 24, 2008 with 1093 episodes, and is produced by the Apollo Theater...
, along with performances at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
and America West Arena. Apollo has won the NJ Poetry Slam, NY Poetry Slam, Arizona Poetry Slam, and represented Arizona in the National Poetry Slam competition. He also documented the Brave New Voices Youth Slam.
Aydinian did poetry, but wasn't exposed to the "slam scene" until he worked with Urban Word NYC. Aydinian also performed at Madison Square Garden for the NY Knicks.
VIBE Magazine was doing an article on Phoenix hiphop, and Power 93 recommended Apollo. This, in turn, was spotted by the Rap Olympics. They signed Apollo and put him on the official Rap Olympics team. They decided to follow the rapper on his quest to the Rap Olympics and air it on MTV'S True Life
True Life
True Life is a documentary series running on MTV since 1998. Each episode follows a particular topic, such as heroin addiction as in the first episode, "Fatal Dose." The show is created by following a series of subjects by a camera crew through a certain part of their lives.-Topics covered:True...
. He also became the No.1 voted hip hop artist in the country in MTV2's On The Rise Contest and was the opening act on the Pussycat Dolls
Pussycat Dolls
The Pussycat Dolls are an American pop girl group and dance ensemble based in Los Angeles; currently consisting of Lauren Bennett, Vanessa Curry, Kristal "Lyndriette" Smith, Tiffany "Taz" Zavala, Kia Hampton and Paula Van Oppen. The Pussycat Dolls were founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995...
& Cassidy Tour, plus the Pitbull tour when it stopped at the After9Events Midnight Run. Apollo also appeared on the front cover of Press Boxx magazine and was featured in XPOZ numerous times.
Aydinian then got involved in the professional world and became the Director of Marketing for Dizzler.com.
In 2007, Apollo appeared on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and performed at the Billboard Hiphop Awards. He then appeared on Sway & Tech Wake Up Show
Sway & King Tech
Sway & King Tech is an American hip hop group composed of Bay Area rapper Sway and DJ King Tech. Also known as Flynamic Force or Sway & Tech, they are the hosts of the nationally syndicated show, The Wake Up Show...
twice in 2008.
The Traveling Poet
In 2008, Apollo started The Traveling Poet project, its goal being to travel around the world and promote education, culture, and peace. He entered some contests to try to raise the money. He got second place in Ludacris-endorsed WeMix.com's song-writing contest. He then got second place again in the Name Your Dream Assignment contest, in which the winner received $50,000. However, with his business experience, he managed to get sponsorship from DiscMakers, LaraBar, Raw Revolution, UliMana, InklessMagazine, and a write up in Green Lifestyles Magazine, Indie Travel Podcast, & Matador Nights. He also was interviewed and performed on Arizona Channel 3 and other media outlets. Apollo continued the activities in 2009 and spoke at high schools, colleges, (including the UCSB Symposium Lecture Series & ASU), and other avenues.He traveled all around America, living out of his van, as he shot a documentary and wrote a book. During his tour, he interviewed Matisyahu
Matisyahu
Matthew Paul Miller , better known by his Hebrew name and stage name Matisyahu, is an American Hasidic Jewish reggae and alternative rock musician....
at the Harmony Festival, Alex Grey
Alex Grey
Alex Grey is an American artist specializing in spiritual and psychedelic art that is sometimes associated with the New Age movement. Grey is a Vajrayana practitioner. His body of work spans a variety of forms including performance art, process art, installation art, sculpture, visionary art, and...
, and Andrew Zimmern
Andrew Zimmern
Andrew Zimmern is a James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, food writer, and teacher. As the co-creator, host, and consulting producer of Travel Channel's series Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern and Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World, he travels the world exploring food in its own native...
from Travel Channel
Travel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
's Bizarre Foods.