John Bernard is using his talents to make a difference. A spoken word poet and youth mentor, his work focuses on social commentary, exploring youth empowerment, faith, and purpose.

Spoken word artist and rapper John Bernard is known for his social commentary on youth empowerment, faith and purpose. A finalist on 1Xtra and Asian Network’s BBC Words First programme, he will be joining a stage filled with local talent at B:Music’s Beyond The Bricks of Brum at Symphony Hall. We caught up with him to find out more about his work and the issues that continue to drive him.

Of Mics and Men” had spoken word Artists Mr Milise and John Bernard in conversation with host JPDL, speaking about various aspects of their creativity, their lives, and their work. Each Artist delivered pieces of their work that was thought-provoking, topical and insightful, this led to a great conversation being had between the three.

Words First is a talent development scheme run by BBC Arts, Radio 1Xtra and the Contains Strong Language poetry festival. Each year it identifies the best emerging spoken word talent in the UK and, through workshops and performance showcases, encourages the development of new work.

On 3rd June 2021, John was the guest headliner at our Fire & Dust poetry night. Two days later, he was one of the six key artists leading Coventry’s UK City of Culture launch event, representing ‘youthfulness’. We caught up with John after the gig, to ask a few questions.

Poet and rapper John Bernard performs set for Stamford College pupils as part of Black History Month.

UK-Botswana Collabo! Watch this collaborative piece by poet John Bernard (UK) and Digital Artist, Refilwe Bantle Wale (Botswana). This DigiPoem explores how life threatening situations can make us question our behaviour and actions and change the course of our lives.

The MAC (Music and Change) Project, is taking drastic measures to show young people that there are other paths in life, one of those being music.