Poetic Flowz is the nickname and appropriate description of poet Tamela Lafaye Cormer-Armstrong, a multi-talented rapper, singer, and spoken-word artist. The nick- name was given to her by her brother, Street Kat, prior to his passing in 2016.
In the northwest, Tamela gained new audiences and notoriety when she read one of her poems as the opening act for celebrated gospel artist C.J. Dudley at Luther’s Ta- ble Church in Renton, Washington. Her story, however, begins much earlier. When she was 15 years old, Tamela won a national poetry contest, and the opportunity to read her work at a Las Vegas poetry convention. Sadly, the cost of travel prohibited her from attending and postponed her ability for full emersion by over a decade. Thankfully, she returned to writing and over the past few years has been recognized for her ability to channel her trauma into beauti-
ful words and music. Tamela’s artistry exempli- fies empathy and expression, and connects the audience to her on a primal level. She shares her personal history with her fans, including the traumatic experiences of her youth, her spiritual walk and road to healing, and her ability to suc- ceed despite trials and tribulations.
In addition to her talent as a poet and vocalist, Tamela is also an accomplished illustrator and painter. According to Tamela, she began to blos- som in her art class at Franklin High School, where she was recognized for her freehand pencil sketches and stipple pen illustrations of classmates and other characters. Recently, Tamela began selling some of her acrylic paint- ings, allowing VIBRANT Magazine Editor-in- Chief (David Toledo) to snap up a canvas forhimself.
Find Tamela on Facebook/Instagram/TikTok/You- Tube at #ArtByMela and #PoeticFlowz. Listen to vocals on the “offTop” app via PoeticFlowz(Mela)
