Who is Victor Rodgers Really?

Who Is Victor Rodgers Really…  

Victor Rodgers, known in Baltimore’s vibrant arts scene as Slangston Hughes, is a dynamic hip-hop artist, poet, writer, journalist, and National Slam Champion whose work resonates with cultural depth and creative innovation. Based in Baltimore, Maryland, Rodgers has established himself as a leading voice in spoken word and hip-hop, blending art with activism to amplify marginalized narratives and celebrate Black cultural heritage. As the former Artistic Director of DewMore Baltimore, he shaped the organization’s artistic vision, fostering spaces for poetic expression and community engagement. Rodgers founded and performed with Slammageddon Baltimore, the adult slam team that secured an unprecedented seven championships, making it the winningest team in poetry slam history. He also served as a coach for the Baltimore City Poetry Team, guiding them to two world championships, a testament to his mentorship and leadership in competitive poetry.

Rodgers’ creative output spans multiple disciplines. He is the author of the acclaimed poetry collection Slanguage Arts & Griot Glimpses, which captures the rhythms and stories of Baltimore’s streets, and the forthcoming book God’s Favorite Breakdance Move, set to further explore his lyrical and spiritual insights. Through his performances, writings, and collaborative projects, Victor Rodgers continues to inspire and challenge audiences, forging connections that uplift and reimagine community narratives. As a journalist, Rodgers brings a critical lens to cultural and social issues, contributing to Baltimore’s discourse through his writing. His work is characterized by a commitment to authenticity, risk-taking, and cultural integrity, making him a pivotal figure in Baltimore’s arts ecosystem.

What is 1NE Man Movement? 

1NE Man Movement represents the ultimate in one individuals artistic expression truly set free. 4 (the 5th one doesn’t exist, it’s not real and I refuse to acknowledge it) different creative entities embodied within one human. (Victor Frantz Rodgers the 2nd) All with distinctively different styles, artistic approaches and even opinions. Over the years they have appeared and creatively manifested throughout the underground art world (primarily in Baltimore, DC, VA, Philly, NYC and Pittsburgh as well as other various places throughout the country) of HipHop, Spoken Word Poetry, Jazz and Theatre. Usually in a seasonal like manor where each one would get major individual shine for a period of time before the mantel was passed on to another. And this particular creative process repeated for about a decade and a half. However I feel that now is the time for each to reemerge simultaneously as one united force of artistic expression! 

An Alien Artist 

Slick Vic Low, born Victor F. Rodgers the 2nd began his journey into Hip-Hop @ age 8. Originally a native of the Steel City of Pittsburgh he came to the Baltimore area in 2001 to study media and urban arts production at Coppin State University and in the mean while integrated himself and his abilities into the regions artistic community. Slick Vic Low is an emcee through and through inspired by the rhyme and driven by the beat. With the ability to create lyrics in multiple styles with diversity in technique. And HipHop is his eternal heartbeat. 

Slick Vic Low

Lyrical Leviathan is the evoL ancestor of Slick Vic Low, who first emerged into this time period and dimension around early 2000. A ferocious war emcee and very vivid lyricist Leviathan's arrival was originally prophesied in the Nas classic "It ain't hard to tell". He is very dangerous and yes potentially evol at all times, yet always capable of evolving that evoL into its reverse which is Love! Lyrical Leviathan is at complete oneness with the Hip-Hop Spirit Ether, sent by God to Bless the Mic and bring balance back to the force of Hip-Hop expression. A born battle emcee who uses bars like mathematic equations with extremely complex rhyme schemes and punchline mastery. An ancient soul from the future. An emcee who just happens to also write poetry yet in the words of the god Rakim he takes this “way more serious than just a poem!”

Lyrical Leviathan 

Slick Vic Low is also related to 2 twin cousins and very different artistic personas and personality’s from the initial 2. One being Slangston Hughes. Who attempts to bridge the gap between the legacy paved through the Harlem renaissance and Black Arts Movement with the innovative but yet rebellious spirit of HipHop culture. Slangston Hughes is a National Slam Champion based out of Baltimore, Maryland. Director of Youth Poetry at Dew More Baltimore and lead coach of the world champion Baltimore City Youth Poetry Team. And founder of Speak Out: Slammageddon. Slangston was also a member of the Slammageddon Baltimore slam team that won the 2016 National Poetry Slam and Southern Fried Slam in 2017 & 2018.

Slangston Hughes

“I have told him that if he was around when the Last Poets first started he could've rolled with us!" -Umar Bin Hassan of The Last Poets.... 

(on Slangston Hughes)

Slanging a ton of Hughes 

The Second twin cousin of the group is none other than the entity known as Thelonious Coltrane. Imagine the spirits of Jazz musicians that live inside HipHop lyrics brought to life. That is the essence of Thelonious Coltrane. Inspired by a description of the producer Madlib’s approach to creating beats plus Victor Rodgers’ long time obsessive level of appreciation for Jazz and how it was in many ways one of HipHops key musical and creative DNA strands, Thelonious Coltrane was born. A Jazz Emcee who fuses poetry with HipHop lyricism in strange and often unusual ways Thelonious Coltrane essentially seeks to lyrically live inside the beat. Thelonious Coltrane is “Existence Music”. 

Thelonious Coltrane be like… 

In closing (Personal Artist Statement) 

My art is a weird and very different sometimes crazy afrofuturistic mix of music and poetry circumambulating around the ideas of freedom and defiance through the rebellious yet intergalactic lense of black identity and melanated living, magic, truth and expression manifested as a human fractal made flesh. 

Victor Rodgers, known in Baltimore’s vibrant arts scene as Slangston Hughes, is a dynamic hip-hop artist, poet, writer, journalist, and National Slam Champion whose work resonates with cultural depth and creative innovation. Based in Baltimore, Maryland, Rodgers has established himself as a leading voice in spoken word and hip-hop, blending art with activism to amplify marginalized narratives and celebrate Black cultural heritage. As the former Artistic Director of DewMore Baltimore, he shaped the organization’s artistic vision, fostering spaces for poetic expression and community engagement. Rodgers founded and performed with Slammageddon Baltimore, the adult slam team that secured an unprecedented seven championships, making it the winningest team in poetry slam history. He also served as a coach for the Baltimore City Poetry Team, guiding them to two world championships, a testament to his mentorship and leadership in competitive poetry.

Rodgers’ creative output spans multiple disciplines. He is the author of the acclaimed poetry collection Slanguage Arts & Griot Glimpses, which captures the rhythms and stories of Baltimore’s streets, and the forthcoming book God’s Favorite Breakdance Move, set to further explore his lyrical and spiritual insights. His award-winning mixtape, Tell The Truth Or Shut The Fuck Up, showcases his prowess as a hip-hop artist, weaving sharp social commentary with Afrofuturist sensibilities. As a journalist, Rodgers brings a critical lens to cultural and social issues, contributing to Baltimore’s discourse through his writing. His work is characterized by a commitment to authenticity, risk-taking, and cultural integrity, making him a pivotal figure in Baltimore’s arts ecosystem. Through his performances, writings, and collaborative projects, Victor Rodgers continues to inspire and challenge audiences, forging connections that uplift and reimagine community narratives.