'Def Poetry Jam' Star Black Ice Dead at 54

Black Ice, who became one of the most recognizable voices of spoken word due to his appearances on Def Poetry Jam, has died at the age of 54.

Born Lamar Manson, the poet’s appearances on the groundbreaking show led to national recognition, a Broadway show, and ultimately the recording of his 2006 album, The Death of Willie Lynch, executive produced by DJ Jazzy Jeff. Though he was the first spoken word poet signed to Def Jam, the album was released by indie label Koch.

He shared in an interview with Rob Love in April that his struggles at Def Jam were rooted in being pigeonholed into a hip-hop category when he felt he was more of an “acid-jazz, funk, N.E.R.D. type vibe” artist.

“If it didn’t have boom bap, Russell [Simmons] couldn’t hear it,” he said. “He was fine without the music, but when you put music to it, it kind of went on deaf ears, no pun.”

Black Ice’s evocative performances on Def Comedy Jam, which aired on HBO between 2002 and 2007, made him one of the stars of the spoken word movement, which hit its commercial peak in the early aughts.

Spoken word came out of the Black Arts Movement of the 70s. Artists like Gil Scott-Heron, The Last Poets, Nikki Giovanni, Amiri Baraka, and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe led the way, and in the ’90s and 2000s that legacy was extended by Black Ice, the late Craig “MuMs” Grant, Jessica Care More, and others.

But Def Poetry Jam brought it into the mainstream, and spoken word, for a while, was aligned with hip-hop’s ascension into pop culture, dealing with social justice and Black pride.

Black Ice was one of the show’s poets, along with Georgia Me, Suheir Hammad, Staceyann Chin, and Steve Coleman, who joined the Tony-winning Broadway production Def Poetry in 2002. It ran until 2003, then went on a national and international tour.

Manson won an Emmy and a Peabody for his work. In 2024, he released a new album, War For Love.

Most recently, Manson was working as an educator. He told Rob Love that he found working with young people rewarding.

“My class, they are relieved to have a space to get off what they need to get off,” he said.

Black Ice’s cause of death has yet to be released.

Celebrities from Philly and beyond shared their condolences on social media.

Jill Scott wrote, “BLACK ICE!!!! Rest beautifully WORDSMITH. We got to have 30 years as REAL FRIENDS with REAL pens. Baraka to my Giovanni. THAT, was a GUDT time. So much love to his beautiful children & grands. My deepest condolences to his family and fans.”

Chin posted a clip of the two on stage, memorializing Jam Master Jay, who was shot and killed the night Def Poetry debuted on Broadway. She wrote:

“News of a loved one’s death should not come
on days like this/after the ground you have just begun to trust/is pulled out from under you
when being in your community
is already asking too much of your thinning grace

Today/my face is a cracked scream
Philly be up in my craw/too many maladies situated in Philly

Too many heartaches/gnawing at my too-long sack of sorrows/

Lamar and I were very different creatures/in our youth/we argued over everything/we saw the world through different lenses/today only his words remain.”

Watch a clip of Black Ice on Def Poetry Jam below:

See how social media is celebrating his life and career below.