Saul Williams at IU tomorrow

The famed slam poet and modern-day Renaissance man Saul Williams will perform a free concert 7 p.m. Tuesday as part of the Hip-Hop Awareness Festival, hosted by Union Board. The rapper-poet-writer-actor-singer-preacher will guest perform his spoken-word poetry. \nDescribing Williams as one of the most multi-visioned artists that he knows, senior Alfonso Lerma, Union Board diversity performance director, said he already had Williams in mind last year for this event. \n"He's so provocative and in the right place," Lerma said, "(Williams' music) is very specific and written in a way anyone can relate to."\nThis festival is especially important to the Bloomington community, said junior Alex Pyatetsky, the president of IU's chapter of Hip Hop Congress, because of what Williams represents in the hip-hop community. \n"Saul is the figurehead for the whole spoken-word poetry movement in his poetry renaissance," Pyatetsky said.\nBloomington is no stranger to this cultural medium. The Matrix slam poetry group and The Black Curtain theater group have both worked with Hip Hop Congress and have helped build the poetry culture in Bloomington.\n"There is a supportive receptive audience for local and national artists," Pyatetsky said.\n"Everyone on campus would be interested in this," said junior Emma Cullen, Public Relations director of Union Board. She said Union Board is expecting most of the audience to come people interested in Hip-Hop Fest but is looking for a wide range of students. \nLerma says the great thing about Williams is that his entertainment is provocative.\n"There is so much more involved in hip-hop than just the glitter end on TV," he said. "There is a cultural movement and experience behind it." \nThe performance is part of week-long events that celebrate hip-hop culture and what it means to the community. The event is co-sponsored by IU's Hip-Hop Congress, the Commission on Multicultural Understanding, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and the Office of Diversity Education. Williams just finished a tour with music group Nine Inch Nails and is now visiting colleges around the United States. He has also performed or shared venues with artists from varying genres of music like NAS, The Mars Volta, Cursive and My Morning Jacket. \nHis fourth book, "The Dead Emcee Scrolls: The Lost Teachings of Hip-Hop" is his most recent work, but Williams is most known for his leading role in the 1998 Sundance-winning film "SLAM." Opening for Williams will be Wednesday's winner from the Hip Hop Congress poetry slam, junior Derrin Granger. For a full schedule of the Hip-Hop Awareness Festival visit www.hiphopcongress.com.