**Will "Da Real One" Bell was killed violently early Sunday morning outside his cafe in Miami. Get to know him, get to know his work so that his legacy can continue on in us and our children.**
WHO IS DA~REALONE? Will Bell, "Da~RealOne," while growing up in the Liberty City projects of Miami. It wasn't unusual for him to be suddenly awakened on school mornings by the sounds of Marvin Gaye singing "Sexual Healing" on the household stereo and the loud laughter of a house full of people engrossed in card games. The separation of his parents, the need to belong, and the lack of positive neighborhood surroundings are just some of the adversities that allowed him to make the amazing transition from troubled youth to a five time nationally televised spoken word artist. Early on he wrote and recited for only friends until a close friend read a powerfully poignant piece he had written called "Still Swinging." So moved by this piece, he was asked if he realized that people were gracing stages all over the country with poetry like this. His answer was, "No." He was immediately introduced to another poet who took him to his first spoken word venue where his words blazed the stage and without even knowing what it was, he had entered a "Lip, Tongue, and Ear" Poetry Slam and walked away with first place!
