Event Description
Tim Hall and Cliff Notez
Tim Hall (above right) is an educator, artist, and entrepreneur, from Detroit, MI, who now resides in Boston, MA. He began playing alto saxophone at the age of 10. In college, Hall found poetry and used this form of creative expression to share his thoughts on paper. Tim Hall draws inspiration from his lived experiences – charting the nuances of blackness, masculinity, and the beauties of life. As a musician, Hall has shared stages with world-renowned recording artists such as The Nappy Roots, Carolyn Malachi, Bilal, Chris Turner, and Aloe Blacc. His poetry has been heard at Boston’s Hub Week, The Museum of Fine Arts, Berklee College of Music, Outside the Box Festival, Bridgin’ Gaps Festival, and many other venues and poetry slam communities around the Boston/Greater Boston area. Hall currently works at Berklee College of Music as the Assistant Director of the Career Center, and is the co-owner of HipStory – a digital media production company dedicated to creating and showcasing the work of marginalized identities within media. Tim Hall’s work can be found in his self-produced spoken word EP entitled Colors Of My Soul, and in his self-published book titled Trust The Process, both of which released in 2016.
Boston, Massachusetts native, Cliff Notez (above left) is a musician, filmmaker, photographer, writer, and producer who has worked with Harvard University, MIT, Blavity, Allston Pudding, Hub Week, The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston University, RAW Art Works, and The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. He is the founder and co-owner of media collective and production company HipStory in Boston.
Cliff received his M.A. in Digital Media in 2016 from Northeastern University and his B.A. in Music & Psychology from Wheaton College. Cliff created his first band, The ValidDictorians in 2011, with which he self-produced and recorded 5 records to date, allowing him to tour the east coast and establish himself as a notable Boston emcee and musician.
In 2017, he debuted his first narrative short film, Vitiligo which was accepted to 12 film festivals, a finalist, and winner of best short, including the March on Washington Film Festival, where he was honored alongside Ta-Nehisi Coates. Most recently, he released his first solo album, ‘When the Sidewalk Ends’ [available on Spotify & Apple Music] which explores themes of racism, oppression, black mental health, and identity.