Looking back, Taiwana can’t say she’s particularly proud of the quality or political analysis of her childhood work. The purpose of this archive is to show love to her younger self though, who navigated the world the best way they knew how at the time. Feel free to enjoy.

Taiwana Shambley was born and raised in the North End (Rice Street) neighborhood in Saint Paul. She grew up the oldest sibling in a single parent house with her little sister; two younger brothers; two older god siblings; many school homies; and many beloved cousins. When she wasn’t with her cousins rapping or stealing from the store you could find her playing superhero or first person shooter games on her Xbox 360. Or, with her head buried in young adult fantasy novels such as Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and Erin Hunter’s Warriors. Her dad’s side of the family migrated to Minnesota from St. Louis, Missouri and her mom’s side has roots in Arkansas, East Texas, and Mississippi. Taiwana’s ancestors are Africans indigenous to Congo, Cameroon, and Nigeria and were trafficked and enslaved by the United States during the Atlantic Slave Trade.

At ten years old she was diagnosed with dermatomyositis, a rare autoimmune disease that weakens the skin and muscles. Long before the dermatomyositis, she was identified by family and speech therapists as having a stutter or speech disability. She began performing poetry in 2015 at #ReVerbOpenMic organized by TruArtSpeaks, an arts & culture organization in Saint Paul that uses Hip Hop to empower youth voice. In 2018, Taiwana earned a spot as one of five young people to represent Minnesota at the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Festival. These experiences shaped her relationship with her peers, family, self and the world around her at an early age.