Prince Ea

Prince Ea is a spoken-word artist and creator from St Louis, Missouri — that is how his own channel describes him, and it is how he describes himself. In one of his pieces he remembers that earlier version plainly: living in St. Louis, without any real purpose, working part-time jobs as a mascot and doing odd jobs. YouTube became the way out of that version, and the poems became the work.

What he makes, at his best, is not a lecture and not a course. It is a single argument performed as a poem, usually in three to six minutes. Everybody Dies, But Not Everybody Lives opens on the fear that is not death itself but reaching the end of life and realizing you never truly lived. I Quit is built as a resignation letter — except what he is quitting is other people’s expectations, negative thoughts, and holding himself back. Dear Future Generations: Sorry is an apology to the people who will inherit the planet, for a generation too caught up in its own doings to protect it.

School is the other great subject. In I Sued the School System he puts modern schooling on trial in a courtroom poem, accusing it of killing creativity and individuality and of turning students who do not fit the mould into people who believe they are stupid. It is one of several education pieces in this library, and for many viewers it is the entry point to everything else he has done.

His other recurring subjects are love, labels, and technology. I Am NOT Black, You Are NOT White argues that labels are just labels — not who a person truly is. Can We Auto-Correct Humanity? argues that touchscreens have made people lose touch, and that big friend lists can sit on top of real friendlessness. Across the library, love is his most frequent word and purpose his most frequent demand: do not wait for the weekend, do not wait for permission, do not wait until the regret is the story.

Honesty note for readers: his recent uploads are not all poems. Among his most recent 40 titles, about a quarter are listicle or how-to style self-help videos — numbered secrets, habits, and speak-better courses — and among his most recent 10 uploads that share is higher still. The newest upload in this library is still a spoken-word poem about forgiveness. This library includes both eras, labeled for what they are, and the Start Here path below leads with the poems he is actually known for.