The Poet Puff Girls - Belissa, Zariya, and Rhiannon
Queen Latifah Show - CBS/Sony Pictures Television
Hollywood Bowl - Marvin Gaye Tribute w/ John Legend
Performance and Interview/Chat on KPCC Radio
Say Hello To The Poet Puff Girls!!!
The Poet Puff Girls are Rhiannon McGavin, Belissa Escobedo and Zariya Allen. They met during Freshman year at The Los Angeles County High School of the Arts as theatre students. The girls were introduced to the Get Lit: Words Ignite Program for teen literacy which culminated in a 40 school city wide poetry slam competition with Rhiannon placing first as the highest scoring individual poet and a second place win for the LACHSA team. In their Sophomore year, Belissa and Zariya auditioned and joined The Get Lit Players, where Rhiannon was already a member.
Along with several others of the L.A. team, they competed at UPenn with the Youth Speaks/Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival in July 2014, placing third worldwide. While performing "Somewhere in America" during the finals, the girls were scouted and invited to perform alongside John Legend at the Hollywood Bowl for the 40th anniversary tribute to Marvin Gaye. They took the stage in August 2014, less than a month after their BNV experience and the ride hasn't stopped!
The Poet Puff Girls TV debut on ‘The Queen Latifah Show’ garnered over 6 millionand counting YouTube views.
Live performances include:
Joe Hill Centennary at The Troubadour with Tom Morello, Joan Baez and Ziggy Marley, ACLU Bill of Rights Awards ‘The Empowerment Congress with Dr. Cornell West at USC, First Lady Luncheon with Mayor Garcetti, his wife Amy Wakeland and Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg, Divas Simply Singing’ Benefit for AIDS/HIV with Sheryl Lee Ralph, The NAACP Awards, University of St. Louis, CalState Monterey, Events for Bobby Shriver, Marianne Williamson, National Public Radio shows with Pacifica Radio Archives/From the Vault Director Brian De Shazor, Grace Cavalieri with The Poet and The Poem at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., The girls also wrote an original beauty manifesto for the DOVE Choose Beautiful Campaign which they performed at Lincoln Center for TinaBrownMedia at the 2015 Women in The World Summit in NYC.
In July 2015, the girls premiered Season Five on TV One’s ‘Lexus Verses and Flow’, making them the youngest poets to grace that stage.
The group moniker is an homage to their shared love for poetry and The Power Puff Girls.