Wanda Robinson

Laini Mataka aka Wanda Robinson Born and raised in Baltimore, she remains a local educator to young local poets in the Washington DC area. Wanda Robinson recorded two spoken-word albums: 1971 - Black Ivory (made Billboard`s Black Album chart, reaching #29) 1973 - Me and a Friend (put together from tracks she'd recorded for Black Ivory - Wanda had nothing to do with the release of this work, she had left the music business prior to it's release) Both were released by the label - Perception Records Both feature Wanda reading her work over Jazz-R&B Her work could be viewed as an important precursor to hip-hop. In 1972, fed up with being paid very little for her work, she shaved her head, changed her name to Laini Mataka and left the music business. As Laini Mataka, she has several books of her poetry published 1988 - Never as Strangers 1994 - Restoring the Queen 2000 - Bein a Strong Black Woman