"Joe is a refreshing and seldom heard voice of the hip-hop generation that deserves listening and watching."
Danny Hoch

"Joe's work offers a fresh perspective that is both honest and insightful."
Dr. Cornel West, Princeton University

"Joe is an inspiring voice and talent. His work is humorous and powerful."
Saul Williams

"Joe ain't afraid to be entertaining, in fact highly entertaining is what he is. Joe, I've noticed, likes to take chances and push the audience close to the edge."
Marc (So What!) Smith, Founder of the Slam Movement and Poetry Slam, Inc.


A two-time HBO Def Poet, Joe Hernández-Kolski is an actor/writer committed to creating work that challenges the audience while making them laugh. He currently lives in Los Angeles. Born and raised in the city of Chicago, Joe has been acting professionally since he was a child. He is a graduate of Princeton University.


As an actor, his film Afterschool'd, which he also wrote and produced, was just chosen as one of seven finalists in NBC's Comedy Short Cuts Festival. He recently opened the "Say Word" Hip-Hop Theater Festival at Lehigh University with his hip-hop solo show—You Wanna Piece of Me?—with DJ Jedi (Digable Planets, Def Poetry Jam Tour). The show has been performed all over the country, including the San Francisco Hip-Hop Theater Festival and the New York International Fringe Festival where the show received much attention from both theatrical producers and press including a great review in The New York Times. In addition, Joe recently received glowing reviews from both Variety and The Los Angeles Times for his dual-performance in Center Theater Group's production of The Stones at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Joe played both Yahoo, a 15-year-old boy in trouble with the law, and Russo, the detective investigating the case. Currently, he can be seen mixing it up with actors like Esai Morales, Danny Trejo and Judy Reyes as the host of Si TV's Not So Foreign Filmmakers Showcase, a show dedicated to independent film. The second season is currently airing. Before that, he was touring with The Bomb-itty of Errors, a Hip-Hop version of Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors." The cast performed in London's West End at the famous New Ambassadors. The show's also been to Dublin, Chicago, Florida and won the STAGE Award for "Best Ensemble" at the 2002 Edinburgh Fringe Theater Festival in Scotland.


As a Spoken Word Poet, Joe just performed on the sixth season of HBO's Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry. He previously performed on the season finale of the fourth season. He currently tours around the country with his lecture/performance entitled, "Refried Latino Pride." His blend of comedy, social commentary and personal stories attracts fans from all different backgrounds. The audience response at colleges and universities nationwide has been unbelievably positive. He is represented by the American Program Bureau: www.apbspeakers.com.


As a teacher, Joe continues to work with several organizations throughout Los Angeles teaching Hip-Hop Culture and Spoken Word Workshops. He currently hosts DownBeat 720, an open-mic for high school youth sponsored by the City of Santa Monica. The televised version, Downbeat Showdown, that Joe hosts and produces, just received an LA Emmy for "Outstanding Youth Programming."