Marc Marcel enters the 2026 Grammy Awards season as a nominee in the Best Spoken Word Poetry Album category, positioning his work at the center of a field that continues to gain visibility within the Recording Academy. His nominated album, Black Shaman, marks a defining moment in a career built on spoken word as movement, transformation, and lived inquiry rather than static performance.
The nomination places Marcel among a select group of artists recognized this year for advancing spoken word as a musical and cultural form. For Marcel, the recognition reflects more than a single project; it underscores years of sustained output and an approach to poetry that merges philosophy, rhythm, and personal experience into a cohesive body of work.
Diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 10, Marcel was once told that language would be a limitation. Instead, it became his primary instrument. Over more than two decades, he has released over 20 spoken word albums, authored five books, and performed in more than 150 cities across the United States and eight countries. His work consistently resists easy categorization, treating poetry as something dynamic—meant to be felt as much as heard.
Black Shaman is structured as a sequence of transformation. Each piece represents a stage of metamorphosis, moving through identity, disruption, survival, and reconstruction. The album draws from moments that reshaped Marcel’s understanding of fate, including a 2021 emergency landing aboard United Flight 328 following an engine failure, as well as earlier experiences documented in his writing, such as a 2012 spiritual journey that ended with his arrest at the Mayan ruins in Mexico.
The album is co-produced by Grammy Award winner Septimius the Great, alongside Scooby Trillion and The Intangible, creating a soundscape that expands spoken word through lyricism, rhythm, and energy. Moe Rock is credited as associate producer.
Beyond recorded work, Marcel’s career includes performances at Harvard and Yale, appearances connected with the Smithsonian’s Peace Ball during President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, and performances for U.S. troops stationed in Qatar. He is also the creator of the animated metaphysical series GURUS, the host of the podcast Cosmidelic Download, and the author of The Book That Doesn’t Even Matter.
In the 2026 Best Spoken Word Poetry Album category, Black Shaman is nominated alongside:
– A Hurricane in Heels: healed people don’t act like that (partially recorded live @ City Winery & other places) by Queen Sheba
– Pages by Omari Hardwick and Anthony Hamilton
– Saul Williams Meets Carlos Niño & Friends at Treepeople by Saul Williams, Carlos Niño & Friends
– Words for Days Vol. 1 by Mad Skillz
As Grammy voting continues, Marcel’s nomination signals a growing recognition of spoken word as a form capable of carrying complex ideas with musical discipline and cultural weight. Whether or not he ultimately takes home the award, his presence in this year’s field reflects how far the genre—and his work within it—has moved into the center of the conversation.
For Marc Marcel, the nomination is not an endpoint. It is another step forward. And this year, he is very much coming for his Grammy.
