Prince Ea

Richard Williams, better known by his stage name Prince Ea, is an American spoken word artist, poet, rapper and filmmaker.

After graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Missouri St. Louis with a degree in Anthropology -- he attended on a full scholarship, he initially pursued a career as a hip hop artist. Inspired by artists like Immortal Technique and Canibus, he started and popularized the "Make S.M.A.R.T. Cool" movement to promote values like intelligence, free thought, unity, and creativity in hip hop music and culture. The "S.M.A.R.T." in "Make S.M.A.R.T. Cool" stands for "Sophisticating Minds and Revolutionizing Thought."

In 2014, Prince Ea shifted his focus from music to creating motivational and inspirational spoken word films and content. His YouTube videos have received over a billion views, and cover a wide range of topics such as environmentalism, race, work-life balance and spirituality. He credits his shift in perspective to the inspiration of ancient spiritual texts such as the Tao Te Ching and Bhagavad Gita.

Today, when he’s not creating, he speaks at conferences and gives lectures to high school and university students nationwide, on the topics of self-development, living your passion and the importance of being motivated and engaged in the classroom.