America’s Got Talent is back on Tuesday, June 16 with their third episode of 2026. Within this episode, fans should expect to see various different acts taking the stage for the first time. One of the contestants taking the stage is Guy Kelton Jones, a spoken word poet from New York, who was raised in the south.
Spoken Word Poet to Take the America’s Got Talent Stage
Guy Kelton Jones is a spoken word poet hailing from New York. According to his bio on Rumble in The Jungle Rematch, he began performing poetry at the age of 4. He began writing poetry later, and started performing musical theater at the age of eight.
From his love of poetry, musical theater, and singing, be began traveling the world performing, writing and collaborating with different artists. He’s previously worked with The Floacist (Floetry), Fantastic Negrito, Talib Kweli, Saul Williams and many others.
Guy Kelton Jones recently shared via Instagram that he’ll appear in the upcoming episode of America’s Got Talent. In the comments of his announcement video, AGT Winner Brandon Leake can be seen sharing his support of the fellow spoken word poet.
In a 2024 interview, Guy spoke on his experience bringing gospel music around the world. Since he grew up in the Black American Church, he brings those influences everywhere. He sees the church influence as all-encompassing in the history of gospel, blues, R&B and rock ‘n roll.
“In the Western hemisphere, there is no innovation, artistically speaking, that does not come from Black culture,” he said. “I was very lucky to grow up in Black American Church. It is an excellent training ground.”
Throughout his time as an artist in his lengthy career, he’s taken on the knack of being a jack of all trades. He sees Church as one of his biggest inspirations.
As a modern day artist, Guy prides himself as being an artist that speaks about contemporary issues. That being said, there are multiple things he won’t do in his art, like using the term “phobia,” since he thinks it’s misused. His music is “dedicated to uncovering and retelling concepts that have been misinterpreted, contributing to his peculiar sensitivity to Black Christian culture.”
Corey Cesare Corey Cesare is Talent Recap's Managing Editor and featured YouTube Host. She has a love of all things pop culture and an unhealthy obsession with celebrities. Corey earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Cinema/Screen Studies from the State University of New York at Oswego in 2021. She spends her spare time shooting astro, nature, and portrait photography, and coming up with movie ideas that she hopes to make into a film someday.
