As a poet and musician, Williams has toured and lectured across the world, appearing at many universities and colleges.

In March 2018, The Kills released their cover of Williams' 'List of Demands (Reparations)' and Williams opened for The Kills' sold-out performance at the Regent Theater in Los Angeles on August 13, 2018.Īs a writer, Williams has been published in The New York Times, Esquire, Bomb Magazine, and African Voices, as well as releasing four collections of poetry.

The first single released from the album was 'Burundi', a collaboration with Emily Kokal of Warpaint. Williams' fifth album, MartyrLoserKing, was released on January 29, 2016. If I didn't open myself to the possibilities of the unknown, then I would be lost.' That is the purpose of poetry: it is the window that opens, that allows some air in, some other insight, some other possibility so we can explore all that we feel, all that we think but with the space to see more than what we know, because there is so much more than we know. I am able to move through emotions and emotional experience particularly, you know, break-ups, difficulties in all the things that I may face, whether that is with an industry or a loved one or whomever, there needs to be an infiltration process, like you have a window open over there. For me, poetry offers some what of a cathartic experience. I think that it would be to express, to share, to relieve, to explore. When Williams was asked what the point of poetry was, he said: 'I'm making this up, I have no idea but here we go. Livemusic interviewed Williams on the evening and made a subsequent film, produced by artist Alex Templeton-Ward. Williams showcased the album at London's Hoxton Bar Kitchen on January 26, 2011.

Williams' fourth album, Volcanic Sunlight, was released on November 11, 2011. It’s a complete reflection of how I feel in this country it's a very transformative time.' Trent wants to work on a sequel for Niggy that I think would be cool, and I also have an album and new songs demoed at home that I'm ready to go into the studio and lay down. In a November 2008 interview with, Williams talked about his forthcoming projects: 'There's one album that I'm waist-deep into. In early 2008, a Nike Sparq Training commercial featured Williams' song 'List of Demands (Reparations)'. It was Reznor who said, after his own recent dealings with record labels, that they should release it independently and directly to the audience. The material was produced by Trent Reznor and mixed by Alan Moulder. The other option was for users to pay $5 to support the artist directly and be given the choice of downloading the higher-quality MP3 version or the lossless FLAC version. The first 100,000 customers on the website had the option to download a free lower-quality audio version of the album. The album was available only from its website until a physical CD was issued, featuring new tracks and extended album artwork. This collaboration resulted in 2007's The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!. On the tour, Williams announced that Trent Reznor would co-produce his next album. He appeared on the Nine Inch Nails album Year Zero, and supported the group on their 2006 tour of North America. Williams was invited to the Lollapalooza music festival around that time, and the Chicago stage allowed Williams to attract a wider audience.

He played several shows supporting Nine Inch Nails on their European tour in summer 2005, and has also supported The Mars Volta. In September 2004, he released his self-titled album to much acclaim. After releasing a string of EPs, he released the LP Amethyst Rock Star with producer Rick Rubin in 2001. He had performed with such artists as Nas, The Fugees, Christian Alvarez, Blackalicious, Erykah Badu, KRS-One, Zack De La Rocha, De La Soul, Buckethead, and DJ Krust, as well as poets Allen Ginsberg and Sonia Sanchez. Around 1998, Williams was also breaking into music.

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