James Ivy Richardson II (born March 3, 1976) is an American performance poet, spoken word artist, songwriter, and author. He won his first Grammy Award in 2023 with his sixth album, The Poet Who Sat By The Door.
J. Ivy was born March 3, 1976, as James Ivy Richardson II in Chicago, Illinois to James Ivy Richardson Sr. and Pamela Richardson. His father was a disc jockey and on-air personality who went by Jim Richards and hosted the morning hour show on radio station WVON.[2] Pamela Richardson was a registered nurse.
J. Ivy grew up on Chicago's South side with his family until the age of 14 before moving to the South suburbs of Chicago, where he attended Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields, Illinois. Ivy discovered his poetry talent during his junior year when his English teacher asked him to perform a piece he had written for a routine homework assignment.[3] He performed in front of the student body and received a standing ovation. J. was heavily influenced by his mother, who supported his budding talent by encouraging him to continue writing and publish his burgeoning body of work. After his successful school performance, J took his poetry passion as a serious hobby and began writing and performing regularly.
Music career
J. Ivy attended Illinois State University, where he became known on campus as "The Poet" and delved deeper into the art form. After college, J. Ivy returned to Chicago and frequently performed on the local arts circuit. As his popularity grew, J. Ivy was featured several times on Chicago's WGCI radio station and later became the host of "Rituals," (from 1997 to 2000) the most popular poetry night in Chicago and perhaps the nation at that time. He was eventually asked to come on Russell Simmons' HBODef Poetry Jam. He received a standing ovation for his performance of "I Need to Write"[4] and was invited back for two encore appearances in later seasons where he performed his signature poems "Dear Father" and "Never Let Me Down."
Fellow Chicagoan Kanye West heard about J. Ivy from mutual friends while he was working on his debut album The College Dropout for Roc-A-Fella Records. He contacted Ivy and offered him the opportunity to be on the song, "Never Let Me Down" which also featured Jay-Z. The College Dropout album earned a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The night J. Ivy recorded his verse on "Never Let Me Down," he heard music from a singer named John Stephens. J. Ivy was so inspired by John's music that he began to call him John Legend.[5] J. Ivy is also featured in the first episode of the Kanye three part documentary Jeen-yuhs.
In 2014 J. Ivy released a mixtape titled, "Diggin' in the Papes Vol.1", which features a host of collaborative records Ivy has created with Hip-Hop artist and producers like Crooked I, The Cool Kids, Ski Beatz, Slum Village, Carl Thomas, Tall Black Guy, and more.
In 2017 J. Ivy released his third studio album, "My Daddy's Records", an album created for his book "Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain."
J. Ivy is currently the Chicago Chapter President of the Recording Academy and is the first Spoken-Word Artist to hold a Chapter President seat in the history of the Recording Academy.
Literary career
In 2012, J. Ivy followed up his album "HERE I AM" with the release of his book "HERE I AM: Then & Now," a compilation of the album's lyrics, stories regarding the inspiration for the album, and additional poetry. In January 2014 J. Ivy inked a book deal with Beyond Words Publishing, an imprint of Atria Books & Simon & Schuster, for the January 2015 release of his new book "Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain",[6] which is based on J. Ivy's poem "Dear Father" (as seen on HBO Def Poetry).
Ad campaigns
In addition to his voice, Ivy has been a featured in numerous ads and served as a spokesperson for national corporate initiatives. He has been a model for both Mecca and LRG’s national print-ads as well as a spokesperson for Ford Urban.com alongside Tarrey Torae, Rocsi from BET's 106 & Park and MTV’s VJ Sway Calloway.
J. Ivy supports programs that bring arts into the school system. He is a regular performer in Chicago Public Schools. J. Ivy was a guest speaker/performer at Deepak Chopra's 2012 Annual Sages & Scientists Symposium and was the official MC for the 2013 & 2014 edition.[7] Additionally, J. Ivy has conducted poetry workshops and given performances for Reading Is Fundamental, The Kanye West Foundation, and Steve Harvey's Mentoring Camp For Young Men, where he presented his Dear Father Initiative, which teaches the power of forgiveness and promotes social emotional healing through the exercise of writing and journaling.
The Poet Who Sat By The Door is the sixth album of American poet, spoken word artist, actor and songwriter J. Ivy. It was released on September 30, 2022, by Word & Soul, LLC. The album won a Grammy in the category of Best Spoken Word Poetry Album in 2023. The album features collaborations with artists such as multi-award winning singer and songwriter John Legend, rapper Slick Rick The Ruler, PJ Morton, Ledisi, Sir the Baptist, Deon Cole, singer-songwriter and co-executive producer Tarrey Torae, BJ the Chicago Kid, Ursula Rucker, Omari Hardwick, Yaw, Musiq Soulchild, Sunni Patterson, Verse, and Abiodun Oyewole. Ivy made The Poet Who Sat By The Door to promote his art form of poetry and the spoken word. The album's music and messages include recurring themes of endurance, love, passion, oppression, inspiration, faith and healing.
In an studio interview on WGN Channel 9's live morning show, Daytime Chicago, Ivy explains how he recorded The Poet Who Sat By The Door in two months after spending two years working on Emmy nominated Netflix documentary jeen-yuhs: A Kanye West Trilogy, and while leading the push for the new Best Spoken Word Poetry Album category with the Recording Academy. Ivy also tells the story of how he gave John Stephens (a.k.a. John Legend) his stage name.[8]
Executive Producers: J. Ivy, Tarrey Torae, Harvey Mason Jr., Sir the Baptist, Juan Woodbury. Album Producers: J. Ivy, Tarrey Torae, Sir the Baptist, Juan Woodbury, Om’Mas Keith, Maurice Brown, Marshall Knights Producers: J. Ivy, Tarrey Torae, Greg “G Ball” Magers, Sir the Baptist, Prof. Larry Jenkins, Xcelence, Maurice Brown, Seauxgood, Tensei, Bryan Abraham, Kris Myers, Nicole Neely, JT Rich, Marshall Knights, PJ Morton, Juan Woodbury aka Mr. Takumoto, Daniel Haney Brunelle, Om’Mas Keith. Associate Producer: Ken Rose. Engineers: Greg “G Ball” Magers, Joshua Keith, Claudio Barrella, Eric Bogacz, Eric Lau, Jason Cesario, Kenta Yonesaka, Scott “Robot Scott” Carter, Izzy San, Ty Caughell, Rex Rideout. Mixers: Greg “G Ball” Magers mixed the entire album with exception of Vibrations II, which was mixed by Eric Lau and Greg Magers. Additional mixing by Ryan Hewitt. Songwriters: James Ivy Richardson II, Tarrey Torae Richardson, Sir William Baptist, Abiodun Oyewole, John Stephens, Ricky M.L. Walters, Zebadiah Anderson, Derrick Chambers Logan, Ursula Rucker, Omari Hardwick, Bryan Sledge, Taalib Hassan Johnson, Ledisi.
Record Label: Word & Soul, LLC.
The official release date of The Poet Who Sat By The Door is September 30, 2022.
Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor.
The Last Poets are several groups of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African-American civil rights movement's black nationalism. The name was inspired by revolutionary South African poet Keorapetse Kgositsile who believed he was in the last era of poetry before guns took over. The original users of that name were the trio of Abiodun Oyewole, Gylan Kain, and David Nelson.
The College Dropout is the debut studio album by the American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. In the years leading up to release, West had received praise for his production work for rappers such as Jay-Z and Talib Kweli, but faced difficulty being accepted as an artist in his own right by figures in the music industry. Intent on pursuing a solo career, he signed a record deal with Roc-A-Fella and recorded the album over a period of four years, beginning in 1999.
Abiodun Oyewole, is a poet, teacher and member of the African-American music and spoken-word group The Last Poets, which developed into what is considered to be the first hip hop group. Critic Jason Ankeny wrote, "With their politically charged raps, taut rhythms, and dedication to raising African-American consciousness, the Last Poets almost single-handedly laid the groundwork for the emergence of hip-hop."
Stan Lathan is an American television and film director and television producer. He is executive producer and director of BET's Real Husbands of Hollywood. He has produced and directed numerous stand-up comedy specials starring comedian Dave Chappelle, including Killin' Them Softly, Equanimity, The Bird Revelation, Sticks & Stones, and The Closer
Ernest Dion Wilson, professionally known as No I.D., is an American record producer, DJ and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. He is also a former recording artist, having released his only studio album, Accept Your Own and Be Yourself (1997) through Relativity Records. He is best known for his early work with Chicago-based rapper Common, as well as his career mentorship of rappers Kanye West and J. Cole. Wilson first gained mainstream success for his role as an in-house producer for Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings—leading to largely uncredited work on Dupri's productions "My Boo" by Usher, "Outta My System" and "Let Me Hold You" by Bow Wow—before reaching commercial success with his solo productions. He worked with Jay-Z to produce his singles "Run This Town" and "Holy Grail," West to produce "Heartless," and Drake to produce "Find Your Love" and "Nonstop"—each peaked within the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
"Through the Wire" is the debut solo single by American rapper and producer Kanye West, who wrote and recorded the song with his jaw wired shut after a car crash on October 23rd 2002. The song samples Chaka Khan's 1985 single "Through the Fire" and was released on the last day of September 2003 as the lead single from his debut album The College Dropout (2004).
"All Falls Down" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West. It was released as the third single from his debut album, The College Dropout. The song was written and produced by West and features singer Syleena Johnson. The hip hop song contains an interpolation of "Mystery of Iniquity" by Lauryn Hill from her live album MTV Unplugged No. 2.0; Hill is credited as a composer.
Antoine DeRay Davis is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Ray the Hustle Guy in the Barbershop films and as host of Hip Hop Squares. He is also known for his collaboration and appearances in several audio skits by Kanye West.
Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry, better known as simply Def Poetry Jam or Def Poetry, is a spoken word poetry television series hosted by Mos Def and airing on HBO between 2002 and 2007. The series features performances by established and up-and-coming spoken word poets. Performances also include special appearances by well-known actors and musicians, as well as occasional performances by Mos Def himself. Co-created by Bruce George, Danny Simmons, Deborah Pointer, Stan Lathan, and Russell Simmons, the show is a spin-off of the popular Def Comedy Jam which began airing on HBO in the 1990s. As with Def Comedy, Simmons appears at the end of every episode to thank the audience.
"Two Words" is a song by American hip-hop artist Kanye West, that features Mos Def, Freeway and The Boys Choir of Harlem, from West's debut studio album The College Dropout (2004). A cinematic version of the song was released as part of The College Dropout Video Anthology. It has been performed by Freeway regularly at his live shows over the years. An orchestral sound is used in the song. The music video was released in March 2005.
Malik Yusef El Shabazz Jones is an American spoken word artist, poet, rapper, music producer, and director based in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Tony Vacca is an American percussionist specializing in jazz and an early innovator in world music. He incorporates percussion instruments from a world of traditions that includes African, Caribbean, Asian and Middle-Eastern influences, to which he adds some of his spoken word and rhythm poetry. Tony has been active in the Jazz and World Music stage since the early 1970s.
Regie Cabico is a Filipino American poet and spoken word artist. He has been featured on two seasons of Def Poetry Jam on HBO and has been called the Lady Gaga of spoken word. He is an "out and proud" gay man.
Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah are American film directors, screenwriters, cinematographers, and producers. Coodie and Chike started directing together with their music video for Kanye West entitled "Through the Wire", which was nominated for a MTV Viewers Choice Award, and won a Source Award for Best Music Video of the Year. They have continued their music video success directing "Two Words" and the third version of "Jesus Walks" off Kanye West's The College Dropout album, Pitbull's "Culo" video, Mos Def's "Ghetto Rock" video, Erykah Badu's controversial video "Window Seat" and most recently Lupe Fiasco's "Old School Love" video. The team started directing and producing long form music content with the bonus behind the scene video on Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics album and a music documentary for Wale's The Gifted album.
Cydel Charles Young, known professionally as CyHi the Prynce, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Stone Mountain, Georgia. He signed his first major-label recording contract with Akon's Konvict Muzik in a joint venture with Def Jam Recordings in 2009. The following year, he gained mainstream attention for his guest appearance on Kanye West's 2010 song "So Appalled" from his fifth album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). Young then extensively co-wrote lyrics for West's further albums and singles, resulting in six Grammy Award nominations for Best Rap Song—the last of which was for his work on Travis Scott's "Sicko Mode."
George Edward Tait was an American poet, writer, educator, storyteller, journalist, activist, historian, public speaker, tutor, bandleader, musician, and performer. He was known as the Poet Laureate of Harlem, and a part of the Black Arts Movement. He was the author of At Arms and The Baker's Dozen: Selected Dance Poems. He spearheaded a musical poetry group called Black Massical Music from 1972 to 1977. He founded The Society of Afrikan Poets. His definition of music is the poetry of sound. He died on November 5, 2017. Tait has been writing and teaching for over thirty five years, and known for having poetry readings and workshops. He taught at writing at universities, juvenile detention centers, senior centers, community centers, libraries and theaters. He is the author of the Black Brigade. George Edward Tait was secretary of the Afrikan Nationalist Pioneer Movement which was founded by Carlos A. Cooks.
"Never Let Me Down" is a song by American rapper and producer Kanye West, that features Jay-Z and J. Ivy, from West's debut studio album The College Dropout (2004). It was released as the album's eight track, produced solely by West and samples "Maybe It's the Power of Love" by Blackjack. West and Ivy each provide one verse–the latter's is a poem–while Jay-Z has two verses. Music critics mostly had praise for it, but tended to view Jay's appearance in a negative light. In 2011, Billboard listed the song as the second greatest collaboration between Kanye and Jay. Although an accompanying music video wasn't ever produced for "Never Let Me Down", the audio of it was used in one of West's videos for "Jesus Walks". The song has managed to develop a significant legacy over time, despite never being released as a single.
Sekou Andrews also known as Sekou, is an American actor, writer, producer, and innovator of "Poetic Voice".
The Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album is a category in the annual Grammy Awards, that was first presented at the 2023 show on February 5, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
