Illinois Authors

Hip-hop’s favorite poet and Grammy Award–winning artist J. Ivy bares his soul in this inspirational memoir of pain transformed into healing and empowerment.J. Ivy is a true pioneer and trendsetter who’s bridged the worlds of hip-hop and poetry through his appearances on HBO’s Def Poetry and his collaborations with Kanye West and Jay-Z. But throughout his success, he carried with him the pain of being abandoned by his father and growing up in the tough neighborhoods of Chicago’s South Side.So, he sat down with pen and paper and processed his pain the only way he knew how—through poetry. The resulting poem, Dear Father, became his vehicle of forgiveness and healing. It is a pivotal poem that has touched and inspired the lives of millions.Fused with his signature raw lyricism and street consciousness, J. Ivy’s memoir shows what it takes to deal with your emotions before your emotions deal with you. His story is personal yet universal and will inspire others to channel whatever pain they have experienced into their own powerful gift of expression.

Time has shown that history repeats itself and poetry is the written and spoken beginning of Hip Hop... A starved musical world waited patiently on the making and release of the poetry & musical album experience of J. Ivy s HERE I AM and, in that time, it proved to be worth the wait. Now the album experience of HERE I AM is extended into the transcribed format and philosophical journey titled HERE I AM: THEN & NOW, which deals with the connectivity of all races, genders and religion. HERE I AM: THEN & NOW also speaks to unifying the universal human race in the content and substance of living in the Now. The context of this experience uses past events to create a world that can do better because it knows better. It challenges the historical meanings of past struggles and the effects of it on our world today. Surely the inspiration of the album now matches the beautifully extended meanings of the album's song lyrics and additional poetry, giving it further emotional depth to the powerful messages and truths revealed in the poetry and its music. It will uplift and inspire the spirit of the reader from whatever place they are standing in. An unlikely weapon to combat negativity would be poetry in everyday domestic wars, but at its best it is the most lethal and courageous weapon to choose. The musical form of this book has been given the Moniker as a 2010 2011 Independent Classic that the truest of poetry and music critics have said is one of best albums ever made by a Poet/Hip Hop artist. Hip Hop s Favorite Poet, J. Ivy transformed his epic poetic musical gifts into life lessons that can be read and absorbed authentically in its literal form. It is sure to re bridge Poetry, Hip Hop and The Art of Reading.