"Hip-Hop's Favorite Poet" unleashes video and album, “Here I Am”

I love J. Ivy! I love his music, his persona, and his unwaivering love for the City of Chicago. He's a favorite son of this city in the music game no doubt and I have been bumping latest release in the car and enjoying every minute of it. 

He’s a Grammy Award-winning poet of the hip-hop age. He bridges the divide between spoken word and emceeing. His voice has spoken truth to power for brands like Verizon, Ford Motors and Allstate Insurance. He’s gotten crowds and players hyped for HBO Boxing, Monday Night Football and The Orange Bowl. He was even among the first poets on Russell Simmon’s groundbreaking Def Poetry Jam on HBO. And his verse alongside Kanye West and Jay-Z on“Never Let Me Down” earned him the deepest respect and repeat plays from hip-hop heads of all types.

He is the one, the only, the inimitable J. Ivy. And now “hip-hop’s favorite poet” is blessing the mic again like only he can with his new album, "Here I Am."   The project is currently available digitally at http://jivy.bandcamp.com/ for just $10, and the must-have hard copy hits the streets on Oct. 26.

The 18-track project features cameos and guest appearances by The Last Poets, Jessica Care Moore, Jesse Boykins II, Mikkey Halsted and Blitz the Ambassador – all who collectively bridge the gap between hip-hop, poetry and soul. 

The first exclusive video from “Here I Am,” directed by Will Gates and Leondotcom, has just been made public and offers more than a glimpse of the lyrical mastery that is J. Ivy.

J. Ivy reigns as one of America's most visible and vocal poets, whose powerful voice is known as the mouth of the unheard, the orator of the hip-hop generation and the linguist on pop culture's progressive side of the tracks.

“Music is the universal language, and hip-hop is the number one music in the world. I am focused on the genre of hip-hop because that’s what I grew up on. I am a hip-hop baby. I wholly embrace it," said J. Ivy

Produced by J. Ivy and other talented producers, "Here I Am" tackles topics of everyday life, love, war and spirituality – with a few feel-good, poetic party anthems thrown in – all with an intelligent, edgy hip-hop swagger.

"I definitely put a lot of love into this record. The words and music make me feel empowered. It inspires and motivates me as much as it moves my mind and body," he said.

And it will do the same for those who experience this game-changing conversation piece.

"Here I Am" is not a moment, but a movement. It is the guidepost for where hip-hop has been and where poetry is going. It pays homage to the spoken-word roots of rap, while hitting its hip-hop origins with heart and hardness.