Poised to become the next break out artist from the Bay Area, Ise Lyfe (24) is one of the nation's premier Spoken word artist and Emcee. Named one of the Bay Areas Top 25 Under 35 by City Flight magazine, his 2006 debut album spreadtheWord finally gave him a chance to test and mettle with a national audience. It's safe to say that the response across the board was nearly 100% positive…
"…He might someday take over Mos Def's mantle as Hip-Hop's activist poet laureate"
–Seattle Weekly
"Four Stars!", "If revolution had a movie, Ise Lyfe just might be theme music"
-AllHipHop.com
His forthcoming album (Prince Cometh), and book (Pistols and Prayers) are both sure to please his current fan base and bring some more folks on board.
Fusing Spoken Word and Hip Hop, Ise's unique style of delivery and powerful content grasps his audiences, deconstructing the facade of dominant narratives. Rising from the streets of Oakland, California, Ise is no stranger to challenging the status quo. In the midst of an ever-growing culture of "Going Dumb" and Hyphy-ness, Ise chooses to spin off of that energy, using that same force to empower and uplift via his vocal and lyrical artillery. "Our communities are full of beautiful people that can't see their own beauty. People look outside of themselves for anything to make them feel good about themselves, or just good period. Before all of this is over, I'd like to play a roll in influencing people to see the answer within."
Inspired by Langston Hughes as a child, Ise began writing his own work as a teenager, interpreting the world as he saw it through poetry and rhymes, gaining popularity by traveling to local schools, battling other emcees and entering youth poetry slams, winning consistently. His ability to rap about change and empowerment without being preachy or corny is starting to resonate not only with Oakland's hardest Hip Hop heads, but people nationwide are beginning to take notice of the storm brewing in Oakland. Today, Ise is a well-known visionary artist and community leader, but it wasn't always like that.
As he grew into his teenage years he became more and more distracted by the same negative elements that many young men fall victim to when growing up in poor communities. He stopped writing and lost interest in not only art, but also his future. Despite losing friends and family members to drug abuse, incarceration and violence, Ise says that it wasn't until he witnessed a murder at a concert that his outlook on life changed for the better. "I realized that I had become numb to the violence and had somehow accepted the idea of dying young. I never wanted to be that way." It was this life altering experience that would return him to his rhyme books and journals; finding validation and encouragement in teen poetry slams.
Ise first got national recognition in 2000 competing in the annual Youth Speaks Poetry Slam Finals. In 2001 he would go on to represent the San Francisco Bay Area at the Youth Speaks National Poetry Slam. Soon, Ise was in high demand for his theatrical street-smart spoken word performance pieces that depicted daily struggles of common people. His performances started out in small coffee houses and open mics, but remarkably Ise Lyfe to date has performed at over 60 universities all over the country and abroad reaching as far as the United Kingdom and Ghana, West Africa.
He has been featured on Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on HBO. He has also shared the stage with Dave Chappelle, Lauryn Hill, Dead Prez, E-40,Harry Belafonte, KRS-One, Saul Williams, Ben Harper and Erykah Badu, Zion Eye, and The Coup to name a few.
In 2004, Ise was featured on the cover of City Flight Magazine where he was profiled as one of the "Top 25 Under 35 in The Bay Area." During that year Ise co-wrote and performed in "CAUSE", a Hip Hop theater piece that fused spoken word with modern dance to address the legacy of hate in the world. Internationally renowned choreographer Robert Moses directed the dance sequences.
Ise's impact goes beyond the stage and studio. Even as Ise's artistic career is reaching celebrity status he still manages to keep community organizing and activism at the forefront of his career. Striving to prevent youth from following the same destructive cycle of violence that almost caught up with him, Ise co-founded the P.O.W.E.R. Movement, a multi-faceted Oakland-based organization that addresses the educational, social and political needs of young people. In 2003, Ise began teaching social history and Spoken Word at one of nation's most innovative charter high schools, The School for Social Justice and Community Development in Oakland, CA. From 2003 to 2006, Ise balanced his artistic career and working for two of the most innovative and ground breaking organizations in the United States geared towards youth empowerment. He led the youth component at Leadership Excellence in Oakland, CA – A NON-PROFIT organization committed to educating black youth in the areas of social justice and cultural awareness. From 2004 to 2006 he served as Senior Arts-in-Education Associate at Youth Speaks (San Francisco, CA), the leading literary arts agency in the US. There, Lyfe molded curriculum that blended literacy and performance art in urban classroom environments by partnering with teachers to relate the text that students are assigned to their actual real life experiences.
Though his opinions and actions have led to conflict with police enforcement and other oppressive forces, Ise hasn't broken stride once. He continues to push forward the same message, refusing to fit the mold. In fact, young Ise Lyfe is the new mold.
The accolades keep pouring in for this young man. In July 2007 Ise Lyfe was honored at the 12th Annual African American Excellence in Business Awards as 0ne of the top "101 Black men in California making a Difference", and at the age of 24 he stood proud as the youngest honoree.
Ise continues to push boundaries and take his message to the next level. "Who's Krazy?," a one-man theater piece he penned himself was curetted by Cultural Odyssey of San Francisco and debuted at the 2007 National Black Theater Festival in North Carolina to a sold-out crowd and received rave reviews.
Ise Lyfe is humbly an aggressive force to be reckoned with on and off of the stage. He is an innovative businessman-The Owner, Founder, and Executive Director of Lyfe Productives. His company is invested in creating a popular culture of consciousness. Lyfe Productives is a consulting firm, partnering with agencies, companies, and institutions to connect the services that these entities provide with the people who can benefit from them the most.
Check out these links for more stories on Ise:
Eureka Reporter: Cultural Consciousness
Interview With MP3.com
Article In The San Francisco Bay Guardian
Article In The East Bay Express
Interview With AllHipHop.com
spreadtheWORD Review on AllHipHop.com
Interview With Davey D
spreadtheWORD Review on PopMatters.com
Article and Review on WireTap
Panel Discussion for The San Francisco Chronicle