We all know that DJ’s have a love for “diggin’ in the crates,” it’s only right that this poet, this scribe, this storyteller, this artist, this writer, this imaginative force decided to go "Diggin’ In The Papes."  Over the years versatility has been one of the strongest suits of Hip Hop’s Favorite Poet, J. Ivy. You will remember him as the powerful lyrical poet who held his own on the song “Never Let Me Down” from "The College Dropout" along side of Kanye West & Jay-Z.  He is also the man who gave John Stephens the moniker John Legend.  As a prolific writer and performer he has a knack for finding unique ways of delivering his artistry, whether it be a dramatic heartfelt reading on stage, doing voice-over work for the likes of NBC’s Sunday Night Football, MC’ing Deepak Chopra’s Annual Conference or collaborating with artists like John Legend and Doug E. Fresh. Being the creative that he is, the power of J. Ivy’s words has been strongly felt whether delivered as an acapella piece or over a Soulful, Alternative, or Hip-Hop bed of music.

As this performance poet and author gears up for his January 27, 2015 book release titled "Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain," which is being published by Beyond Words, an Imprint of Atria Books/Simon and Schuster, he has taken the time to put a little something on your ears and spirit.  In the words of J. Ivy: “I figured why not give you a taste of what I experience when I shuffle thru the vault.”  From Crooked I to Disclosure to Mikey Rocks to Chill Moody to Carl Thomas to Slum Village to a remake of a Jimi Hendrix classic J. Ivy shares "Diggin’ In The Papes - Volume 1" of this music collective. Here is a free download for music and poetry lovers. 

Diggin' In The Papes

This second offering from Jason Champion and Dave Tolliver, known collectively as Men at Large, should have benefited from the momentum built by their self-titled debut CD, but without a significant hit to stimulate sales, it sold fewer units. This despite the inclusion of Keith Sweat and Gerald Levert's vocal contributions to "Don't Cry," a song co-written by Sweat. This is more mellow then the first album; the ballads are less dramatic, yet still powerfully executed. The guys seem more confident with their singing. "Holiday" is nice, and most will enjoy its family reunion message. The comedy skits that appeared on the first LP are gone, so this may not be as immediately engaging to some. Tolliver sings his lines with the precision of a diamond cutter, while Champion improvises and embellishes his lines with shamelessly soulful vocal runs. Harmony lovers will freak listening to "Don't Cry"; the assembly of voices takes the song to new levels. They sound better than Boyz II Men on the lush ballad, Levert, Sweat, Tolliver, and Champion should do a whole LP together -- they're bad! Traci Hale and Emanuel Officer contribute backing vocals to the floater. The duo remind you of their immense rapping skills on "Better by Myself," a hip-hop club number. The Cleveland natives (Dave Tolliver DJs on WZAK-FM) get low on "First Day," an infectious slinker about a sexual attraction. The 12 numbers are comparably even in appeal; there's not a skip-worthy track on the disc.

Men At Large - Let's Talk About It (Showtime At The Apollo)

First I got to give a shout out to Twista for creating such a master piece that was way before it's time!! Wetter was one of my favorite songs and what @jayy1da did with this shit is beyond genius!! Big shout out to all the people featured on his version. Here's to 2022 and MF Cheers to 2023 let's gooooo!!!! Supaaaa!!!

SUPA STAR SIX - BEYONCE - TWISTA CUFF IT WETTER

Pound Town

Messy

Groove (feat. Kandi Janai)

Just a little over a week away from the release of her latest studio effort, Sing, Pray, Love Vol. 1: Sing, Kelly Price and Ruben Studdard let the love flow with a duet all about being there for one another after a tough day.  With vocals that a both powerful and sweet, this track will have you aching to envelope the one you love and say "woo, woo, woo."

Kelly Price (feat. Ruben Studdard) – Back 2 Love

WRITE IT DOWN

CHOSEN By Novakane ft. J. Ivy (The Most Interesting Man In The World)

RAAAWK By Vice Verse ft. Mikey Rocks of The Cool Kids & J. Ivy - Prod by Tall Black Guy

STAR STRUCK By Naledge ft. J. Ivy Prod by Sa-Ra (Chicago Picasso)

THEY DON'T KNOW By Mick Boogie x Slum Village ft. Vice & J. Ivy (The Dirty Slums)

La Ric - Why You Play Wit Me

Cougar Love

Native Chicagoan J. Ivy is a Peabody, Clio, and Image Award Winning Performance Poet, Artist, Musician, Author, Voice-Over Talent, Motivational Speaker, and Actor. His own-authored motto is, “Dreams Don't Come True, They Are True.” That mindset and his patented breath taking performances have led him to appearances on HBO’s Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry (3 Seasons), NBC’s Sunday Night Football (2 Seasons), ESPN’s National Spelling Bee, B.E.T.’s Ali: The People’s Champ, and more, to musical creations with The RZA, Estelle, Slum Village, BJ the Chicago Kid, Bun B, Ski Beatz, Sean C & LV, Miri Ben-Ari, and John Legend. He has shared stages with everyone from Prince to Steve Harvey to Doug E. Fresh to Sia to Dave Chappelle to Jim Carrey to many more. 

J. Ivy is widely known for being the Poet who masterfully delivered one of the most poignant verses in the history of Hip-Hop on Kanye West’s Grammy Winning Album The College Dropout. For more than a decade, the conviction, creativity, and passion that J. Ivy performed with on the classic song “Never Let Me Down,” which also features Hip-Hop Icon Jay-Z, has been held up as one of the greatest verses in the history of Hip-Hop by music lovers all over the world.  

J. Ivy, the man who gave Oscar & Grammy Award-Winning singer-songwriter John Stephens the name John Legend, has MC’d and performed poetry for conferences hosted by Deepak Chopra. In 2015 he penned poetry that he performed for NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan during All-Star Weekend in New York. And as a follow up to his latest works "Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain," a book which was published January 2015 by Beyond Words Publishing, an imprint of Atria Books & Simon and Schuster, J. Ivy is set to release the Dear Father Audio Book and album (“My Daddy’s Records: Songs from Dear Father”) Spring 2016.

RAAAWK By Vice Verse ft. Mikey Rocks of The Cool Kids & J. Ivy - Prod by Tall Black Guy

J. Ivy

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