Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo, poet/vocalist/activist supported by Phanai Media Group and Underground Sun Records transforms audio communities with life empowering music re-imagined into a new artistic genre that gracefully interweaves spoken word poetry with electronic soul.  
        
      ELECTRO-SOUL/ (Electronic Soul)-combination of electronic music with traditional SOUL MUSIC

Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo is the founder and lead singer of the music group The Rock by Funk Tribe. Iyeoka is at the forefront of creating a new artistic genre that gracefully interweaves spoken word poetry with jazz, blues, gospel and electronic soul. Iyeoka & the Rock by Funk Tribe is one of the most sought after supporting acts for touring artists showcasing in New England.  As a dynamic sensation in the Boston music scene, Iyeoka and the Rock by Funk Tribe have been chosen as the supporting act of choice for touring artists including son of Afrobeat FEMI KUTI, popular “World Music” group ZAP MAMA at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston and SLICK RICK @ Harper’s Ferry. 

With a career in music spanning 20+ years, my work has been featured on national television, on international stages in 15+ countries and at numerous major music festivals throughout the US. In this time I’ve been fortunate to have performed at TEDxAthens in Athens, Greece, the Mawazine Festival in Rabat, Morocco, Afro-Pfingsten in Winterthur, Switzerland and shared the stage with many inspiring acts such as Thievery Corporation, Michael Franti, The Roots, Femi Kuti, Madame Ghandi, George Clinton, Slick Rick & Soulive.

As a singer-songwriter I strive to present a delivery that is honest and thought provoking and I like to think that my catalog feels intuitive and provides a sense of comfort. I sit somewhere in the middle of classic folk, hip hop and soul with compositions mainly on acoustic guitar and ukulele. My attention and focus is mostly dedicated to lyric and melody and how they play off each other in a way that fosters feelings of memory, connection and ease.

Sometime in my early twenties, I was steered toward the ever creative and groundbreaking world of hip hop by what would become a very dear friend and music partner. The level of consciousness displayed by the artists I was introduced to seemed so succinctly in line with the effect I intended to have with my own outward expression - music and lyrical content with a deep seeded message - one of hope, connection, responsibility and compassion.  This message remains and can be experienced viscerally through the hooks and verses of my hip hop compositions.

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