POETIC JUSTICE: J. Ivy, The Voice of the City

Correspondent: CDW

The birthday celebration for one of the most sought after spoken word artists will merge his friends and family on Thursday, March 3rd to acknowledge his birth and count his blessings. Come listen to his friends and a host of poets and singers at Room 43, on 1041 East 43rd, from 9pm to midnight saluting a future icon.

In the beginning there was the word, the foundation of all forms of art. And when it comes to the art of Poetry or new age Spoken Word, J. Ivy has truly served as a poetic pioneer. The Chicago bred poet one of the first to grace the stage of the Award Winning HBO Russell Simmons Def Poetry Series.

J. Ivy has gone on to receive a Grammy for his participation on Kanye's West "College Dropout" album, where he followed hip-hop legend Jay-Z and the ingenious Mr. West, unleashing one of the most memorable and heart felt verses of our time on the classic song "Never Let Me Down."

J. Ivy has managed to allow his craft to drive him to many creative avenues like on-camera work for ABC, NBC, VHI, B.E.T., FOX, MTV, and HBO. Voiceover for the sport shows like HBO’s “Costas Now,” “HBO Boxing,” or MTV’s “_Who’s Got Game_.” His on-camera opening tease for 30 million viewers during the "Fed Ex Orange Bowl," the "NBA Finals," or the introduction of NFL superstar Mike Vick for "Monday Night Football."were well received.

He has appeared in national print ads for Mecca and LRG , and performed along side artists and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bo Diddley, Patti Labelle, Dougie Fresh, Chuck D, El DeBarge, Roy Ayers, The Last Poets, Bob Dylan, Erykah Badu, Carl Thomas, Jill Scott, Mos Def, John Legend and and his wife Tarrey Torae. J. has truly served as an emerging voice taking poetry to places it hasn't quite gone before.