Iyeoka Okoawo

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Iyeoka Okoawo (/iːˈjoʊkə/) is a Nigerian-American poet,

recording artist, singer, activist, educator and TEDGlobal Iyeoka
Fellow.[1] Her music includes elements from soul, R&B,
rock, hip hop, and jazz.

Contents
1 Life and career
1.1 Early life
Background information
1.2 Musical career
1.3 Poetry and workshops Birth name Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo
2 Discography Born Boston, Massachusetts, United
2.1 Studio albums
States
2.2 Live albums
3 References Genres Neo soul, R&B, soul, funk, jazz
4 External links hip hop soul, hip hop
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, poet, educator
Instruments Vocals, tambourine
Life and career
Years active 1996–present

Early life Labels Underground Sun, Phanai Media

Group
A first-generation Nigerian American, Iyeoka Okoawo was a Associated acts The Rock By Funk Tribe
practicing pharmacist before launching her musical career.
Website iyeoka.com (http://iyeoka.com)
Musical career

She began her musical career by founding the group The Rock by Funk Tribe, a collective of musicians that
enabled her to interweave her poetry with jazz, blues, funk, and gospel. In 2004, she released her first solo full-
length album of poem-songs, called Black and Blues, through Phanai Records. Then she began to tour and
appeared on other artists’ albums, including The Press Project’s Get Right album and Memoirs of the Tempo by
Tempo Valley.[1] (http://www.thepressproject.com)[2] (http://tempovalley.com/)

In 2008, Iyeoka released her second album of poetry and music fusion, Hum The Bass Line, again on Phanai
Records. That same year, Iyeoka made a cover of U2′s hit song “Desire” for a compilation of U2 covers called
In The Name Of Love: Africa Celebrates U2. The album featured Grammy Award-winning/nominated African
artists, including Angelique Kidjo, Les Nubians, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, Vieux Farka Touré, Vusi
Mahlasela and the Soweto Gospel Choir, with proceeds benefiting the Global Fund.

In 2009, Iyeoka decided to transform her sound and songwriting approach and began working with producer
David Franz (in collaboration with her original producer, Francis Phan) to create more traditional song forms.
Iyeoka released two EPs that year: This Time Around and Run Into the Rain. The new music infused more pop,
R&B, dance, and hip hop into the mix, creating an “electronic soul” sound.

In November 2010, Iyeoka released her new album, Say Yes, containing nine songs and two poems, through the
Underground Sun artist development company. It is the first “Evolving Album(tm)” where purchasers will
receive added content for free as the album evolves. Before the album’s release, the first song, “The Yellow

Brick Road Song”, was featured in an episode of the new hit HBO series How To Make It In America.[2] "The
Brick Road Song”, was featured in an episode of the new hit HBO series How To Make It In America.[2] "The
Yellow Brick Road Song" is being used as the theme song for the series "Fairly Legal" that premiered January
20, 2011, on USA Network.[3]

In January 2011, Iyeoka was nominated in The 10th Annual Independent Music Awards for her song "This
Time Around" in the R&B Song category.[4]

Iyeoka is currently touring in support of the new album and her poetry. In the past, she has toured in support of
artists such as Femi Kuti, Zap Mama and Soulive, as well as played musical festivals, including Bonnaroo. The
buzz surrounding her poetry has also garnered her national attention through performances at the TBS Trumpet
Awards, the Sullivan Honors Awards at the Kennedy Center and Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam on HBO.

Poetry and workshops

TEDGlobal Fellow,[1] featured performer at TEDGlobal Session 2010 [5]
Poetry workshops at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California
Cantab Poetry Team
Boston Slam Team
Lizard Lounge, Jeff Robinson Trio
National Poetry Slam circuit for the past ten years, with the Jeff Robinson Trio and as a member of the
acclaimed Bull Horn Collective and Blackout Arts Collective.
Her poem on Rwanda is featured in a new documentary film Rwanda Rising that is being executive
produced by Andrew Young, the former ambassador to the United Nations.[6]

Discography
Studio albums

Black & Blues (2004)

Hum the Bass Line (2007)
Say Yes (2010)
Gold (2016)

Live albums
Live @ KTUH Honolulu

References
1. "Fellows | Meet the TED Fellows | TEDGlobal 2010 Fellows" (http://www.ted.com/pages/437). TED.
Retrieved 2011-01-18.
2. "Episode 1.03 – Soundtrack" (http://howtomakeitinamerica.com/episode-1-03-%E2%80%93-soundtrac
k/). How To Make It In America. 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
3. "The Yellow Brick Road Song is USA Network show Fairly Legal’s theme song!" (http://www.iyeoka.co
m/2011/01/the-yellow-brick-road-song-is-usa-network-show-fairly-legals-theme-song/). Iyeoka.com.
2011-01-20. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
4. The Independent Music Awards. (http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima/artist/iyeoka)
5. "TED Blog | Report from TEDGlobal Session 9: The Unknown Brains" (http://blog.ted.com/2010/07/15/
report_from_ted_8/). Blog.ted.com. 2010-07-15. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
6. "Rwanda Rising (2007)" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0976054/). IMDB.com. Retrieved 2011-01-20.

External links
Official website (http://www.iyeoka.com/)
 Underground Sun website (http://www.undergroundsun.com/)
Phanai Media Group website (http://www.phanai.com/)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iyeoka_Okoawo&oldid=789729360"

This page was last edited on 9 July 2017, at 05:46.

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