IYEOKA
Boston, Massachusetts, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
How can you not “say yes” to an artist that combines their vocal talent, their passion for words, and their theater background to captivate audiences with pieces that broach love, women, culture, struggle and relationships, among other things? Iyeoka does all of this, with such passion and poise that it makes you long for the days of Nina Simone. Embraced as a top artist on the National Poetry Slam circuit, Iyeoka began to cultivate a very loyal fan base with the successful releases of her 2000 compilation Some Nights and her 2004 debut, full-length album, Black and Blues. Now the Boston-based Nigerian poet/singer is back with her follow-up SAY YES, making it hard not to.
Iyeoka delivers a powerful, revelatory yet compact experience in just 43 minutes. The album’s debut single, “The Yellow Brick Road Song” is an inspirational tune about following ones dreams, with the proverbial Wizard Of Oz reference. The track, featured in an episode of the hit HBO series, “How To Make It In America,” garnered positive reviews for both its lyrical content and musical composition. For those expecting a solemn, politically forced album, this introduction is a welcome surprise, and it sets the tone for the remainder of the album.
Two songs in, the album switches gears, and we find Iyeoka recovering from the pain and confusion of unrequited love on the title track. “Say Yes” is not the typical backhanded love song, laden with self-pity. Instead we hear a woman, empowered, realizing that while love is a priority, her first priority is to herself.
“Breakdown Mode” and “Millionaire” are both electro-funk tracks with humming synth strings and a funky bass line, reminiscent of what Janelle Monae tries to emulate at her very best. They are easily the most radio-friendly songs on the album, and a pleasant contrast to the lyrically heavy “This Time around,” which addresses the process of knowing one’s path and walking it, despite adversity.
Iyeoka switches gears and returns to her Nigerian roots with “Testify,” which builds upon Nigeria’s rich musical culture with unique polyrhythm inside a folk-like composition; a very welcome addition to the album, along with the monologue “I Travel Home,” which provides a vivid glimpse into Iyeoka’s evolution from a child in Nigeria to a woman in Boston. Iyeoka remains cognizant of where she’s come from and the things we often take for granted.
Both the composition, and lyrical, vocal vulnerability of “Happily Ever after” and “I’m Descending” are soft and beautiful, to say the least. Again we find Iyeoka in the midst of adversity, always remaining conscious of her greater self; a recurrent theme in Say Yes and a laudable deviation from the degradation of women heard almost daily in today’s music.
The final performance of the album is “My Anthem” (literally and figuratively). “This is my destiny of moments. This is the song speaking from my heart; so fearful of wasting days,” she proclaims in her sultry tenor, imploring her audience to use each day wisely
Iyeoka’s SAY YES is a holistic experience which feels like you are receiving an invitation into the beautiful mind and soul of the ever-evolving creative mastermind. It would be wise of any true music lover to have such a timeless collection of art in their musical repertoire. - Planet Ill
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=58765862800&h=Hr6jB&u=5d080 - Skirt! Boston
CD Review: Empowerment: The Power To Break You Free
By Mike Smith
Boston Teens in Print (T.i.P.)
Asked to review a new CD from nonprofit organization Project: Think Different, I hesitated because usually CDs like this where people try to go out and do “something different” turn out to be horrible. The term “do something different” is like a cover up for when somebody is just bad at what they do and they’re trying to make a legitimate case. I reviewed this CD track by track on a scale of 0-5 with five being the best possible score.
07-This is Life. Iyeoka Okoawo featuring The Foundation and Bambu. This was a beautiful melody. They basically took a drum pattern and sung behind it to make a beat. This track is hot because it’s got a singing/poetic feel. This track sounds real smooth. I can bump this. 4/5 - Boston Teen in Print
http://bostonfab.thefabempire.com/2009/02/16/recap-floetry-at-simmons/ - BostonFab
By Liza Weisstuch
Her poetic powers, in words and song. Her lyrics-elegiac musings on freedom, sacrifice, and finding one's own voice-are stretched over minimalist bass grooves and a twinkling piano melody or delivered against hip-hop rhythms. She gets up there and gently removes your soul from you, shows it to you, and puts it back in.
http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2009/06/23/iyeoka_musician_and_poetry_slammer_performs_tomorrow_night_in_cambridge/ - Boston Globe June 23, 2009
By Nick A. Zaino III
Monday nights through Oct. 1, the Paradise Lounge is the place to catch local soul, funk, and hip-hop with the Soul Power Tour '07. You could squabble and say it's not really a tour, but it does show off some under-appreciated talent from the local scene. Tonight at 7, it's Iyeoka Okoawo, whose inspiring, lyrical grooves bring to mind Lauryn Hill; R&B singer/songwriter Rob Murat from New York, who could play her ; and local blues drummer/vocalist Short'y Billups. You can also hear Okoawo on "Next On the Mic," a new collection from the Poetry Jam Collective and Rounder Records. 18+. Tickets: $8. Paradise Lounge, 969 Commonwealth Ave., 617-562-8800. thedise.com - Boston Globe
December 17, 2007
Iyeoka Okoawo (above) is having a banner year. The Nigerian-born singer/poet started it off touring in Hawaii and then broke into the local radio rotation. In August, she was featured on Rounder Records' "Next on the Mic," a spoken-word collection of some of the best artists from the Lizard Lounge's Poetry Slam, and won the "2007 Spoken-Word Artist of the Year" award from the local Massachusetts Industry Committee's Hip-Hop Awards. She also just got word that her cover of "Desire" will be included on Shout! Factory's upcoming "In the Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2" album, which features artists from different regions of Africa paying tribute to U2. Tonight, she plays at the Savant Project with her band, blending spoken word, blues, and soul. 8 p.m. Free. The Savant Project, 1625 Tremont St. 617-566-5958. thesavantproject.com
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company. - Boston Globe
IYEOKA and the Rock by Funk Tribe opens for ZAP MAMA!!! Both ZAP MAMA and IYEOKA share a goal to bring sounds from Africa into the Western world bridging cultures with their music.
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PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 25, 2008 – This Saturday Zap Mama a Belgian musical group founded and led by Marie Daulne, returns to Boston and invites a local Nigerian spoken word poet to join her on stage.
Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo, who has been described as the future of hybrid vocal styles combining neo soul, hip-hop, Nigerian blues and jazz with slam poetry, was invited by Ourstage stars The Press Project to perform backing vocals and poetry with the 7 piece live hip-hop band at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. Upon her return from the Music festival she was asked to support Zap Mama on their LIVE NATION invitation back to Boston.
Iyeoka expresses her excitement to open for Zap Mama explaining, “I’m thrilled to be sharing the stage with Zap Mama! I’ve been a fan for years and I was actually in the audience at the Paradise a few months ago when they toured through Boston promoting their Supermoon album. Watching them live transformed my approach to presenting my music." - PRLog (Press Release)
Spoken Word Poet, Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo and Hip-Hop MC B.CAP of The Press Project are funded by NPN/NCCC Grant to bring workshops and dialogue on bridging communities with music and poetry joining forces with Hawaiian Artists Paula Fuga and Tempo Valley
Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo and B.Cap of the Rock by Funk Series
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PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 27, 2008 – The Ong King Cultural Center (Hawaii) will host a one-week residency of Iyeoka Okoawo, a Boston-based, Nigerian-American artist at the forefront of the creation of a new genre which gracefully interweaves spoken word poetry with jazz, Nigerian blues, gospel, and new-soul influenced song. The residency will focus upon the intersection of poetry and song through: a major public performance, workshops for residents and youth and a public/radio
conversation with Hawaiian artists including local stars Tempo Valley and songstress Paula Fuga, experimenting with hybridized "poem/songs" and processes of connecting traditional music with contemporary performance.
Iyeoka comments “I feel incredibly appreciative for this recognition of my work and this unique opportunity to unite with this community and this particular caliber of musicians and poets. We are hoping to use this program as a template to invite Hawaiian artist to the East coast to collaborate on similar community enriching workshops and initiatives for our youth. I think the Mayors Office and the City of Boston will welcome the concept of this cross-cultural, cross-coastal exchange program!”
Brian Capobianchi (B.Cap) will be accompanying Iyeoka on the week long artist in residency project in Oahu, Hawaii from July 4th-July14th. B.Cap is a singer/songwriter and front man/vocalist/MC for the rapidly rising hip-hop group The Press Project his voice has been heard from all angles and genres. In their short 3-year rise, The Press Project has supported and shared the stage with The Roots, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, George Clinton and Soulive. They joined hip-hop legend Slick Rick for 4 days on tour in 2007 through Virginia and North Carolina and just recently have returned from performing at the Bonnaroo Music Festival, the 4-day music and arts festival host to nearly 100,000 fans and 200 musical acts.
This program is supported in part by a grant from the National Performance Network and the Network of Cultural Centers of Color's Artist of Color Performance Residency Program. Major contributors of the National Performance Network include the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency), and the Nathan Cummings Foundation. Major contributors of the Network of Cultural Centers of Color include the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, and S.Savings Bank.
The Network of Cultural Centers of Color is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to serving the needs of community-based organizations and artists of color. The National Performance Network is a group of cultural organizers and artists facilitating the practice and public experience of the performing arts in the United States. NPN serves artists, arts organizers, and a broad range of audiences and communities across the country through commissions, residencies, culture-centered community projects and other artistic activities. For more information about NCCC: www.folk.org/NCCC/membership.htm. For more information about NPN: www.npnweb.org.
For full schedule of Workshops and performances Check Iyeoka’s Calendar on www.IYEOKA.com
7/4/08 : Ong King Arts Centre/184 N.King St: Performance 8pm
7/7/08: Monday Night Live on KTUH (radio show)
7/9/08 The Arts at Marks/1159 Nuuanu: Workshop 4pm
Higher Ground Music Café/ 101 North Kam Highway Wahiawa :Performance
7/11/08 Ong King Arts Center: Workshop 6-8pm/Performance 8-10pm
7/12/08 Jazz Minds/ 1661 Kapiolani Blvd: Performance 9pm - PRLog (Press Release)
!n The Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2 stormed onto the CMJ World Music Chart hitting #6 this week, up from 13. Slam Poet and songstress Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo speaks out about her Afro-Hip Hop cover of "Desire" with the African Underground All-Stars.
In the Name of Love:Africa Celebrates U2
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PRLog (Press Release) – Mar 15, 2008 – Iyeoka is a Nigerian Girl with an African violet in her hair. She wants to go back home.
Mother calls her from a Nokia cell phone in Benin City every Tuesday. Mama says, “we miss you baby girl, when will you visit us again?”
“I’ll be home soon mommy, first I need to get to the Notable Productions studio and record this U2 “Desire” song for the Africa Celebrates U2 compilation!”
Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo states that she has always had a simple goal to somehow change the world one poem at a time. Little did she know she would be granted the opportunity of a lifetime to contribute to a track on an unprecedented release of Shout! Factory’s newest project "In The Name Of Love: Africa Celebrates U2". On April 1, 2008, Shout Factory is slated to unveil an album celebrating the music, culture and future of Africa, paying homage to Bono and U2 for their ongoing humanitarian relief efforts aiding her beloved continent.
“It is such an incredible honor to be included in an album with my fellow countrymen Tony Allen and Keziah Jones. I have followed Keziah’s work for some time now and my father is a long time fan of Tony Allen since the days he played with Fela.
So to now be associated publicly with artists I have looked up to like Angelique Kidjo and legendary Vusi Mahlasela…even to see my name and picture in the same album booklet is a surreal experience.”
Iyeoka lends her talents to a song with the African Underground All-Stars featuring Optimus from The Foundation Movement and Sierra Leone rapper, Chosan in this song called Desire. The album will be released April 1, 2008 on Sony BMG.
"Desire" is the lead single from U2's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum. It was their first #1 single in the UK.
Check out more of Iyeoka:
http://www.myspace.com/iyeoka
To listen to In The Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2:
http://www.africacelebratesu2.com/ - PRLog (Press Release)
POSTED NOVEMBER 13TH, 2007
One listen to Iyeoka will capture your spirit and won't let it go until her lyrics are done encircling the rhythm of your soul with words of truth, beats of passion, and the strength of pure poetry. You truly have to listen to her album to feel the full effect of what we are saying. This lady is on fire, and we just hold our breath of anticipation of whats to come next for her. Her voice is so strong and magnificent and offers you no choice but to feel her positive vibration. We recently caught up with the lovely poetess and below she shares a glimpse into what inspires her world, why she will never stop chasing stars, and her love for her Nigerian culture.
http://www.ymib.com/daily-inspiration/entertainment/articles/never-stop-chasing-stars-iyeoka.html
- YMIB.com- Circle of Beauty /Daily Inspiration
Discography
SAY YES (LP) - Nov 2010 - Underground Sun
Run Into the Rain (EP) - Nov 2009 - Underground Sun
This Time Around (EP) - Sept 2009 - Underground Sun
In the Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2 - 2008 - Sony Records
Live @ KTUH - Honolulu (LP) - 2008 - Phanai Media Group
Hum the Bass Line (LP) - 2007 - Phanai Media Group
Black and Blues (LP) - 2004 - Phanai Media Group
Photos
Bio
Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo is a Poet and Recording Artist, a 2010 TED Global Fellow, the 2nd place 2009 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion, and a spokesperson for the Amenawon Foundation. A first-generation Nigerian-American, Iyeoka was a practicing pharmacist before launching her career as a poet, singer, activist and educator. In her native Esan language, Iyeoka means “I want to be respected.” By channeling her culture and ancestral influences, she delivers an authentic and inspiring message of healing through accessing the power of the moment.
Iyeoka 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. She released her first solo full length album of poem-songs called “Black and Blues” in 2004 through Phanai Records and then began to tour and make numerous appearances on other artist’s albums, including The Press Project’s “Get Right” album and “Memoirs of the Tempo” by Tempo Valley.
In 2007, Iyeoka released her second album of poetry and music fusion “Hum The Bass Line” again on Phanai Records. In 2008, she recorded a live album in Hawaii called Live @ KTUH - Honolulu. That same year, Iyeoka lent her vocal talent to 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 Tour, 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 called “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 of 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. Even 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” and later was selected as the theme song for USA Network's original series "Fairly Legal". Her latest single, "This Time Around" most recently was announced as a recipient of an Independent Music Award R&B nomination.
Iyeoka is currently touring in support of the new album and her poetry. In the past, Iyeoka has toured in support of artists such as Femi Kuti, Zap Mama and Soulive, as well as played musical festivals like 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.
Iyeoka is a powerful songstress whose lyrical prowess and vocal talents invoke the spirit of soul-shakers Nina Simone, Sade, Lauryn Hill and Amy Winehouse. A story teller to the core, Iyeoka’s hope-filled words pour out from within and build momentum based on truth. As the words transform into songs, they reemerge as unique, emotionally complex gifts to her audience, touching on a wide range of issues--love, women, culture, struggle, and relationships, among many others.
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