Music

Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo is a Poet and Recording Artist, a 2010 TED … Read Full Bio ↴Music

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. Daughter of Nigerian-born parents who both hold Doctorate degrees from Boston University, 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 Toure, 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 is now the official theme song of the USA Network’s show “Fairly Legal.”

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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Poetry

“My goal is simple…I just want to move the world one poem at a time.”

Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo is a Poet/Recording Artist, the 2nd place 2009 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion and a 2010 TED Global Fellow. A first-generation Nigerian-American, Iyeoka was a practicing pharmacist before launching her career as a poet, presenter, activist and educator. Among Iyeoka’s individual lists of credits is performing at the Kennedy Center for an award event honoring activist and actress Mia Farrow, being commissioned by Discovery Channel for their 2008 brand campaign, being commissioned by a top-twenty ad agency to write a piece for a diversity training tool, receiving a 2011 Independent Music Award nomination for her R&B song “This Time Around”, a Massachusetts Industry Committee Hip-Hop Award for Spoken Word Artist of the year, and a New England Urban Music Award for the Best Female Spoken Word Poet. She holds the distinction of being the only member of the nationally competing Boston Lizard Lounge Slam team to have earned her position nine years in a row. Iyeoka is currently partnering with selective arts organizations to present her WORD SPEAKING TRIBE’S Professional Development Workshops on a 2010 nationwide tour.

A storyteller to the core, Iyeoka’s hope-filled poems come from within and build momentum with truth transformed into songs that reemerge as unique, emotionally complex gifts to her audience, touching on a wide range of issues-love, women, culture, struggle, relationships, among many others. The buzz surrounding her poem and songs has garnered her national attention through performances at the TBS Trumpet Awards, the CBS hip hop show The Source All Access and Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam airing on HBO. Iyeoka also has opened for the Tony Award winning Def Poetry Jam on Broadway tour at the Colonial Theater in Boston. Sharing the stage with recording artists Chuck D of Public Enemy, Musiq Soul Child and Vivian Greene to poets Gil Scot Heron, Sonia Sanchez, and Amiri Baraka—Iyeoka has held true to her core.

Across the nation, at venues ranging from universities, large concert halls, and neo-soul clubs to venerable spoken word haunts like the Nuyorican Poets Café; Iyeoka’s warm spirit, stirring lyrics and passionate performances leave audiences not only entertained but visibly overcome with emotion. Widely considered one of the top performance poets in the country, Iyeoka has earned her reputation by performing on the National Poetry Slam circuit for well over a decade, with the Jeff Robinson Trio and as a member of the acclaimed Bull Horn Collective and Blackout Arts Collective.

A gifted performer, Iyeoka’s acting prowess has been featured as the title character in a PBS documentary on Harriet Tubman, as well as an off-Broadway play produced by Thema Bryant Davis. Her poem on Rwanda is also featured in a documentary film “Rwanda Rising” that is Executive Produced by Andrew Young the former ambassador to the United Nations.

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Workshops

Creating Your Current Anthem

The process of creating your current anthem is a profound practice that helps to uplift the spirit and reintegrate the subconscious with the paths in life that we hope to deliberately choose for ourselves. Working with simple moments that trigger empowerment—breathing, listening, movement, singing anything, speaking in your words is a cleansing process that reconnects you with your ability to summon balance and healing.

The focus of this workshop is to introduce participants to a process of exercising the habitual patterns that feed the creative experience enabling you to create a composition of celebration and recognition that in every moment we can be truly present for the motion in our journeys that launches new paths to renewal.

Through a combination of breathing exercises, writing prompts, improvisation, artistic demonstrations from the facilitators and a supportive environment to explore the gathering of inspiration, you will have the opportunity to transform your authentic voice.

In addition to creating your own anthem, you will learn the tools that propel words to shift from the page to the stage. This workshop is for both the beginner and experienced writer, the slam poet, actors and even non-writers who seek to discover the empowering medium of transforming your life with poetry and the organic ways to express it.

The Testifying Goddess

Here we celebrate our true Goddess nature and learn how to amalgamate her into every aspect of our creative lives. Here we experience deliberate spiritual nourishment and attention to recharge our spirits, bodies and our hearts. We envision the path of strengthening our self-image by cultivating love for our body, the temple of our spirit. This process shifts participants into celebrating our enlightened energy at every stage of our journey in life. Through creative writing exercises and personal testimonies we share about love, pain, changes, the art of sharing your Testimony, and poetic exploration within our sacred circle creating a magical blend of unity, the impact of ritual, laughing, singing, healing, meditating, honoring, opening and connecting. New friendships in this environment go deep fast, and we create a community of Testifying Goddesses that can catapult personal connections with the potential for resonance long after the experience is over. Iyeoka Okoawo is a Poet and Vocalist and a workshop facilitator for both the youth and adults. She inspires women to embrace their creative expression and goddess nature, and enables them to step into their power, opening to the joy of a spiritual and creative life connection. Iyeoka is a nationally award winning poet and a guest Visiting Teacher at the Esalen Institute. Iyeoka has hosted “The Testifying Goddess Weekend” several times with women empowerment retreats and leadership conferences.

Poetry Slam All-Star Showcase & Workshop

What do you get when you combine Poetry with Storytelling, Comedy, Dramatic Monologue, Battle Rap, Song, and Dance? You have an art form called Performance Poetry! What happens when these new performers compete, judged by members of the audience? You get a Poetry Slam. And what elite final event remains after thousands of poets from across the globe compete for a year? You get the Individual World Poetry Slam (iWPS). Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo is a 10 year slam veteran of this art form, the 2nd place champion of the 2009 IWPS competition and frequent presenter at the Esalen Institue, founded in 1962 as an alternative educational center devoted to the exploration of the human potential.

Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo hosts a Poetry Slam All-Star showcase that includes an option to participate in a Master Workshop that guides participants in creating their own current anthem.

Workshop For the Brave New Voice

Living as a professional artist takes initiative and perseverance. If we are to survive doing what we love we must first find the avenues and pathways to succeed within it.

ART AS LIFE is a new PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM that introduces youth poets to the ins and outs of creating a viable foundation into navigating potential future income streams and career opportunities in spoken word. This workshop will give access to resources for individual art funding, a comprehensive “cheat-sheet” for establishing a strategic professional resume, and information on expanding your artistic profile and repertoire beyond the “slam”. Drawing from roundtable discussions, research on best practices in the spoken-word field, and artists’ on-the-ground experience, this workshop incorporates a step-by-step overview of the topic, partner exercises and case studies. We will present “the process of becoming”, putting your art into action (ie: teaching, mentoring, project development etc), and working through the social/familial/political challenges of a career as an artist. Handouts will include University slam resources, a Find Your Approach list to begin framing your career strategy, and quick tips for building your support group.

Wordshop Lecture:

“Reveal your anthem, Unveil yourself”

Iyeoka is a poet, recording artist, a 10 year veteran of “slam poetry”, and a 5x finalist at the National Poetry Slam. Iyeoka is currently the 2nd place 2009 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion and a recipient of the 2008 National Performance Network/NCCC Artist of Color Residency Award.

Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo lectures on the impact of poetry on the creation and inspiration of songwriting and music. The presentation includes an analysis of the direction and potential of the poetry and music genre to expand into the mainstream. The goals of the lecture are to inspire poets to explore the options of interacting and collaborating with musicians from rehearsing to improvisational techniques. Iyeoka provides exercises that highlight the process of cementing your personal foundation, encouraging artists to “reveal your anthem, unveil yourself”. She dialogues with young and seasoned poets alike on techniques of strengthening your brand to the development and expansion of your current catalogue of work to categorize your poetry. She speaks of the importance of identifying your uniqueness and capitalizing on the crafted integration of your multiple artistic talents.

THIS TIME AROUND
Iyeoka Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

If the only sun shining for me now
Is over a mountain or around a hill
If all i ever needed in this lifetime of unfamiliar
Was freedom from a wishing well

If we could ride a storm for a thousand years
Hands picking cotton till we all remembered how to heal
No matter what the song says, no matter what the soul says

This time around we're gonna know exactly why we came here

This time around the days are changing like never before
This time around all the world may never know
What happens if we stop dreaming

He remembers stepping out the front door into a storm of rain
She remembers feeling empty chasing old memories of better days
As simple as the air we breathe coming in a little cleaner

Take a moment to sing for love to bring on a new season for this change

This time around
(Gonna watch the sun rise)
The days are changing
(Take a moment to sing for love)
Like never before

Move your soul to let more love in
Find the door is finally open
See the dawn of a new day breaking
This time around

Take a moment to sing for love

Overall Meaning

Iyeoka's "This Time Around" is a song about hope, resilience, and the power of love to bring change in the world. The opening lines suggest that there may be obstacles and challenges to overcome, but the singer is determined to keep moving, even if the sun shines over a mountain or around a hill, and even if she feels like she's seeking freedom or something else elusive. The call to "ride a storm for a thousand years" suggests that she is willing to weather whatever comes her way, as long as she is able to heal and grow in the process.

The lyrics hint that there may have been difficult times in the past--the memories of "better days" suggest that things may not have always been easy. But the chorus suggests that there is a new era dawning, one in which change is happening rapidly and the world is never quite the same from one day to the next. Still, the singer is determined to be a part of this change, to understand the purpose behind it and to work to make it happen. She encourages others to join her on this journey, to "sing for love" and embrace the new season that is coming.

One particularly poignant moment in the song comes in the bridge, when the singer asks us to "move your soul to let more love in." It's a reminder that, no matter what challenges we face or how difficult our circumstances may be, there is always room to open ourselves up to love and to the possibility of something better.

Overall, "This Time Around" is a hopeful and uplifting song that encourages listeners to embrace change and to work towards a more loving, equitable world.

Line by Line Meaning

If the only sun shining for me now
If the only source of hope for me right now is far away

Is over a mountain or around a hill
If the source of my hope requires effort and determination to reach

If all i ever needed in this lifetime of unfamiliar
If all I require in this unfamiliar journey of life

Was freedom from a wishing well
Is a wish to be free from unfulfilled desires

If we could ride a storm for a thousand years
If we could weather and survive every difficulty for a long time

Hands picking cotton till we all remembered how to heal
Working together tirelessly until we learn to overcome our struggles and heal ourselves

No matter what the song says, no matter what the soul says
Regardless of any external influence or internal voice

This time around we're gonna know exactly why we came here
We will have a clear understanding of our purpose in life this time

This time around the days are changing like never before
The present era is experiencing unprecedented transformation

This time around all the world may never know
The rest of the world may never be aware

What happens if we stop dreaming
The consequences of abandoning our aspirations

He remembers stepping out the front door into a storm of rain
Recollection of a vivid memory of a challenging time

She remembers feeling empty chasing old memories of better days
A woman looking back at faded memories of better times, feeling hollow inside

As simple as the air we breathe coming in a little cleaner
Our lives can be improved by something as basic and essential as cleaner air

Take a moment to sing for love to bring on a new season for this change
Reflect on the positive effects of love and how it can bring about new beginnings and progress

This time around (Gonna watch the sun rise)
In this time, we will witness a new daybreak.

The days are changing (Take a moment to sing for love)
The current period is evolving, and we celebrate that through love and peace.

Like never before
In ways unimaginable to past generations.

Move your soul to let more love in
Allow your inner self to be receptive to love and warmth.

Find the door is finally open
Discover that the path to new possibilities has finally opened up.

See the dawn of a new day breaking
Witness the beginning of a bright new future.

This time around
In this moment

Contributed by Zoe V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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