The poet
A voice from the South Side of Chicago that turned poetry into a GRAMMY® category’s first chapter.
A voice from the South Side of Chicago that turned poetry into a GRAMMY® category’s first chapter.
J. Ivy is a 3x GRAMMY® Award–winning poet, recording artist, author, and songwriter from the South Side of Chicago. When the Recording Academy created the category of Best Spoken Word Poetry Album, it was J. Ivy who made history as its first-ever winner — then returned the next year and won it again.
The world first heard his voice on HBO’s Def Poetry and on Kanye West’s The College Dropout, where his verse on “Never Let Me Down” alongside JAY-Z announced a poet who could stand anywhere music stood. In the years since, he has carried the word from Madison Square Garden to the United Nations to the stages of the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York and Los Angeles, authored books including Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain, and served as president of the Recording Academy’s Chicago Chapter — opening doors so the poets coming after him find them already unlocked.
He tours and creates alongside his wife and collaborator, vocalist Tarrey Torae. The Beauty of the Journey Tour 2026 is his latest invitation: a night of poetry, music, and testimony — the journey, out loud.