FOLIO
by Richard Abrahamson
This month EU sat down with locally-renowned artist The IGive. You may recall seeing him on the CW’s YourJax Music in September when he was a featured musician and host. During our chat we discussed music, life and spirituality.
The IGive has been drawn to music for as long as he can remember. He recalls using his toy box and pots and pans as drums when he was a toddler. He started writing music at the age of eight, wrote his first rap song in the 5th grade and hasn’t stopped since.
“This is something I wanted to do… I started finding venues. I didn’t have beats at the time so I started kickin’ my raps as poetry. That’s how it all got started.”
People began recognizing his natural ability to flow and offered to work with him by providing tracks to go along with his powerful lyrics. Being constantly aware of his surroundings, The IGive’s lyrics are progressive and positive, full of social commentary, community awareness, domestic issues and just plain fun. The IGive calls his music “Rhythm and Poetry,” a blend of all urban genres including hip hop, soul, jazz, spoken word, gospel, R&B and even rock. His live performances are interactive and often include a live band. When describing his musical ability and passion he puts it this way: “The stage is my pulpit and my lyrics [are] like my Bible… Lyrically I have something to offer. It’s more than just punch lines.”
Raised in a religious home, The IGive is aware of God in music. “If God didn’t exist I couldn’t do music… Music is for the soul, seriously, and everything we put out into the universe has an effect. I know that my gift is from Him… Even though some people might not agree with my approach, I know that my relationship, it’s real, it’s raw and it’s honest.”
His first full length album Rhythm & Poetry is out now. The disc is definitely a high-quality product with great music and inspiring, thought-provoking lyrics. The IGive uses all original tracks with various guest artists like Mr. Al Pete, Monica Monet and others.
You can catch The IGive the first and third Thursday of every month at Café 331 where he hosts “The Cypher Open Mic Poetry & Soul.” Check him out online at www.facebook.com/pages/The-IGive and purchase his CD Rhythm & Poetry at www.cdbaby.com/cd/IGive.
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