Description

Iyeoka – Say Yes (R)Evolved (LP) [Intuition INTLP34631]

Slam poetry, rap battles, singing, songwriting and drumming. Iyeoka (Pronounced: ee-yo-kah) is well-versed in many expressive arts, but in essence, she is a storyteller and poet. “My goal is very simple”, says the US Nigerian American, “I want to move the world, one poem at a time”. She does this enchantingly well with her album “Say Yes (R)evolved”. In poems set to music, Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo reveals herself to be a strong, self-confident woman of the modern world. She tells tales of love and relationships in the 21st century and philosophises about the daily struggle of life and being a woman in a post-feminist world digging deeply and personally into her African roots.

Musically Iyeoka expertly handles a wide variety of styles from the electronic soul of “Break Down Mode” to the technofied R’n’B of “Broken Hearts Anthem (Walk Away)”, from the energetic dance-inducing grooves of “The Yellow Brick Road Song”, to a more jazzy “Happily Ever After”, from the melodic soft rock of “Say Yes”, to the pop sound of “Soundtrack to Life”. She certainly has presence and shines out with a silky smooth elegance reminiscent of Sadé on “This Time around” and “Simply Falling”. This woman has real all-round talent and she knows how to use it!

She began developing herself as a spoken word artist, regularly attending and then winning poetry slam competitions. Pretty soon she felt comfortable and confident enough to make joint appearances with the likes of Chuck D of Public Enemy, Musiq Soulchild, Vivian Green, Gil Scott-Heron, Sonia Sanchez (activist of the Black Arts Movement) and the recently deceased writer Amiri Baraka.

Working with producer, David Franz, she released the EPs “This Time Around” and “Run Into The Rain” which was the forerunner to “Say Yes”. This was her new format in full bloom and it gave her a big break in America. The album single “Yellow Brick Road Song” was used in the HBO television series “How To Make It In America” and in 2011 used as the theme tune for the series “Fairly Legal”. At the same time the official video for “Simply Falling” became a phenomenal hit on YouTube, with more than 215 million views so far!

The hit album by Iyeoka is now being released as a high-quality vinyl version (180gm) in a gatefold and slightly retitled, “Say Yes (R)Evolved”.