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Poised to become the next break out artist from the Bay Area, Ise Lyfe is one of the nation's premier spoken word artists and emcees. Ise's ability to rap about change and empowerment without being preachy or corny have landed him spots on Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam and on stages with Dave Chappelle, Lauryn Hill, Talib Kweli, and dead prez. His sophomore album, Prince Cometh, is a welcome blend of substance and potent music. On Prince Cometh, Ise hits the nerve right at the core, offering a fly, socially aware, yet personal record that offers a visionary outlook at the world we live in.

Fusing spoken word and hip-hop, Ise's unique style of delivery and powerful content grasps his audiences, deconstructing the facade of dominant narratives. Rising from the streets of Oakland, California, Ise is no stranger to challenging the status quo. In the midst of an ever-growing culture of "Going Dumb" and Hyphyness, Ise chooses to spin off of that energy, using that same force to empower and uplift via his vocal and lyrical artillery. "Our communities are full of beautiful people that can't see their own beauty. People look outside of themselves for anything to make them feel good about themselves, or just good period. Before all of this is over, I'd like to play a roll in influencing people to see the answer within."

Inspired by Langston Hughes as a child, Ise began writing his own work as a teenager, interpreting the world as he saw it through poetry and rhymes, gaining popularity by traveling to local schools, battling other emcees and entering youth poetry slams, winning consistently. As he grew into his teenage years he became more and more distracted by the same negative elements that many young men fall victim to when growing up in poor communities. He stopped writing and lost interest not only in art, but also his future. Despite losing friends and family members to drug abuse, incarceration, and violence, Ise says that it wasn't until he witnessed a murder at a concert that his outlook on life changed for the better. "I realized that I had become numb to the violence and had somehow accepted the idea of dying young. I never wanted to be that way." It was this life altering experience that would return him to his rhyme books and journals, finding validation and encouragement in teen poetry slams.

Ise first gained national recognition in 2000 competing in the annual Youth Speaks Poetry Slam Finals. In 2001 he would go on to represent the San Francisco Bay Area at the Youth Speaks National Poetry Slam. Soon, Ise was in high demand for his theatrical street-smart spoken word performance pieces that depicted the daily struggles of common people. His performances started out in small coffee houses and open mics, but soon graduated to clubs, auditoriums, and over 60 universities all over the country and abroad reaching as far as the United Kingdom and Ghana.

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