As you may know, Iyeoka had the great honor of representing BOSTON at the Individual World Poetry Slam Competition in October 2009 and pulled off a 2nd place victory! Well, the nomination period for Best Boston Poet 2010 is open. We’d be thrilled to have you consider IYEOKA for this spot, so if you’d like, please do nominate her! You can do this by Clicking the VOTE NOW link above or by going to: http://thephoenix.com/thebest/boston/vote/nominate.aspx?cat=arts#10109 and entering “Iyeoka” in the POET category. Your vote doesn’t count until you finish with their two-part process. First, you must click “Submit Vote” and then after, you must click “Finished” and enter an e-mail address. They won’t add you to a list if you don’t check the “add me” box. If you feel uncomfortable using your real address, you can also always use any address at Mailinator.com, which can be checked (if you want to) on their web site.

————————————————————————-
This is the girl who passed through a real rainbow two weeks ago on her way to a mountaintop that asked her to arrive 2 hrs earlier. She took her time, daydreamed sweetly in her rental car. She celebrated the detours. Turns out the rainbow waited for her.
————————————————————————–

Sound: With a sweet soul vibe reminiscent of Sade and a fresh mix of LIVE and electronic instrumentation from production duo David Franz and Francis Phan, the new sound of spoken-word soulstress, Iyeoka (pronounced “EE-yo-kah”) is emerging as a perfect balance of thought provoking lyrics, captivating vocals and gratifying music production.

The name of the new EP “This Time Around” is far from just a slogan or a silent vow. This Time Around is an anthem addressing the hopes and dreams of each of us, from the individual to the Nation, and the innate power we all have within us to change everything. As we navigate through one of the most transitional periods of our generation, Iyeoka’s music speaks of the journey that catapults us through the challenges and triumphs, chronicling the trajectory of our lives as an extraordinary people and the changes we’d like to make This Time Around.

Tune in tomorrow to The Dr. Thema Show a weekly live internet show focused on healthy living – mentally, physically, and spiritually.  Tomorrow’s topic is “Step out on faith and follow your dreams”.  Dr. Thema will be interviewing Poetry Slam Champion and rising soul singer Iyeoka as well as Pastor Jamal Bryant, founder of Empowerment Temple.  The program is available on-line live from 12 – 1pm Pacific and 3 – 4pm Eastern.  You don’t want to miss it.  When the number is given if you have a question about following your dreams or advice to our listening audience, feel free to call-in.  Just go the following link to catch the show:
http://drthema.com/radio/

Thema Bryant-Davis, PhD
President Elect, Society for the Psychology of Women
Associate Professor of Psychology, Pepperdine University
Author, Thriving in the wake of trauma: A multicultural guide
www.drthema.com

Old School Iyeoka fans are surely aware of Iyeoka’s poem “Run Into the Rain…” we are pleased to announce that (due to popular demand) the poem is now officially being introduced to the rest of the world. A studio recording of the poem will be available on her next EP of the same title Run Into the Rain (Underground Sun, 2009), along with another familiar song “Descending” for the first time, will be available for download on iTunes through TuneCore on November 28th, 2009.

But wait, there’s more! A live performance of the poem Run Into the Rain will also soon be available and featured exclusively on the next Poetry Slam Inc’s (PSI)  2009 WPSI DVD as it is one of the poems that led Iyeoka to a 2nd place win at the Individual World Poetry Slam competition last month in Berkeley, CA.

This is one image on the short list of possibles to represent the cover artwork for the 2nd of 3 EP's proceeding the March 2010 highly anticipated Release of IYEOKA'S Full length Album