MC Azeem

Ismail Azeem aka AZEEM (emcee) (born July 17th, 1971 in New Brunswick, New Jersey) is a performance poet and hip-hop MC, residing in Oakland, California.

Biography

Azeem, born of Jamaican and Panamanian decent started his first band Telefunken in 1991, which was a combination of live instrumentation and hip-hop. Years of hard work culminated in their first release (1994) on the then newly-formed OM Records.

Azeem's first break as a solo artist came at an open mic competition where he performed under the alias the "Invisible Man" against fifty other poets and lyricists for a spot on the Lollapolooza Tour which featured artists including: George Clinton, A Tribe Called Quest, and The Beastie Boys---to name a few.

This led to a PBS special with Washington Square Films, two book publishings, and a ranking spot as third best performance poet in the nation.Fact|date=August 2007

In 1997, Azeem was hired by Bay Area artist, Michael Franti (Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy and Spearhead) to assist him in composing songs for the second Spearhead album, "Chocolate Supa Highway". This led to Azeem touring, writing, and performing with the band for two years. The single, "Keep Me Lifted" --a song that features Azeem-- was the only song from the album to reach Billboard's Rap Charts.

In 1999, after his third tour with Spearhead, Azeem left to focus on bringing together his writing and performing skills as a solo musical act. 2000 saw the release of his first solo EP "Garage Opera" (Heratik) as well as a track on Afro-Mystik's "Future Tropic" album. Azeem followed up with the full length album "Craft Classic" (Stray). Azeem's hilarious vocals and DJ Zeph's funky horn laced beats earned the albums' single "Rubber Glue" the ..2 spot on the CMJ radio rap chart.

In 2003 Azeem released the 12" single "Family Man" (Bomb Hip-Hop) and toured Europe with the Bomb Hip-Hop Tour.

In early 2004 Azeem was the frontman on the VU release "Mayhemystics" (Wide Hive) which has been nominated for a California Music Award.

In 2005 Azeem wrote and performed a play called "Rude Boy". Azeem plays the character of Johnny Burke, a struggling and slightly disturbed "Jamerican" (Jamaican-American) who works as a janitor. The play is set at Johnny's place of work, a Mexican cardboard box factory. Azeem performed Rude Boy at: The Lincoln Center - NYC, Marsh Theater - SF, Oaklandish - Oakland, Hip Hop Theater Festival (Brava Theater)- SF, San Francisco Theater Fest - Yerba Buena Gardens San Francisco, Redline Theater - Chicago IL.

Discography

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/mcazeem] Azeem's MySpace Profile
* [http://www.myspace.com/zephandazeem] DJ Zeph and Azeem (OM Hip Hop)
* [http://www.oaklynrecords.com] Oaklyn Records