Azeem

Ismail Azeem, who records under the name Azeem and resides in San Francisco, fuses poetry with music. Early in the decade he fronted the rap/funk outfit Telefunken; afterward he spent two years writing and performing alongside Spearhead. His first solo release, the 1999 EP Garage Opera, preceded the album Craft Classic, whose tracks were shaped by seven prominent Bay Area hip-hop producers. The site www.fabric8.com observed that Azeem “breaks (language) down like a street-wise dictionary” when characterizing his poetic style. He first drew notice for his verse during the mid-’90s. After defeating fifty rivals to win a Bay Area poetry slam in 1994, he secured a place on the Lollapalooza bill.

Alongside headliners such as George Clinton, A Tribe Called Quest, and the Beastie Boys, the festival featured singer/songwriter Michael Franti, who later asked Azeem to co-author material for Spearhead. The exposure also placed him in the nationally televised PBS program United States of Poetry. Although his association with Franti lasted two years, Azeem appeared on the hits “Food for the Masses” and “Madness in the Hood.” The sole Spearhead recording to appear on Billboard’s rap charts, “Keep Me Lifted,” showcased Azeem’s vocals.