later seasons where he performed his signature poems "Dear Father" and "Never Let Me Down." Fellow Chicagoan Kanye West heard about J. Ivy from mutual friends while he was working on his debut album The College Dropout for Roc-A-Fella Records. He contacted Ivy and offered him the opportunity to be on the song, "Never Let Me Down" which also featured Jay-Z. The College Dropout album earned a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The night J. Ivy recorded his verse on "Never Let Me Down," he heard music from a singer named John Stephens. J. Ivy was so inspired by John's music that he began to call him John Legend. J. Ivy is also featured in the first episode of the Kanye three part documentary Jeen-yuhs. His distinct hip-hop poetic style caught the attention of many who were not accustomed to hearing poetry incorporated into music in this manner which led him to collaborating with many artists including John Legend, Estelle, Slum Village, Maurice Brown, Smoke DZA, and more. On October 26, 2010, J. Ivy released his second studio album "HERE I AM", which features guest artists Abiodun Oyewole of The Last Poets, Jessica Care Moore, Jesse Boykins III, Blitz the Ambassador, Chris Rob, Amanda Seales, Mikkey Halsted, and more. In 2014 J. Ivy released a mixtape titled, "Diggin' in the Papes Vol.1", which features a host of collaborative records Ivy has created with Hip-Hop artist and producers like Crooked I, The Cool Kids, Ski Beatz, Slum Village, Carl Thomas, Tall Black Guy, and more. In 2017 J. Ivy released his third studio album, "My Daddy's Records", an album created for his book "Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain." J. Ivy is currently the Chicago Chapter President of the Recording Academy and is the first Spoken-Word Artist to hold a Chapter President seat in the history of the Recording Academy. Literary career In 2012, J. Ivy followed up his album "HERE I AM" with the release of his book "HERE I AM: Then & Now," a compilation of the album's lyrics, stories regarding the inspiration for the album, and additional poetry. In January 2014 J. Ivy inked a book deal with Beyond Words Publishing, an imprint of Atria Books & Simon & Schuster, for the January 2015 release of his new book "Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain", which is based on J. Ivy's poem "Dear Father" (as