James Ivy Richardson II (born March 3, 1976), known professionally as J. Ivy, is an American performance poet, spoken word artist, songwriter, and author. He won his first Grammy Award in 2023 with his sixth album, The Poet Who Sat By The Door. J. Ivy is a three-time HBO Def Poet and is known for his performance on Kanye West’s Grammy Award winning debut album The College Dropout, which featured him on the song "Never Let Me Down" along with Jay-Z. He received an NAACP Image Award for his writing and on-camera narration of the BET documentary Muhammad Ali: The People's Champ. Early life J. Ivy was born March 3, 1976 as James Ivy Richardson II in Chicago, Illinois to James Ivy Richardson Sr. and Pamela Richardson. His father was a Disc Jockey and On-Air Personality, who went by the name Jim Richards. Jim Richards' highlights included hosting the morning hour show on Chicago's popular radio station WVON, and his mother was a registered nurse. J. Ivy grew up on Chicago's South side with his family until the age of 14 before moving to the South Suburbs of Chicago, where he attended Rich Central High School. Ivy discovered his poetry talent during his junior year when his English teacher asked him to perform a piece he had written for a routine homework assignment. He performed in front of the student body and received a standing ovation. J. was heavily influenced by his mother, who supported his budding talent by encouraging him to continue writing and publish his burgeoning body of work. After his successful school performance, J took his poetry passion as a serious hobby and began regularly writing and performing well into his college years. Music career J. Ivy attended Illinois State University, where he became known on campus as "The Poet" and delved deeper into the art form. After college, J. Ivy returned to Chicago and frequently performed on the local arts circuit. As his popularity grew, J. Ivy was featured several times on Chicago's WGCI radio station and later became the host of "Rituals," (from 1997 to 2000) the most popular poetry night in Chicago and perhaps the nation at that time. He was eventually asked to come on Russell Simmons' HBO Def Poetry Jam. He received a standing ovation for his performance of "I Need to Write" and was invited back for two encore appearances in