Black Ice

When a person is truly talented, fame has a way of finding them. For poet/spoken word artist/MC extraordinaire Black Ice, his spot in the limelight was more of a divine gift than a personal goal. With industry power players backing him like Russell Simmons, who introduced Black Ice to the world on his Def Poetry Jam series and Mary J. Blige, who snatched up Ice to perform as part of her national tour "The Breakthrough Experience," Black Ice has gotten the chance to really touch the masses.

"I get these sporadic moments of vindication that let me know that what I'm doing is not in vane," says the 34 year old Philadelphia native. "Like Russell calling me to perform on Live 8 or Mary bringing me in front of all of her fans. I don't think I'm really any different from anyone else. I just recognize who I am and what I'm supposed to be doing. It's a very big commitment to me."

With his Koch Records debut album, The Death of Willie Lynch, Black Ice brings his unique brand of rhythmic poetry to the forefront of popular music by enlisting DJ Jazzy Jeff as the album's executive producer. With appearances from Floetry's Natalie Stewart and Musiq, The Death of Willie Lynch presents a wide range of beats, rhymes and life lessons.

As a boy growing up in Philly’s notorious North side, Black Ice (born Lamar Manson), was encouraged by his mother to explore the thoughts in his young mind. "I've been writing all my life," says Ice. "My mom saw that it was a talent and she just made me write. Then I started doing spoken word back in '93. I was a barber at the time and I would write all the time but I never shared it." That was until a friend took Ice to an open mic at Philly’s Butta Milk and introduced him to an art form that he would eventually come to represent.

In 1999, Black Ice won a poetry competition and was asked to perform in front of Russell Simmons who was pitching his new series Def Poetry Jam to HBO executives. Ice's performance made such an impression that he was asked to appear on the show and has gone on to be the most featured poet on all five seasons. His other television appearances include spots on BET's 106 & Park and Rap City, but his biggest accomplishment came in 2003 when Ice was asked to join the cast of Def Jam Poetry on Broadway which earned him a Tony award for Special Theatrical Event.
With his name ringing bells in both theatrical and musical circles, Black Ice was offered a record deal from Def Jam Records. But before he had a chance to release an album, Ice decided to take his art over to Koch Records, where he signed in 2005.

"Jazzy Jeff went up to meet with Alan Grunblatt, the GM of KOCH, and Alan fell in love with one of my songs, 'Lone Solider'," says Ice. "I look at record labels as organized religion and to me, KOCH is like the yoga center."

Black Ice touches on a bevy of subject matter on The Death of Willie Lynch including the grave injustices that were suffered during Hurricane Katrina ("The Ugly Show"), the importance of accomplished individuals giving back to their community ("Find My Way Home"), and cautiously approaching young lust ("Take Your Time").

"My life has been so meaningful I have to write something that touches folks," says Ice. "I have a legacy to uphold. I grew up around great men. My father, my uncles and my Grandfather are my heroes and just in that alone, there are some things I could never say. I could never look my father in his face knowing I have something that’s playing on the radio that’s absolutely asinine."

With a cadence that jumps from the traditional pattern used by spoken artist's to the hard hitting wordplay utilized by some of the world's best MCs, Black Ice is truly a unique talent. With accomplished drummer Eric "Booty" Greene formulating all of the music behind his words, Black Ice's message always comes off crisp.

"I gained notoriety off Def Poetry Jam but there's absolutely something deeper with me," he says. "I'm not just a poet. I'm a motivational speaker, I'm a debater, and I'm an MC. There are so many other elements to me. I'm really just an artist."