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According to Webster's Dictionary, Matriarch means "a woman who rules or dominates a family, group, or state". If what Ol' Webster says is true, then Iyapiphany's picture should be next to the definition. As a performance poet, Iyapiphany has been featured at the Nuyorican Poets Café, the Essence Magazine's Women Who are Shaping the World Summit and the award winning stage play Evolution through Re-invention. As a Community activist, this Queen from Queens holds court over Ruth Works and Mamas Army, two ascending organizations working to assist in the rebuilding of The Black Family. TheSoulPlanet.com caught up with Iyapiphany and the results is the following bag of jewels. Check it out…
TheSoulPlanet.com: You are recognized as a dynamic performance poet, how long have you been a performance poet and what is the poetry scene looking like these days?
Iyapiphany: Recognized? Wow, it's always funny to hear that. I began performing in 1997 after hearing Brother Mike & Kayo at the Tribute to the Ancestors. I've only recently been back "on the scene" and it's interesting. I think the quality of writing has decreased and the emphasis is on performance. I'm not the best person to ask I'm extremely biased and I've never been a fan of slamming. I'm a writer, a poet. I read from paper, depending on the piece, I don't apologize for it. I like Aquia, Oveous Maximus, Falu, The Advocate and Shanna, if we are talking about newer poets, to me, these people use their voices to truly share, enlighten and draw attention to.
TheSoulPlanet.com: You have been labeled "A Black Love Advocate". Can you explain to us what "A Black Love Advocate" is?
Iyapiphany: A BlackLove Advocate is someone who understands that the world doesn't make it easy for BlackLove to grow, much less last. I acknowledge that love has many faces, not all of them pleasant. It is my job to make sure differing perspectives are acknowledged, and to help guide people toward choices that honor themselves and benefit their partners so that they can be examples for the children they share. I don't advocate people completely separating even if a couple decides their relationship doesn't work. I advocate them creating a new agreement or making adjustments so that children are not disjointed. Parents should love their child more than they hate each other. I try to remind them of the love that was once there.
TheSoulPlanet.com: Recently you dropped a compelling article on Hip Hop Artist Nas. Give the readers a brief elucidation on your piece and tell us what sparked you to move towards writing it.
Iyapiphany: Elucidation? O.K. Well, I heard an interview on Hot 97 where Nas said today's youth have it harder than the elders did. I found that statement foolish, maybe because it wasn't qualified but he went on to talk slick about other MCs and pepper his responses with blatant profanity. I was upset at the statements themselves but what really upset me was the fact that the interview took place on a Sunday, and it was 5:30 in the evening. I have always been a fan of his and just expected him to be more toned down for an evening interview. I thought he would have left that kind of interview for after-hours.
TheSoulPlanet.com: What do you feel about the current state of Hip Hop?
Iyapiphany: I love hip-hop. I'm sad to see it going through its own kind of growing pains. People go into the studio and just say anything. I'm an old-school, East Coast; mesmerize my mind kind of girl. I don't like the state of perpetual adolescence that it affirms for black males. While I understand the anti-establishment stance, I don't understand the anti-manhood stance. People can say that hip-hop is a reflection of what people experience, and I agree that art is subjective, however, I believe that the job of an artist is not to waste the reader, listener, viewer, observer's time. Current hip-hop to me is often a waste of time. Maybe I'm finally too old to understand the "youth" but, a lot of it is simply bs. It isn't Storytelling and it isn't done well. People aren't interested in making sure they have skills-flow, content, minimal production, rare R&B hooks, when I bragged about hip-hip-- MCs HAD to be interesting and somewhat relevant. It's not that way now.
I like Swizz Beats, some 50, a lot of underground NY MCs- lyric and verse they will eat up most of the people out here getting big checks. Hip-hop used to be about giving a voiceless segment of society validity, showing the world that there was an entire population they knew nothing about and they'd better make way for us. Now? I don't know what they're saying.
TheSoulPlanet.com: You are an excellent writer do you have any other literary works in process?
Iyapiphany: I have two major projects I'm working on. One is titled, Love and Hip-Hop: Defining family in the era of Broke Baby Daddies and Baby Mama Drama. It is semi-autobiographical and will contain interviews, testimonials, and commentary on young BlackLove and the state of mating rituals and creating families and a shorter work, RuthWords: Twisting Traditional Wisdom. It's a spin on the current "how-to…in 10 steps" craze. It's anecdotal evidence of simple truths regarding untruths.
TheSoulPlanet.com: Tell us about Ruth Works and Mamas Army?
Iyapiphany: RuthWorks is difficult to explain, it's my company. The first thing people tell you is to have a 30 "elevator pitch". I don't. RuthWorks specializes in education & training services such as curriculum design, program design & development, and professional development for non-traditional educators. We also facilitate forums on topics of interest specifically for the Black Community at large with a penchant for Youth Development. We're like a traveling talk show. The objective is to bridge generation gaps, and really break barriers that only say "we're different" though people see and read "we're better", though sometimes, depending on the vantage point, "we're worse."
Mama's Army is an organization of which I am Directress-in-Chief, dedicated to youth development and female mobilization. Our primary focus is to help young ladies develop into powerful women. Character development, community service and intergenerational interaction are the tools we use to "chisel angels out of granite." I've worked with children since the age of 15, and I've spent most of my adult life in some form of public service. I've managed and designed after-school programs, guided scores of young people toward taking responsibility and be fully committed to causes they believed in, as well as given employment opportunities to adults either just entering or returning to the work force. I've trained program Directors and Coordinators in the areas of Out-of-School Time (after-school) and Youth Development and found that while there are many good programs that are underutilized, few of them have brand identity and an ability to really engage youth long-term. Mama's Army is unique in that its intentional outcomes are simple and few-be an honorable person as you live, think about your life AND your people. Our philosophy revolves around teaching today's girls that they not only stand on the shoulders of great women, but also have a responsibility to become great women themselves, in spite of and because of, any and all of the tragedies they may have faced.
TheSoulPlanet.com: What are your thoughts on spirituality and are you a spiritual person?
Iyapiphany: I consider myself a student of Truth, understanding that Truth is relative to knowledge and one's desire to grow. I love the Creator and I believe that the Creator lives within all of us. I believe that we are meant to bring out the best that life has to offer and that we, Blackfolk are absolute evidence of irrepressible spirit. I respect any person who has a guiding system that keeps them accountable for the choices they make. While we did not create the world, we ARE responsible for how we live in it, and for what we do with and to the one we have. Spirituality, in its truest, purest form does that. Religion can provide the methods to maintaining that system and restoring us to balance when we fall short. Am I a spiritual person? I respect and honor the Unseen and I love the Creator. I live my life in the way that I feel honors that love and respect. I work to be good, honest, and open to what is happening around me and in the world and responding appropriately.
TheSoulPlanet.com: What advice would you give to a young sistah making her transformation from adolescence to Womanhood in today's society?
Iyapiphany: I have a quote on my bedroom door. It says, "I am the heroine of my stories, not the sacrifice." I'd tell her not to be afraid to do what is right for her, even if it is not what's popular. In the end, She is the Only person who will be with her all of the time. Then I would tell her to close her eyes and ignore every voice except the one that comes from deep within her, once she has established that contact, do everything in her power to keep that voice loudest and listen to its guidance. That is the only voice that will NEVER steer her wrong, and it is the only one that will always love HER completely and unconditionally.
TheSoulPlanet.com: What can we expect from Iyapiphany in the near future?
Iyapiphany: In the near future, like July, I'll be performing at the Harlem Book Fair, courtesy of Urbintel Productions. In August, I'll be facilitating a workshop on Building the Black Family (a demo of what RuthWork does), for Happily Natural Day and RuthWords: Twisting Traditional Wisdom will be available by Fall 2008. At some point I'll be touring for Love& Hip-Hop. I'll also be training officers and recruiting rank and file for Mama's Army. Our first cohort will be operational by Spring 2009.
TheSoulPlanet.com: What legacy or contribution would you like to leave the world?
Iyapiphany: I think this is the easiest question of this entire interview, Active and Intentional Inspiration. I would like to leave my children an example that shouts, "YOU DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME ON THE PLANET, HONOR THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE LIFE! BE HAPPY! DO WHAT YOU CAN TO BRING BOTH JOY AND JUSTICE, EVEN WHEN THAT MEANS YOU HAVE TO TRY MANY, MANY TIMES BEFORE ACHIEVING SUCCESS. YOUR BRILLIANCE IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF BEING BORN TO ME."
TheSoulPlanet.com: Is there anything you would like to add that you want the people to know?
Iyapiphany: Life is good and beautiful, even the ugly parts of it. They make life real; give it footholds and places to gather resources. Be honest about who you are and what you want. Accept the Truth (reality) that comes along with those revelations then ask, "Is this beneficial to me in the long-run?" After that, they should ask, "Is my life easier (happier) as a result of this choice?"
