Eric “iRhyme” Spann Photo by Melanie Boyd.
After completing 10th grade, Eric "iRhyme" Spann began writing poetry and has yet to cease the flowing mental compositions. "Stuff builds up, and you need a release," Spann says. He credits his best friend, Stephanie Longmire, and aunt, Tiffani Smith, who are also poets, for encouraging him to enter the field.
"Just think of something you're passionate about," his aunt told him back in 2008, inspiring him to write his first poem, "Hip Hop Is Not Dead."
The 21-year-old Detroit native first moved to the area in 2007 and graduated from Ridgeland High School two years later. After moving to Indiana for college, Spann came back to Jackson in 2010 to attend Jackson State University. That year, he wrote "Dem Southern Girls." Now called "G.R.I.T.S. (Girls Raised in the South)," the dedication to southern belles helped earned him a spot in last year's Chick Ball entertainment line-up. That was Spann's first major performance. "Thanks to Chick Ball, I've had lots of big performances," he says. "It feels good to be asked to come back for a second time."
Spoken-word artists must prepare for their performances, similar to the preparation with voice control that actors do during rehearsal. Here are Spann's favorite film characters:
• "300," King Leonidas (Gerard Butler)
• "8 Mile," Jimmy 'B-Rabbit' Smith (Eminem)
• "Forrest Gump," Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks)
• "Seven," Detective Lt. William Somerset (Morgan Freeman)
For more info on Eric "iRhyme" Spann, visit his YouTube page at irhymespann.
Support our reporting -- Follow the MFP.
