After our launch of the Oxymoron Series with Sammus, we knew that it was completely necessary to step it up a notch with our second episode. With this in mind, our good friends over at Columbia University Society of HipHop (otherwise known as CUSH), threw us the name Olivia with some very VERY good words. So we took it into consideration and decided to let Olivia bless our stage with something new and refreshing.

Boy, oh boy, did we get exactly what we were hoping for.

Olivia is a ridiculously talented individual with a captivating voice and an intriguing personality. She’s quirky, but cool, but smooth, but radical, but quiet, but not at all and is the epitome of what we like to call a living breathing oxymoron. She blew the crowd away with music from herself and her band mates as they put on their show for Poison Ivy’s Oxymoron Series Featuring Olivia. Check out the photos from the event and be on the look out for our recap video of the night coming soon!

This last March, Poison Ivy decided to celebrate women’s month by showcasing some amazing women. After receiving a multitude of submissions, we found the FLI Girls/GirlsTalk and we couldn’t have been more happy.

The FLI Girls program was designed to educate girls, 11-15, in a way that ultimately cultivates well-rounded, confident, young ladies who choose to invest in themselves, protect their stake, and make positive contributions to the community. These girls definitely deserve the title of Poison Ivy Dope Girls in 2012.

With some amazing help from the extremely talented and humble Aurora Rose, teacher of the FLI Girls program, we were able to visit these girls at school to see them first hand. Check out some of the photos from our shoot with these dope girls and be on the look out for the video footage coming soon!

Sammus is one hell of an awesome individual and we’re happy to say we’re definitely not the only ones to know that. In fact, as we were searching for Dope Girls for our celebration of amazing women in the month of March, her boyfriend emailed us with a short description of his beloved Sammus and, in a sense, it reminded of us as to why we had to put her on as Poison Ivy’s Oxymoron Series Featuring Sammus.

Check it out: “She is the embodiment of ebullience encapsulated in the sound of truth; she is the conduit of the the Master Creator’s resonance via qwerty keyboard and Logic Express 9. Her name is SAMMUS [and] she is the the most obvious choice for…well… anything! Ivy League graduate, former teacher in the hardened inner-city of Houston, Texas Enongo is now pursuing a doctorate in Science and Technology Studies in an extremely competitive and intimate program. Somehow between work, school and the responsibilities of being an integral pillar in the functioning of her family, she finds the time to craft worlds of complexity and depth through her music! Weaving scholarly excellence against the backdrop of killer beats, genius comedic timing and awe-inspiring lyricism Enongo has gained the attention of local papers and radio shows of both Ithaca and Houston alike. This dynamic performer’s skills are undeniable , yet she remains humble and relishes the success of those around her. Succinctly: she is a gem and it is my pleasure to know her. I nominate her for this Months spotlight.   “

And that about sums up why we have so much love for this woman. Don’t be fooled by her degrees (or anything else for that matter), because her music is not to be slept on. Right after her show with us, she happened to have the opportunity to open up for Raekwon and killed it (in an obviously good way) with music from her new album M’other Brain and astounded the crowd with our personal favorite single: Mayhem.

If you weren’t around for Poison Ivy’s Back to Cool event, you definitely missed out on a concert of epic proportions. The night was full of hip hop, jazz and soul from featured artists such as Akil Dasan, Meleni Smith, O.H.M, Bship Grady, Joe Kleanest, SAMMUS, H! Guys, Tha Pyro, Lubeen, Serenity, Marcus the Artyst & more! Wonder how it went? Just check out the performance videos above and below.

Come out and enjoy a night of Hip Hop, Jazz & Soul from Ivy League artists such as SAMMUS, Joe Kleanest, Tha Pyro, Meleni Smith, Lubeen, Marcus the Artyst, Serenity, O.H.M, Bship Grady & more!

Date: Thursday, September 1, 2011
Time: 7:00pm
Admission: $10 with RSVP
Location: GARFIELD’S LOUNGE
274 4th Avenue (BROOKLYN)
Park Slope, NY 

RSVP at poisonivymanagement@gmail.com and be sure to check out the event on facebook or poisonivymanagement.com for any announcements or details regarding the show! See you there!