Flyvek

Over the past few years, Flyvek, has been steadily increasing his presence in the Portland Hip hop community. This spoken word Hip hop emcee got his performance career started by competing in poetry slams in Eugene, where he won several, and placed onto the 2006 Eugene Poetry Slam Team. While attending Western Oregon University, Flyvek received Writer of the Year honors from the English Department in 2007 in addition to hosting and performing at numerous open mic nights and other campus events. He then took his performance from the stage to the studio, recording his spoken word poetry for compilations and mixtapes distributed on campus through various university organizations. In 2008, after receiving his degree, Flyvek began performing at the Portland Poetry Slam and at Hip hop showcases at the Satyricon and other Portland-area venues. He soon transferred his spoken word lyrics over beats provided by Portland artist/producers, HAVQ and Nick Harris. As his musical catalogue continued to grow, so too did his performance opportunities. Flyvek began opening up for more established and respected Portland artists such as Gray Matters, Diezel P, Sleep, Hives Inquiry Squad, The Early Bird Project, Abadawn, and others. In March of 2010, he released his solo debut, "The i.S.," on his and HAVQ's Sprawled Roots Records. "The i.S." is Flyvek's identity search, or as he calls it, his "iSearch." The album touches on, among other things, Fly's battles with depression, PTSD, racist, classist, and sexist family members, and how race, class, and gender work to determine his role within the Hip hop community. Inspired by Rakim's famous lines, "It ain't where you're from / It's where you're at," Flyvek uses "The i.S." to realize who he is by studying the past to fight for the future while learning to maintain perspective and appreciation for the present.

Flyvek has also hosted and organized benefit concerts and other efforts for Portland non-profit organizations such as Write Around Portland and the Global Backpack Project.