Azeem

Azeem is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:

Given name:

Surname:

Azeem (rapper)

Azeem Ismail (born July 17, 1977 in New Brunswick, New Jersey), better known simply as Azeem is a performance poet and hip-hop MC, residing in Brooklyn, New York.

Biography

Azeem, born of Jamaican and Panamanian descent started his first band, Telefunken, in 1991, which was a combination of live instrumentation and hip-hop. Their first release came out in 1994 on the then newly formed Om Records.

Azeem's first break as a solo artist came at an open mic competition where he performed under the alias the "Invisible Man" against fifty other poets and lyricists for a spot on the Lollapolooza Tour.

This led to a PBS special (United States of Poetry) with Washington Square Films, and two book publishings.

In 1997, Azeem was hired by Bay Area artist, Michael Franti (The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy and Spearhead) to assist him in composing songs for the second Spearhead album, Chocolate Supa Highway. This led to Azeem touring, writing, and performing with the band for two years. The single "Keep Me Lifted", a song that features Azeem, was the only song from the album to reach Billboard's Rap Charts.