Gabriel Irizarry

Born Gabriel Irizarry III to Cuban and Puerto Rican parents, The Poet G was raised in the Washington Heights section of Upper Manhattan. Irizarry attended the prestigious Columbia University and graduated with a degree in Economics in 2002 after which he began a career in finance. Having always had a passion for music and a desire to make his mark on this industry, he moved over from Moody's Investor Service to Sony Music as a an A&R under their Jive Music Label in 2008. While learning the ins and outs of the music business, Irizarry established himself as The Poet G, writing and performing spoken word throughout New York City including appearances at the legendary Nuyorican Poets Café, Bowery Poetry Club, and Club Cielo. His poem, "We the People" was quoted by New York Times editor Evan Abramson in his March 2009 article "Where Boundaries are Melting, a Place to Celebrate Differences." In 2008, Irizarry began producing and hosting Uptown's first official open Mic showcase, La Esquina, where he helped local up-and-coming artists share their own unique voices with the community. He also produced and hosted several local concert events at clubs such as Cielo, Milk, Bowery Poetry, La Pregunta Arts Café, The Red Room and more. Acts have included Ray Jones, Rebel Diaz, Anthony Morales, Homeboy Sandman and The Crowd who Irizarry also managed. In 2010, he established his music consulting company, Irizarry Entertainment Group, which manages and consults for a variety of indie artists including Ray Jones (known for his single, "Bigger then This Town" featuring legendary reggae artist Junior Reid) and DJ Frat Boi - both under the Frat Boi Entertainment label. He also signed talented hip hop artist, Mr. CG to a record deal under RCA/Jive Music in 2009. Now back on Wall Street working for Standard & Poor's, Irizarry continues to establish himself as a multi-faceted artist with a recently completed screenplay based on a true story titled "Lost in the Ivy" and will be releasing his first book, "I Soy Latino" in 2012. He is also working on a spoken word/hip hop album with top producers El Son of MBK Entertainment and DJ Naydee of Beats Planet to be released along side his book, which is also titled I Soy Latino.