iZrEAL AKA The Street Preacher

Reed “iZrEAL” Jones is Toronto-born poet, writer and director raised in the community of Hammonds Plains, NS. Always a Hip Hop fan, he began honing his gift for emceeing in High School as a member of local hip hop crew Mad Craz. After graduating, iZrEAL attended Dalhousie University where he began making the transition from rapper to spoken word artist. He is a founding member of Word iZ Bond Spoken Word Artist Collective and has performed at various events and venues across the country. He has also been published alongside the likes of George Elliot Clarke and Silvia Hamilton and has been featured on CBC radio (Nova Scotia and Ottawa), CBC News One, CBC ZeD tv, Much Music and featured in The Daily News, The Chronicle Herald and To Find Us: Words and Images of Halifax.Although iZrEAL has spent the better part of the last five years as a Spoken Word Artist he also enjoys filmmaking. Armed with a one chip Mini DV camera, iZrEAL began filming various poetry, hip hop and cultural events back in 2001. In 2003 he shot a music video for local rapper Kmen’s “Revamp.” Inspired by the video’s response, iZrEAL enrolled in the Nova Scotia Community Colleges Screen Arts Program and began pursing a career as a director.In addition to attending class and working on student films, iZrEAL still continued performing and hosting poetry and hip hop events while releasing the Maritimes first DVD Magazine, The GrassRoute DVD. iZrEAL’s directorial accomplishments include having his first short, “Soley Grey” screen in the 2004 Atlantic Film Festival. It also won first place at The St Mary’s University Student Film Fest 2005. iZrEAL also won second place for Jordan Crouchers Love Song video at the Truro Animedia Fest.iZrEAL recently released his debut spoken word album, The Street Preacher and is currently working on another album and book. iZrEAL is also in the final stages of post production on Littles The General’s, I Can Make You Famous DVD as well as a new web hip hop show titled “Underground Metropolis and an untitled Sketch comedy show, both of which will debut in the new year.