Ira Lee

Twisting rap music inside out with his bizarre and sorrowful storytelling exxamining a diverse, yet cohesive multitude of influences. Informed by the visceral emotion of a constantly shape shifting existence, Lee employs the absurd punishment and guilty discoveries of sound and science to the degenerative, polymorphic, sycophantic romance of the human condition. (taken from http://iraleeiswack.com/)
Son of Heather Lynn Mactavish and Bobby Lee Gathers, Ira Lee (Gathers) was born in General Hospital in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. A ten pound, 12 ounce mulatto baby boy of African / Metis descent with an approximately 4 inch circumference, triangular shaped head. Doctors feared early on that Ira Lee would suffer severe mental / physical health issues as a result of this rare cranial abnormality, but concerns we're marginalized when experts agreed that he just had a big, fat head. Ira Lee took his first steps on a beach in Waikiki, the same afternoon his mother and father met in the late 1970's at a disco bar in Honolulu, Hawaii. In the early 1980's, high on a mixture of crack, heroin, and cough syrup, Bobby Lee Gathers cut a hole in a fence in a Waikiki U.S Armed Forces settlement with a stolen bayonet and was dishonorably discharged for going AWOL. Facing possible criminal prosecution, the family fled to exile in Canada. Heather Lynn Mactavish and Bobby Lee Gathers divorced when Ira turned 3 as a result of Bobby Lee Gather's frequent philandering, drug use, criminal convictions, and ongoing gang related activity. Heather soon re - married, and the family relocated to Los Angeles. Shortly after their arrival, 2 of Ira Lee's early childhood friends we're tragically murdered over a dispute involving half a can of Dr. Pepper by an escaped mental patient with a hand weight stolen from Target. Their remains we're found in the apartment complex swimming pool, decaying and covered in battery acid. As Heather's second marriage became increasingly violent and psychologically incapacitating, she returned home one evening from a job search to find her second husband, Henry Joseph; dangling Ira Lee with his bare hands from the 3rd story of their duplex. Punishment for drawing watermelon's on the living room wall in crayon. Fearing for her son's safety, Heather enlisted a live in babysitter / nanny to watch Ira full time in exchange for free room and board. One evening after returning home from a long day of interviews, Heather found Ira Lee gagged, and hog tied (bound behind the back, by the arms and legs) in the bedroom closet. The Nanny was watching Days of our Lives re runs in Spanish. Heather immediately appropriated the Salvation Army's emergency support program to purchase a Greyhound bus ticket for her son to return to Canada and live with his Grandmother.
Up until the age of 4, Ira Lee developed moderate Vestophobia (fear of wearing clothes) and would only eat carrot and apple based food products. At age 5, Ira Lee consumed (what doctor's estimate) was the equivalent of 4 1/2 pounds of carrots in three days and as a result his skin pigmentation turned a light orange for just under a week. Ira developed a profound affection for finger painting, melting / exploding things in microwaves, pyromania, and toothpaste. Producing approximately 80 pieces of 'outsider' art through manipulating and experimenting with these raw influences by the tender age of 9. Ira Lee began to read intensively and vociferously at age 10, and was rarely captured in public, private, or photograph without a large paperback novel concerning dinosaurs, robots, or gardening. Ira Lee attended 7 different elementary school's in under six years. Lee's highly developed creative faculty and tragically misunderstood emotional genius proved incompatible with traditional social and educational structures. Failing grades, non existent attendance, and an overall stinky attitude; rendered Lee a social outcast throughout the majority of his compulsory edumacation. Ira was kicked out of the high school drama program for over embellishing th comedic value of his role as the transsexual hemaphrodite 'Flute; in Shakespeare's ' A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Ira Lee dropped out / was expelled from high school and was arrested by the schools public resource officer for public indecency. (For pooping on the hood of the high school Principal's Toyota Camry.) Ira Lee began skateboarding and selling overdubbed stop tapes to support a plethora of developing neurosis. In the late nineties, Ira Lee won a ghetto blaster singing a New Kids on the Block mdley in a vocal competition at a local shopping mall. The following years would find Ira Lee homeless, transient, and collecting welfare in almost every Canadian province. At age 18, Ira Lee enrolled in a Canadian Federal government internship program administered by the YMCA and began receiving Employment Insurance benefits.
By the age of nineteen, Ira Lee could recite from memory almost every Meatloaf, Chill Rob G, Hank Williams Sr., and Pantera song ever written. Through this intensive yet informal study of language, emotion, and intellectual perversity, Ira Lee began to discover his own hyper distinctive artistic perspective. Recovering from the afterbirth of a supremely demented relationship, Ira Lee stole a turntable and mixer from his hitchhiked from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada to Sooke, British Columbia, Canada. Stealing his first pair of turntables from a rich Jewish, Ira lee was introduced to Mike 'Dj Kutdown' Arnone at a party by a mutual rap friend. Bonding instantly through mutual love for rap culture and lifestyle, the two would spend the next several years developing a uniquely canadian style influenced by characters from Degrassi Junior High and cartoons. In 2001, Ira Lee produced and recoded his first ever song, single, and 12 inch vinyl, the now classic 'Story Tales'on the 'Papercutz' maxi ep through Frek Sho records. In 2002, once again recovering from yet another heartbeak, Ira Lee moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and produced, wrote, recorded, and mixed the first ever experimental rap album with mentoree Daniel 'Def 3' Fernandez' entitled 'Dead Can't Bounce - I ain't afraid of no ghost'. All the while sleeping on the living room floor, eating one chocolate bar a day, and smoking marijuana excessively. Following the release of DCB's ' I ain't afraid of no ghost' Ira Lee embarked on a 12 date Canadian tour with veteran rapper Ismaila 'Motion' Alfa of Frek Sho / Twisted Spirits; and performed shows barefoot as he could not afford shoes and Ismaila would not lend him one of his several pairs.
After year long stints, in Calgary, Toronto, and Winnipeg (where Ira Lee studied radio and television broadcasting and starred in a string of made for T.V. sitcoms / movies including 'Decoys 2 - The Rebirth', 'Renegade Press' and 'YTV's Incredible Story Studio) Ira Lee was kicked out of the Frek Sho label / crew for reasons including but not limited too; being a rampant sociopath, hermit, and dangerously self destructive. To combat the hostility surrounding him, Ira Lee contacted Graham ' Factor' Murawsky, (sideroadrecords / fake four inc.) and wrote the now classic 'Cafeteria Food' Lp in two weeks while simultaneously being evicted from his apartment. Forcing Factor to incorporate 'real sampled drums' into his computer based production,'The Cafeteria Food Lp' marked the turning point of Factor's 'light' percussion into a distinctive heavier indie folk based sound, and sponsored the development of both artists legacy's as pioneers of Independent Canadian hip hop.
In 2005 / 2006, once again faced with interpersonal adversity and plagued by sociopathic tendencies, Ira lee was unofficially dropped from 'sideroadrecords' as a result of not being able to control his egomania, explosive emotions, and wanting to make music videos. Soon after, the side project ira lee and Troy 'soso' Gronsdahl for clotheshorserecords had begun, was suddenly scrapped. The reasoning being that ira lee created too much 'controversy'. Soon after Ira Lee's expulsion from both Saskatchewan based labels, originator / experimental rap pioneer Erin 'Epic' Carol left sideroadrecords and the two artists embarked on a longstanding creative and personal friendship that served as the anchor for Ira Lee's confidence, perspective, and approach to making music. Lee credits Epic as being the father of his style and often refrences Erin 'Epic' Carol's body of work in his music, and life.
In 2008 Ira Lee relocated to Montreal, Quebec, Canada and began performing in the French Language. 2008's 'My favorite songs by me' is a collection of controversial ira lee song's and production that range from pedophilia to fighting cancer.
In 2009 , Ira Lee and swiss multi - instrumentalist / producer / songwriter Patric 'mattr' Daeppen created the groundbreaking experimental rap / pop / downtempo grou 'Little Eskimo Jesus'. LEJ's profound lyrics and production receive critical disdian and acclaim, for boldly venturing into unexplored abyss's of extreme emotion and musicality. Based around the rawness of the human experience in it's truest from, LEJ's music is a singularity that defies modern convention and classification. LEJ's 2009 debut released 'Never Trust the people' received extensive critical acclaim and was the number 1 critics choice, album of the year in various blogs, reviews, and critiques.
In 2010 Ira Lee and Pop musician / songwriter Michelle 'Funken' Poicard (Julien S.) to pioneer a new genre of music, colloquially titled 'Dysfunctional Pop.
In 2010 , Ira Lee signed to platinumrecords (Bordeaux, Fr) to release a full length Electro infused, old school rap / dance music record.
During May 2010 till May of 2011 Ira Lee has been travelling aroud France and Europe, then he finally came back to Canada.
In August 2011 Ira Lee began to film, edit and release his own video. Starting from a music video for LITTLE ESKIMO JESUS song called "Being Alone", Ira Lee made also a clip for "Girls Just Want to Dance". Then in November he came to Europe again, specifically to Switzerland, where he made a video called "Too Beautiful For This World" starring him and his collaborator Mattr.
In the year of 2012 he recorded a new self-released albom called "Growl" fully released on October and available on CD's. This longplay is a collaboration with such artists as Thavius Beck, Socalled, Gel Rock, Emoj Betta, Screamdreambaby and many othert. Cover for the Album was made by Joseph Loughborough.
Ira Lee keeps releasing videos. As a head of his own organisation http://iraleeiswack.com/ he edited and released a video for a song "The Photographer", filmed by a vidual artist Serafima Skibyuk. Also a french video director As Human Pattern made a video for Ira Lee's song "Strike".