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National Book Foundation > Faculty > Jeffery “the Artivist” Weatherford
Born in High Point, North Carolina, Jeffery the Artivist has exhibited his creative spirit from a very young age. The son of a New York Times bestselling author, the gift of gab is in his genes. More about this author >
Born in High Point, North Carolina, Jeffery the Artivist has exhibited his creative spirit from a very young age. The son of a New York Times bestselling author, the gift of gab is in his genes. A multi-faceted, award-winning children’s book illustrator artist and internationally known, spoken word poet / MC, Jeffery received his Master of Fine Arts from Howard University in May of 2016. Since graduation, his debut title, You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen has been making notable waves in the children’s book realm. His lifestyle as an illustrator recently got him invited to Ghana and Senegal on an international tour where he taught youth about being an illustrator and performed his poetry for the community every chance he got. He was given the name ‘Yaw Ngyabo Aja I’ by an elder named Revelations while on his tour of the motherland in Ghana, which translates to “Thursday born word witch” because of the power in his tongue and how his words are mesmerizing to those that hear them. Jeffery / Yaw teaches that HIP HOP is an acronym for “Higher Infinite Power Healing Our People” and uses his artistic voice as an MC to be an eloquent voice for the voiceless and oppressed. A diverse spoken word artist, MC, social media expert, as well as the founder and chief of the global hip hop collective, TRiiiBE Worldwide, Jeffery / Yaw has been steadily adding to his accolades. From clothing design, to music, opening up for the Wu Tang Clan, Azealia Banks, Dave East, Oshun, and many more, to poetry, to visual arts, Yaw is making a name for himself globally. He was recently on his second international tour in the United Arab Emirates, teaching the youth about African American Culture, Hip Hop, and Spoken Word! Jeffery is truly a force for positive change!