Sharrif Simmons is a performance artist, author, songwriter, musician, poet and arts educator. He became a staple of New York's cultural renaissance in the 1990’s. Nuyorican Poets Cafe, The Cooler, CBGB's, Brooklyn Moon Cafe, Joe’s Pub and NYC’s Summerstage were some of the venues and stages where he performed his unique form of music and poetry. In 2005 he became a Def Poet on season 5 of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam with his poem “Fuck what you heard!” Sharrif is often referred to as his generation’s Gil Scott-Heron. His musical influences range from Richie Havens, Bill Withers, Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix to Rage against the Machine, Parliament Funkadelic, Old Dirty Bastard and Biggie Smalls.