J. Ivy won the first ever spoken word poetry Grammy. He plays City Winery Philadelphia on Wednesday.

A new category was introduced at this year’s Grammy awards: best spoken word poetry album. The inaugural winner was J. Ivy, the Chicagoan who first came to fame in the 2000s on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and as a guest on The College Dropout, the debut album of Kanye West, who now goes by Ye.

During those sessions with Ye, Ivy met a young University of Pennsylvania grad, John Stephens, who he suggested change his name to John Legend. Legend is among the guests from The Poet Who Sat by the Door, Ivy’s Grammy-winning album. The title is a reference to a 1969 Sam Greenlee novel about a Black CIA officer.

On “Listening,” the album’s opening cut, Ivy, who is Time magazine’s poetry editor, defines his mission as being among “the poets, griots, street preachers / healin’ hearts, walking with the people.” Guests on the album include Slick Rick, PJ Morton, and a pair of Philadelphians: poet Ursula Ruckers and singer Musiq Soulchild. When he plays City Winery Philadelphia on Wednesday, he’ll be accompanied by his wife, vocalist Tarrey Torae.

$25-$40, 8 p.m. April 5, City Winery Philadelphia, 990 Filbert St., citywinery.com/philadelphia.