Issa Ibrahim is an artist, musician, author and filmmaker living and working in Queens, N.Y.

Insanity Plea Patient Out on Parole.

Chocolate Child of the Nuclear Age.

Black Bohemian Man Out of Time.

Raised from a living death in Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, Issa Ibrahim could be anybody. And he is you, or someone you know, who has run afoul of “The System” and fallen through the cracks of society. Same old story…why should you care? Maybe because there’s a bright and shiny rainbow at the end, and doesn’t everyone like happy endings?

Issa Ibrahim has been reborn. He has come into full bloom creatively while living under the most psychologically restrictive conditions. In 2016 Chicago Review Press published The Hospital Always Wins: A Memoir detailing his experiences in a broken mental health system including spending 20-years in an asylum following a horrific family tragedy.

Artist, Author, Musician, Filmmaker.

Above all a Survivor.

Like a soul entombed, Issa has come forth with tall tales of death, using humor, bite, toothpicks and bubblegum. Chronicling the various ghouls, grave robbers, maggots, witches and spirits that drifted through him in his quest to understand himself. Released from bondage, Issa re-experiences life decades later, like Rip Van Winkle or Captain America…except twice as hard cuz he’s black.

Come explore the nether regions of the soul with Issa Ibrahim...It just may re-kindle your will to live.

One fan raves-

“You take the raw materials of your existence and experiences and transmute them in art, music and a profound glimpse into realms others may not have been fortunate enough to see without your guidance.”

New Work

Current and Upcoming Shows

Unfurling:

Coming Out of Isolation

Curated by Vermillion & Joanne Barrett

7/23/2026-8/15/2026

Bethlem Gallery UK & Fountain House Gallery

702 9th Ave, NYC

BUBBLEGUM BLUES

An exciting album of NEW MUSIC by Issa COMING SOON!!!

The lead track on the new album is “We Got The Bomb,” an older song reflecting fresh out of 9/11 perspectives in mid-August 2002, when the song was written. More than 20 years later the song takes on new life amid the Iran/GAZA/Russia/Ukraine conflicts and saber-rattling bravado of the current administration. This song was recorded late last year and is slated for release on the forthcoming album ‘Bubblegum Blues’ on September 11, 2026, but things are too insane right now to sit on it, so here’s an early visual taster…enjoy, and let’s pray for better.

Big thank you to the lovely and talented Meyer Dancers for keeping the Apocalypse groovy.

The Cosmic Knockout is a gothic horror/ Greek Tragedy/ sex farce and sci-fi take on the Second Coming, where a zombie trapped in Hell tries to overcome his damnation while battling severe mental illness, marijuana addiction and Satan himself.

CLICK IMAGE FOR eBOOK

Advance praise and short testimonials

for the new novel

THE COSMIC KNOCKOUT

A sci-fi/fantasy/horror/psychotic memoir available

in ebook & audiobook formats.

Print version only available at Issa’s online store.

AVAILABLE NOW…more info in BOOKS