Academy Award-winning composer Isaac Hayes was born in Covington, Tennessee, but was raised by his grandmother in Memphis. After years of singing in church, he started his secular musical career playing in the high school band. The beginning of his legendary career started when he signed on as a session player with the fledgling Memphis-based Stax label, home of artists such as Otis Redding, Carla Thomas and Booker T. & the MG's and the place where acts like Sam & Dave and Wilson Pickett came to collect their latest hits. The dynamically talented Hayes quickly became Stax's most prolific composer/producer/musician, contributing scores of hit songs. His collaboration with David Porter in the late 60's proved to be most successful, landing the duo a place in musical history. Tunes such as "You Don't Know Like I Know," "Hold On, I'm Coming," "You Got Me Hummin," "When Something is Wrong with My Baby," "Soul Man," "I Thank You," "I Take What I Want," and "Wrap It Up," were made famous by Sam & Dave. The Hayes/Porter team notched additional hit records for artists Carla Thomas ("B-A-B-Y") and Mable John and Lou Rawls ("Your Good Thing (is About to End)").

In 1967, he released his first solo album, Presenting Isaac Hayes. Sales were lackluster at best and Hayes returned to the studio, unaware that he was about to make history. In 1969, when the Civil Rights Movement was peaking, Hayes released the album that was heard around the world, Hot Buttered Soul. "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" crossed over to the Top 40 on both R&B and Pop charts, and "Walk On By" rose to #13 on the R&B side, heralding Isaac Hayes as one of the top African-American performers of the year.

Bearded, bald, muscles wrapped in shimmering gold chains, Isaac made some of the most powerfully potent music ever recorded. He was an innovator, breaking all the rules and receiving maximum airplay on radio stations everywhere. His popularity knew no racial or ethnic boundaries and his appeal was universal. He followed with The Isaac Hayes Movement, which went platinum, and then the equally successful To Be Continued.

In the summer of 1971, the Shaft soundtrack album propelled Isaac Hayes' career well beyond anyone's expectations. Isaac Hayes became the first African-American to win an Oscar for Best Musical Score in 1972 and also the first African-American artist to have an album certified platinum. "Theme From Shaft" also won a Golden Globe, two Grammys, the NAACP Image Award and the Edison Award--the highest award for music in Europe. Hayes continued to score for films and television. He recorded the soundtracks for the series The Men starring Robert Conrad, the concert film Wattstax, and two feature films in which he starred as well, Three Tough Guys and Truck Turner.

He is regarded as an artist who revolutionized film scores and there is hardly a contemporary soundtrack since Shaft that hasn't borrowed from Isaac's mold-breaking, mind-blowing concepts. Also, in 1971, Isaac released Black Moses, featuring his sizzling rendition of the Jackson Five's "Never Can Say Goodbye." The double platinum, double-LP set lived up to his high creative standards and was followed by another double-LP set, Live at the Sahara Tahoe, certified gold. But, being called a Black "pop Messiah" was proving to be very controversial in those racially turbulent times. He confesses he was never completely comfortable with the biblical tag. "It was not my idea to call myself 'Black Moses,'" he insists. The name came from a band member and Stax jumped on the commercial bandwagon. In 1973, Hayes released Joy, his final Stax/Enterprise album.

Hayes' Hot Buttered Soul Records label debuted in 1975 (via ABC Records) with the Chocolate Chip gold album, and R&B hit single of the same name, followed by Juicy Fruit. He then produced an album by the Isaac Hayes Movement in 1976. His final album for the Hot Buttered Soul label was Groovathon. In 1977, he completed his tenure with ABC, with the recording of "A Man and A Woman," with Dionne Warwick. The album featured "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", and "Say a Little Prayer." The mid-70's also found Hayes producing albums with the Masqueraders and jazz great Donald Byrd, and recording with Linda Clifford and others.

In 1977, Hayes signed with Polydor Records and presented the New Horizon album. The following year came the smash Don't Let Go, a top-10 R&B album whose title single was his last major pop/R&B album crossover success of the 70's. In 1979, on the Spring subsidiary, Hayes recorded "Royal Rappin's" with Millie Jackson. He recorded two more for Polydor: the 1980 album And Once Again and 1981's Lifetime Thing.

It was late in the 1970's when Hayes decided to try his hand at acting. He started with Truck Turner and Three Tough Guys, usually playing the take-charge, no-nonsense, macho kind of character. In reality, Hayes is a sensitive individual, not wishing to hurt anyone. In 1975, he turned to comedy with the Canadian production of It Seemed Like a Good Idea At the Time (starring Stefanie Powers). Leaving no stone unturned, Hayes also did his share of television, playing "Rockfish" on the James Garner series The Rockford Files, and appearing on Hunter, Miami Vice, and The A-Team. He teamed up with Paul Sorvino and Barry Bostwick in the 1986 TV movie Betrayed By Innocence, as well as co-starring with Ed Marinaro in The Sofia Conspiracy.

In 1988, Hayes was featured with an all-star cast in Keenan Ivory Wayans' comedy I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, and his most recent comedy role was in 1993 when he appeared in Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights

In 1986, in the midst of his flourishing career as an actor, Hayes released a new LP, U-Turn, his first in five years. "I was embraced like I hadn't been away at all," explains Isaac. The same year, he released the top-10 R&B single, "Ike's Rap/Hey Girl" with its strong anti-crack message. His music caused several addicts to seek rehabilitation. One Detroit rehab center even chose the lyric "Don't be a resident of crack city" from the song as its slogan and featured the warning on sweatshirts. He spoke all over the country at colleges and prisons, inspiring students and inmates to fulfill their potential without drugs. Soon after, he released Love Attack, an album that he wrote, produced, and on which he played most of the instruments. His remake of "I Stand Accused" was an overwhelming success. Most recently, in 1996, Isaac released two LPs for Virgin's Point Blank label, Branded and Raw and Refined, as well as co-writing the soundtrack to Beavis & Butthead Do America, with Beavis & Butthead creator Mike Judge. This soundtrack, on which he performed the movie's title track, went gold, in keeping with the movie's success.

Hayes' other film credits include Escape from New York with Kurt Russell, Guilty as Charged with Rod Steiger, Posse with Mario Van Peebles, It Could Happen to You starring Nicholas Cage, Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored and Flipper with Paul Hogan. He also scored the soundtrack for Kevin Wilmott's Ninth Street, for which he is also scoring the soundtrack. This legendary talent was also officially enthroned as an African King and is a member of the Royal Family of Noyami Mantse of the Kabiawe Division of the Ada Traditional Area in Ghana. His official name is Nene Katey Ocansey I, and he has shouldered the responsibility of spurring the industrial and economic health of Ghana. He was also made an honorary chief in Nigeria.

Isaac continues his humanitarian efforts in both Africa and the United States, where he is a frequent speaker and lecturer, particularly for young African-Americans, speaking out against civil and human rights violations everywhere. In 1992, Hayes became the international spokesman for the World Literacy Crusade, in which he speaks to people everywhere about the possibility of future hope, higher education, and worthwhile employment without the need for guns or violence. He has continued these actions through the years, and is still heavily involved in the ongoing activities of the World Literacy Crusade, as well as adopting a Harlem high school to be involved in.

As a performer and public persona, the past few years have found Isaac's career ignite once again. While diving into the advertising world with commercials for both Pepsi and Burger King (writing and performing music for both), Isaac has taken on the morning slot at 98.7 KISS FM, quickly becoming KISS' top rated DJ as well as the second most popular morning jock in New York. Perhaps the strangest twist in this rebirth is his appearance as the voice of "Chef" on the Cable Ace Award-winning animated show South Park. In late November 1998, Chef Aid: The South Park Album, based on an episode of the hit show, was released on Columbia Records/American Recordings, achieving RIAA certified platinum status in a matter of weeks. Appearing on four of the album's twenty-one tracks, including the number one UK single "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)," Isaac has once again re-established himself as a platinum selling artist. As it stands, Chef Aid: The South Park Album is making its way towards double platinum in the U.S., triple platinum in Canada, triple platinum in Australia, and gold in the United Kingdom

Recently Isaac appeared in two special holiday episodes of The Hughleys, a special holiday/New Years Eve episode of Veronica's Closet, and the John Frankenheimer film, Reindeer Games. Isaac is currently working on a film project directed by Ethan Hawke, Last Word On Paradise, and a new studio album, as well as devoting much of his time to charitable causes such as his Literacy Links 2000 and humanitarian efforts within Ghana.