ARTIST.
SCHOLAR.
ATHLETE.

BARBADOS-BORN · BROOKLYN-ROOTED

Never one thing at a time.

Rod Hurley is a Barbados-born, Brooklyn-based artist, scholar and athlete creating as Izza Natural Ting.

His public life began in music. As Hotta Flames, Rod became a singer, songwriter, DJ, performer and producer, performing across the Caribbean, Canada and the United States. The music carries messages of upliftment, education, love, culture and collective responsibility.

Then came scholarship and teaching. A graduate of Medgar Evers College, Rod is a doctoral candidate in Critical Social/Personality Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center and has taught psychology at the College of Staten Island since 2017. His current research examines cultural gifts, success and belonging among Black male students and faculty at CUNY.

Running became another way to know places, find community and keep growing. After eleven marathons across three continents, the runner is central, but still part of a larger life.