Baba Israel was raised in the Living Theatre and as a child performed political street theatre in the parks of New York. As a young artist he found his own expression in Hip Hop and Spoken Word. He also developed his creativity working with Akim the Funk Buddah in the downtown experimental arts scene. In 1995 he moved to Australia and collaborated with Hip Hop theatre artist Morganics on his first production as producer/co-director/and performer in the Bridge funded by the Australia Council for the Arts. In 1998 he returned to NYC and co-founded Playback NYC with long time theatre artist Paul McIsaac.  Playback NYC had a successful 10 year run bringing theatre to schools, hospitals, prisons, unions, and other under represented communities. They also produced with the Support of Hip Hop Theatre festival a​ project fusing Hip Hop and Commedia Dell' Arte.  Baba Israel worked on a number of productions and was greatly influenced by New World Theatre. In 2008 he toured his debut solo show Boom Bap Meditations directed by Morganics and supported by the Ford Foundation and Hip Hop Theater Festival. In 2009 he was appointed as Artistic Director and CEO of Contact, one of the leading theatres with young people at the heart of its artistic and leadership development. During his time he directed three productions and produced and mentored an exciting mix of emerging artists.  At the end of 2012 he returned to NYC to begin a new theatre production in tribute to his father Steve Ben Israel, an activist and artist for over 50 years. This production, The Spinning Wheel is in collaboration with Leo Kay and London based company Unfinished Business supported by Theatre in the Mill.