It's funny how you don't know what tomorrow holds; tomorrow can be the beginning.
Today, I'm finishing up the last song on my album. A year ago, I was helping a stranger get her refrigerator up the stairs to her fourth floor apartment. Waiting for something that could help change my life.
You never know what tomorrow holds..
I got tired of working in places I couldn't afford to be in on my days off. My parents wanted me to go the "safe route," going to school and fading into the mix of New York's rat race. But I knew I had something inside of me that spread rapidly. I realized it was a music disease and I was diagnosed to live with it till the very end.
I started skipping school to record with my cousin. I was a virgin to the process of creating songs and being around him was a daily lesson. I knew at that point my other dreams like becoming a basketball player and an actor were about to take a back seat. Music was about to be my main focus in life. It was just a hobby until I saw the art, the messages it could bring to people and how fun it could be to create it. I traded in all my sports games for music video games like PaRappa the Rapper and MTV Music Generator (laughs).
Shows like MTV's The Lyricist Lounge show had me glued... Learning how to story tell through my music. Realizing how clean hip-hop was, it reflected on my life style. I caught interest in artists such as Mos Def, Common and Q-Tip, who were prime examples of pure, unique and soul music, which brought out your inner characteristics that a lot of artists are afraid to express. As a result, though I am a rapper, my music is less about the typical rap lifestyle and more about how I was choosing to live my life.
I would create tracks that reflected on everything that I found ordinary. It seemed like in today's society the meaning of ordinary is overlooked and thought to be dull and worthless. It was my duty to point it out, and remind people about the simple things in life. The hidden messages are more valuable than the obvious.
My music takes on so many different styles & issues. I owe a lot of that to SoHo, NY, which was a big part of my growth. SoHo is all about creating a style and setting trends. It was a place that helped introduce me to my creative side, passion for fashion and uncover the world. I spent a lot of time there, I met people from all over -- Africa, UK, Japan, Europe, etc., who introduced me to world music from dub step to grime to folk and of course hip-hop. I brought that lifestyle into the studio and made people feel like they were back home.
Before the Internet wave caught on to my music, I was known for being a model from Brooklyn, NY and even though it got me but so far, it was another way I got my face out there. While trying to get my music out and building my fan base, I met recording artist Really Doe on Twitter, whose success started out with Kanye West during his early days. Doe was signed to producer Griffin Guess who owned Cartel Records, an imprint with Kanye at the time. I saw the success Griffin had working Kanye West for years and his development over the span of Kanye's career and their real friendship through the art making process. As well as projects with Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Common, and I said to myself "I need to work with this dude." I knew at that point it was all or nothing and sent a blind email to the Cartel info line.
The rest is history. I flew to Hollywood for the first time in November 2010 to record my first two singles, working with state-of-the-art equipment, award-winning producers and musicians. I had the pleasure to work with Jamie Foxx on a hopeful record and Hype Williams on my very first music video project for "We Made It," which is out now. I recently performed at the Grammys and my single 'We Made It' is on iTunes and in national radio rotation.
Like I said, you never know what tomorrow holds..