The Red Carpet EP

As of recent years, Hip Hop has suffered. Dance fads, ring tone rappers, and honest loss of focus have all brought the once trendsetting genre to its knees and in need of rehabilitation. As Hip Hop loses breath and living will, the circle of life returns with the birth of a new artist. He is a light of hope for those who truly respect Hip Hop as an art form. He is a leader of the new school who the streets can respect, and the mainstream can get excited about. He is the Second Coming of the Golden Age of Hip Hop. He is who he is. That artist is Deron. Like the lyrics that he writes, Deron embodies versatility in his life and character. With family that can be found from the low country of South Carolina, to the many sections of Brooklyn, and back home in D.C./Maryland, he has been a witness to the complete African American experience. As a vivid listener of Hip Hop, Deron picked up on a lot of what the greats did. He acknowledges artists like Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G, and Nas as being influential to his artistic development. However, he also recognizes their influences, and their influences’ influences as his own. Names like Camp Lo, Big Daddy Kane, Chin Fu, Q Tip, and others come to mind. He describes his music as “the Reasonable Doubt (Jay-Z)/Midnight Marauders (Tribe Called Quest) Mixtape”. In comparison to the hard time stories that many rappers speak of as their upbringing, Deron experienced the same at a lesser degree. “I mean, I had my hard times but, it wasn’t more than what we all go through in life,” he continues, “I just shared the human experience with y’all.” He was born into the world as an only child with his mother and father by his side. As a young boy, he averaged high GPA’s through school, and was always writing. Whether it was a poem, a short story, or a rhyme, Deron had a pen in his hand. Deron and Hip Hop weren’t formally introduced until the year 2001. They had passed by a few times previously, but the microphone didn’t find its way into his hands until then. “I was in New York at the time, and I was listening to Hot 97 with Funkmaster Flex. All I remember was hearing him say, ‘We got that new Nas diss from Jay-Z called Takeover’. After I heard that and the Ether comeback, I told myself I had to pick up the microphone. I felt like it was all for me. Then when I bought the Blueprint and Stillmatic that really solidified it for me. I had to be an emcee. He started writing lyrics in his notebooks and on scraps of paper. After linking up with his neighborhood friend Marcus “McMarx” McCoy, the two began homing their skills by recording in basement setups and making mixtapes for their friends and classmates. Deron also indulged in the battle scene, by participating in numerous battles and making a name for himself as a stubborn battle cat. In the fall of 2006 at Howard University’s freestyle competition, he toppled some of the city’s top emcee’s and walked away champion. He has taken his passion for Hip Hop along with him to school and infused it with his passion for learning. As a student in the field of journalism, he has written for publications like GRIP Magazine and interned at 93.9 WKYS, Radio One’s Washington DC station. After his recent experiences with radio and encounters with many artists, Deron has acquired a powerful focus on his music and career. He is now a student of Hip Hop, watching and learning from the best; waiting for his chance to take the reigns. With the guidance of mentors like DJ Analyze, DJ Alizay, James Yancy Merchant, II Face the Wildboy, he is creating the blueprint for gaining success and leaving a lasting effect on Hip Hop and black music. As he perfects his skills, Deron is getting ready to blitz the hip hop masses with a vintage sincerity and concern for the music along with his genuine character.