I started MCing as a young boy in the projects of the Lower East Side (Manhattan, New York City). Before long, I won a bunch of battles and talent shows, studied entrepreneurship on Wall Street, won 2nd place in a business plan competition, performed for Talib Kweli, learned small business management from Jessica Care Moore, promoted a series of Hip-Hop events, and got a computer science degree from Trinity College.
Thirsty for more life experience, I turned down a major record deal and did various jobs mostly involving teaching, technology, and Hip-Hop, which led to me working at a non-profit for 3 years (as an educational technology manager). Though I didn't put much of a dent in my college loan debt, I did something good for the community, and learned a lot about management.
After 3 years of managing by day and MCing by night, I had enough local media exposure and gig offers to make it difficult to keep doing both. It became obvious that my Hip-Hop related projects were taking my time and attention away from the technology job. When you perform in 3 cities in one day and go to work a few hours later... your body's need for sleep will force you to shift priorities! Ironically, my non-profit was running out of funding just as I was preparing to move on, so we parted on good terms.
My best skill just happens to be what I'm fanatically passionate about - inspiring large groups of people through writing, performing, collaborating, promoting, teaching, and other Hip-Hop related projects. I've decided to do what I love for a living. I've become a full-time MC!
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