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A contender in any arena. Can y'all handle the truth? From vivid street tales to fiery club anthems, from witty punchlines to seamless flows, Siens (pronounced science) is the new guy to watch for. For real. . . Just check the stats. Siens, age 22, was raised in Dorchester, Massachusetts, seconds away from the infamous Blue Hill Avenue where street life seemed like the only life. "I actually lived all over Boston, from Mattapan to Roxbury to Hyde Park, but Dorchester was the most consistent." His mother, an Alabama native, was driven on her own mission to escape from poverty. She ascended from fast food employee to full-time stewardess to eventually putting herself through college and law school. When his mother and his father, an Army National Guard recruiter, separated, Siens and his brother often stayed with their grandmother. There in Dorchester, Siens met his future love. "Instead of being at an empty apartment, we would go to Grandma's house on Greenwood Street. My older cousins, who lived on the second floor, were real popular and they, including my brother, had a little rap group." Though he was too young to hang with the big boys, Siens was fascinated by the new, urban art form. Attending school in the suburb of Wellesley, nationally renown for its public school system, the aspiring rapper was deterred from passionately pursuing his dream. Yet when other pursuits, like his high school basketball career, went sour, his secret hobby took center stage. With just two turntables and a mic, plus some stolen 12 inch vinyl, Siens, assisted by his urban classmates, began recording songs for his high school to praise. "It was just another way to rebel. A way to show them how our 'hood was spinning, how our lives beyond that program were." The songs were an instant sensation. The popular boys began distributing dubbed Maxell tapes and performed at various school functions. While Siens was rocking suburban high school auditoriums, other neighborhood rappers were making tracks with Boston rap mogul, Ray Benzino. Cautiously, Siens took heed to teachers' advisory and applied for college. Known as a slacker, the underdog shocked many with his acceptance to highly touted universities like Syracuse and Penn State. Ultimately, the urban poet chose to enroll in Virginia's James Madison University to study business marketing. After 3 semesters of impressive academic achievement, Siens returned to the hood. His older brother, Lucky, mistakenly discovered one of those old Maxell tapes that Siens recorded in high school. He informed the reformed rebel that the songs had potential. With a vision like Bill Gates or maybe Master P, Siens was determined to capture his dream. "That's all I needed to hear. After that phone call, I was coming home every few weeks just to do music." The eager entrepreneur enlisted his former high school friend for technical advice, while his brother rallied neighborhood support. Local acclaim energized Siens and team to tackle the tough task of breaking into the rap industry. The neighborhood rappers that Siens envied in his childhood, like Roscoe, member of Wiseguys, wanted to record songs with the new stunner. Other childhood rap aspirations would also be realized. At Boston's Strand Theatre, Siens opened up for Boston legends, Hangmen 3 anchored by Benzino and Antonio Twice Thou. Still, the seemingly destined journey would be interrupted. The sole producer for Survivors Entertainment abandoned his original team to work with rival rap talent. With his academic and childhood dreams tarnished, Siens lost hope and embraced street life. The frustrated businessman began to spend more time on hot blocks than in studio booths. Ironically, while the desperate poet ascended on the street, he would see his rap dreams pass before his eyes. Smoke Bulga, newly signed Sony/Epic recording artist, would shoot parts of his first video just down the street from where Siens mainly hustled. Distraught by the chain of events, the Boston braveheart returned to Virginia for a fresh start. In Hampton, Siens linked with talented, New Jersey native Nik Jerz. Assisted by Virginia Beach's Red Diamond Recording Studio, headed by engineer Paul Arnold, best known for his work on 2Pac's "Me Against The World" and Christina Aguilera's "Genie In A Bottle", Siens was ready to dream again. Unfortunately, once again, Siens had to display his resilience. Due to conflict between Siens and his Hampton roommate, the ghetto soldier decided to return to Boston's hard times and continue his budding hustling career. With his album partially complete and fully paid for, Siens would not lose sights of his goal. Corresponding from drug spots, rehearsing lyrics on back streets, commuting from Boston to Virginia Beach by Greyhound, hoopties, and unregistered cars, Siens convinced Nik Jerz not to lose faith. With fearless ambition in his heart, Siens willfully completed his ghetto portrait, "Simply Hood". Check out the artist's website: http://www.simplyhood.com Track List: 1. Hey Playa! 2. Simply Hood 3. Girl... 4. Don't Front 5. As The Hood Turns 6. Blok Muzik 7. Listen Here 8. A Salute 9. Stop Playin' 10. Blok Lovas 11. Soldier Survivor Other Genres:
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