Album Notes

Growing up is a hard thing to do. Being born and raised, and black, in North Carolina is a task few wish to encounter and even fewer dare to conquer. I am a North Carolina native, but was blessed with the ability to see through the bullshit to the bigger picture.

My middle name, LoveJoy, was given to me by my parents because I brought love and joy into their lives with my arrival. Unfortunately, the love and joy between them faded and I was left to be raised by my mother alone. A young black male being raised by a young black women is a familiar tale. And too often this tale ends up with a young man on drugs, in jail, or dead. This could have been the ending to my tale, but music saved me. I discovered the universal Utopia called Hip-Hop.

At the age of twelve, I became an honorary member of the Hip-Hop culture. I began writing rhymes as a release from my low-income lifestyle. This was a great venue for me to release my anger and frustration until my mother remarried. My stepfather was a very religious man who didn't believe any good could come from rap music. Because of my stepfather's beliefs and influence over my mother, I was forced to hide my passion for Hip-Hop. My parents were so obsessively against Hip-Hop that they ripped up and threw away any notebooks containing my rap lyrics. To keep my sanity, I would freestyle and battle in the hallways at school with other kids. The opposition at home and praise at school made my drive to be an artist stronger.

As with any journey, without a road map you are going to make some wrong turns. I didn't have a mentor to guide me in life nor music. So, as most misguided people do, I made a few mistakes along the way. I left home, set school aside and pursued an illegal profession to support myself. I had reached an all time low. But once you hit the bottom, there is no place left to go but up. I started my ascent at age seventeen. I linked up with my half-brother, who was a producer at the time. I now had the motivation and support to succeed in school, life, and music. Together we recruited additional local talent and formed the group TYFU. There were about nine MC's in the group. We were the WU-TANG of North Carolina:-) We might have become as big as WU-TANG if given the chance. TYFU did get a recording contract with Mammoth Records. We completed our project and had a distribution deal in the works when the rug got yanked out from under us. Corporate big wigs interfered and TYFU got dropped from the label. Most of the members dispersed with disappointment and gave up on music all together, but not me. I couldn't give up; I lived Hip-Hop.

In January 2002, I linked up with Beyond Infinity Records. Beyond Infinity Records had the tools and I had the talent. Now it's time to shine. My debut album "JoyRide" is complete and ready to leave skid marks in the street.

Thanks for Ridin wit me,

LoveJoy