Bio

Websites: (Google Search: PONCE BEYOND) music.poncedebeyond.com www.poncedebeyond.com www.twitter.com/poncedebeyond www.reverbnation.com/poncedebeyond www.soundclick.com/poncedebeyond www.myspace.com/poncedebeyond2 www.doxside.com PONCE BEYOND describes himself as an artist for progression, not only in music, but also in his mindset. "An artist has to be willing to experiment & take risks with the music in order to progress." About PONCE BEYOND: Ponce Beyond is a highly laid back person who is extraordinarily observant, intuitive, creative and an artist who also enjoys his Politics, Crown & Herb. This artist is definitely worth becoming a fan of because of his all inclusive philosophy of thought and his very different, however very effective style of Hip Hop. This is the kind of music that you will be able to turn on 22 years from now and still love it. Why this name? "I'm weird like that. Actually, one of my favorite explorers from the Spanish explorations of the Americas was Juan Ponce de Leon. I was amazed at how this dude traveled the world in search of the fountain of youth only to discover his death before ever finding it. No, it never existed, but the concept was great and so was his imagination to believe in such a theory. I am on a mission with my music and I have an extremely wild imagination that sometimes goes beyond the normal boundaries in Hip-Hop. I just want to do great songs with no rules and that's how I operate. I categorize my stuff as sci-fi hip-hop bleneded with nerdcore & alternative hip-hop. I just hope my end result is that the listener loves the material and can relate to the messages." Do you play live? "I primarily produce other artists now. However, I'm currently working on a plan to get back out there!" How, do you think, does the Internet (or mp3) change the music industry? "The Internet is how you make moves nowadays. The Internet makes you more accessible to your audience. It gives people the opportunity to sample what you represent & can offer to them in a comfortable forum. I always advise artists I know to make sure they have some FREE audio for the listener to download as a gift for listening in the first place." Would you sign a record contract with a major label? NO. Majors are not paying nowadays, go Independent. Band History: BACKGROUND: Ponce Beyond has been producing since 2002. These days he prefers to be on the boards creating the music, however, he still has the ability to lace the track vocally. Ponce Beyond is a southern producer like no other. Born and raised in Memphis, surrounding influences would include Playa Fly, 3-6 Mafia, 8-Ball & MJG, Tela, Tommie Wright III, and various other rappers from the Memphis area. He highly respects all of the aforementioned talent, however, he branched out to other cities to draw more inspiration. NYC, Chicago, L.A., New Orleans, Detroit, etc. Not one to be pigeon holed into one aspect of Hip-Hop, Ponce sought inspiration from artists like Common (Sense), De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Slum Village, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kurupt & Daz Dillenger, No I.D., Pete Rock, E-40, Digital Underground, No Limit, Cash Money, Devin the Dude, UGK, and more notably OutKast, Goodie Mob, and the mid 90's Atlanta hip-hop scene. Your influences? "I was immensely influenced by hip-hop & rock in the 90's. Pete Rock & CL Smooth, De La Soul, OutKast, ATCQ, Ill Al Skratch, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Brand New Radicals, Wu-Tang Clan, Jay-Z, Common [Sense], Portishead, Radiohead, Deftones, 311; of course Memphis artists like 3-6 Mafia, Playa Fly, Playa Posse, Gangsta Blac, 8Ball & MJG. Then West Coast artists like Snoop Dogg, Dre. Dre, Kurupt & Daz, Ras Kass, Defari, Digital Underground, Tupac, etc. I am a huge fan of the 80s so Sade, Genesis, El DeBarge, Michael Jackson, Frankie Beverly & Maze, Gil Scott-Heron, S.O.S. Band, Atlantic Starr, etc. I could continue forever, so I'll stop here." Favorite spot? "Wow. Of course home: Memphis! I also really love Miami and Los Angeles. I prefer cities with waterfronts and/or palm trees. Equipment used: My Brainpower + MPC 2000XL, Reason 3.0, Keystation 49e, M-Audio Trigger Finger beat pad, S88 Stage Keyboard, Stanton STR8-20 Turntable, lots of vinyl, MP3s, Cubase LE & VST. [The Internet] Myspace.com. Reverbnation.com. Soundclick.com. Last.fm. Facebook. etc. Really it all comes back to what's in my brain and how I can emulate my idea(s) into good music. Anything else...? "Brainpower + skills and the ability to learn, communicate, & network your material effectively are the keys to prosperity in music."[link="URL"]