My name is Stretch, I'm 25 years old. I have lived in Baltimore, Md. my entire life, starting off in the Security (mall) area until the age of 6 months when the police raided the apartment above ours for drugs and weapons. My parents deciding it was best to get me out of that kind of environment, and then moved us to Arbutus Md, just outside the city limits. They enrolled me in formal piano classes when I was 4 years old at Towson University where I studied contemporary piano for 2 years. By 6 I was hyperactive and busy exploring the world around me and lost interest in music for a number of years, spending my time skateboarding and fishing behind my house for other forms of life in the creek. I lived there until my parents once again decided that I deserved better as far as education, and moved to Columbia when I was 9. Growing up there I saw the balance of the suburbs and began to settle into my skin. I was meeting people of all backgrounds and nationalities and saw how each childs upbringing was different. I began taking martial arts when I moved there with the neighbors children which whom were korean, and they opened me up to a hole new world of self discipline and integrity for myself and others. I also was taking music lessons in elementary school singing and playing alto saxaphone for 3 years until being moved up to middle school. There I had trouble "fitting in" and found myself being picked on constantly because of my passive attitude and small frame. During this time I focused on alot of art, having found the art teacher my best mentor. He taught me alot about self expression and that there is no right way to make art... I later carried this attitude with me to high school. High school was a good time for me overall. I made friends with all groups and considered myself a friendly loner. Music was my outlet throughout all of high school. I took music courses every semester and found it was my recess from the books. I studied more guitar and piano, and also found a new liking to the upright bass. I found it suited my personality and I adapted easily being so tall. I also had discovered the "dj" section of the music store with my father and saw a whole new light of options. I picked up my own set of turntables at the age of 14 and never set them down. I discovered hip hop at this time and was moved, but found myself more intrigued with drum and bass as well as the intense drug scene attached to it. I moved from drum and bass to hiphop, hiphop to breaks, breaks back to drum and bass, breaks to funk, funk to disco, disco to club, club to house... etcetera. I became extremely diverse as far as my "sets" we're considered but had not developed an original style. I practiced more and more, learning how to scratch along the way, as well as how to beat juggle. Around 2000 I was a spunky little dj with plenty of passion and charisma. I started to work my friendships to get me gigs dj'ing. I had trouble for the first couple of years struggling to keep the crowd. But my hard work and determination was starting to pay off. I began getting more gigs and started to even get paid. That was when I realized I could actually do something with this. Around 2003 I also began making simple beats on FL3 just to practice scratching too not really understanding what I was doing. It was the start of a producing infatuation which has led up to this point. Although I do not spend as much time making music as I do spinning it, it is something which I can feel I am improving on with every track and am looking forward to making better tracks and possibly even putting some out for major distribution. Although this is just a quick bio, I'm hoping it gave you a good idea where I came from and how I got to this point.Peace, StretchE-Mail me with questions about booking [email protected] AIM=SelfDefined1982----------------------------------
"NEW SCHOOL SOCIETY" BALTIMORE CLUB MIX - 20 MINUTE LIVE MIX
"JUST FOR YOU" DOWNTEMPO / SOUL MIX
Stretch at the velvet lounge!Add to My Profile | More Videos