"I'm what the game is missing.. I'm exactly what you asked for,(man) I could've came on Christmas". Those were just two of the sixteen bars that make up a "Hot 16". Ward Malone a.k.a. Hot 16 was born and raised in Cleveland,Ohio. Even as a kid, Hot 16 had an infatuation with creative writing. Entering and winning many writing contest, plus high test scores lead him to be transferred into advanced classes at an early age. When asked about his childhood school experience he said" that's proof right there, I was always one step ahead of the game".In 1997, him and his family moved to Southern California. Far away from the only life knew, he clunged to hip hop music like a little kid and his blanket. With his creative writing background, he decided to experiment with making his own music. Though he was not confident in his emcee ability, he began to ghostwrite for many local artist. After seeing the response from his lyrics, he soon set his mind to becoming an artist himself. He began to record under the name Jay- Smoov. Derived from an alias he often used "Jayshawn" and his old hometown nickname"Smoov".In 2001, after recording an underground group album with his sisters and cousin titled "CRU... Rich or Poor", he found himself in high demand for guest appearances. One day, while collaborating on a remix with a friend, the producers told him that he had just spit the hottest sixteen bars they had ever heard. He responded back by saying " I'm Mr. Hot Sixteen, that's what I do". Even though he continued to record under the name Jay-Smoov, people began to refer to him as Mr. Hot 16. Beginning to appreciate it for it'soriginality, he took on the name. Soon he would drop the Mister and Hot 16 was born.2002 was a very busy year for Hot. He launched his independant label Do It Big Records. Releasing two group albums and two group mixtapes in the next two years. They hit the scene hard, selling cds out of the trunk of their cars at bowling alleys, movie theaters, malls, anywhere people were, they were there. Then in 2005, he released his first solo project, a mixtape called "Hot 16... History In The Maiking". It was then made evident that the game would soon be his. His Music flooded the streets like a much needed rainfall. Wanting to be prepared for the music business lead Hot to return to school and learn as much as he could. In college he majored in Business Marketing and took Musicianship classes.This brings us to 2007. Loaded with his first two singles "Big Chick" and "RockStar", Hot returned to his hometown of Cleveland. With his brand of fresh, witty, and insightful lyrics over bass heavy and radio friendly beats, it's no wonder that the underground scene refers to him as "The Next Big Thing". With his producer, Pat Em Down and cousin Fam Junior, they have been rocking venues from "The Hip Hop Workshop" in East Cleveland to "Wilbert's Food and Music" in downtown Cleveland. He is currently putting the finishing touches on his debut album titled " Hot 16... Get Right or Get Left". When asked what plans does he have for hip hop he said " To bring the fun back. If Justin Timberlake can bring sexyback to R&B, I can surely bring the fun back to hip hop. I wanna see people smiling again. Right now, everything in the game looks and sounds the same. I'm here to change that. My music is clean, it's fun and it's hot. What more can I say". He doesn't have to say much more, the streets are speaking for him. They are saying "want Hot 16! We need Hot 16".I edited my profile at Freeweblayouts.net , check out these Myspace Layouts! Myspace Graphics
