Styles [JR Management / DVS ENT.]

Bona Cheth, better known to many as Styles, is a Cambodian-American Hip Hop/R&B artist making his way through the entertainment business. The nickname Styles was given to him by his friends because they said he has a different "style" in everything he does. From the way he dressed, to the way he talked, to the way he thought. Styles was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Stockton, California by his two loving parents. They came to the United States from Cambodia in 1981 along with his 3 older sisters to escape the horrifying genocide caused by the Khmer Rouge. A few months after he was born , one of his sisters had passed away due to a serious illness. She was about a year older then he was. However, growing up in Stockton didn't offer Styles the best standards of living, yet despite the growing population of gangs and thugs, he knew better then to get involve with this type of lifestyle. Music and entertainment has always been a part of Styles. As a young boy Styles, along with his friends, would sing along to popular songs by artists such as Boys II Men, 112, All-4-One, Brian McKnight and many other R&B artists. His first real performance was at the age of 16, when he sang in college with a group of friends. From there his friends were introduced to the producer of Taffy Records. Though Styles was only there to support his friends, Styles was asked to sing as well. Styles’ talent was accidentally discovered you could say. The producer of Taffy Records was impressed with what he heard from the young upcoming artists and soon decided to start a 5-member. After a couple of months into the process, Styles realized his place in the group didn’t feel right to him and decided to end his career with Taffy Records. Styles was later replaced but shortly after that Taffy Records Company was shut down.
At the age of 17, Styles was introduced to the world of break-dancing and later became a Bboy. To keep with his love for music Styles also became a DJ in a crew called Energy Productions. Styles was recruited into a BBoy crew called Fatal Touch. Fatal Touch broke up not to long later, but Styles wasn’t ready to let his talents go to waste. Styles, along with 4 other friends, decided to form a new crew called Fantasy Styles. Fantasy Styles performed show after show in the Sacramento to Modesto region. The crew won trophies and performed in Stockton’s Apollo Nights. The Apollo Nights was the launch of their popularity. People were very impressed by their performances. People started asking the crew to perform for parties and shows. During Styles Bboy performances, he would also DJ for parties and continued to do so even after his retirement as a Bboy. At age 21, Styles hit a turning point when he lost his Father due to natural causes. He decided to go back to his passion of singing and later on signed up with 1mic Entertainment when he was about 22 years old. When the company was shut down, Styles then joined with Da Valley Streets Entertainment. Like the others the company broke up and Styles joined Lead Industry, but later left because DVS (Da Valley Streets) Entertainment had rekindled. Despite their earlier troubles DVS is still going strong today and Styles is happy and proud to be with them. While with DVS, Styles started out as a promoter, promoting clubs and other artists. In doing so, he met Ricky, former manager to Daniel D. Styles eventually started to work with Ricky, which led to the meeting of John from FreshCoast Magazine. Not long afterward, JR Management & Promotion was created by Ricky & John. Styles was asked to join their team and is still promoting for JR Management & Promotion as well as DVS.
Although Styles has had many turning points in life, most of his experiences have come from the entertainment business. Styles looks forward to the future experiences the business has to offer him. There are those out there whose only thought is of becoming famous, but that’s now what is important to Styles. The important thing to him is the sincere love for music. Being famous isn’t what keeps him going, it’s his fans that keep him going. Their continuous positive responses to his songs such as "Baby I" has made him appreciate music and entertainment more and more. As told to many artists and himself, "Don't do what you like, do what people like and you'll make it." -Styles
Interviewed & Writen by: Dara
Edited by: Adrianne

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