Music:
Member Since: 11/2/2005
Band Website: TreLittle.com
Band Members: Artist: TRE LITTLEProducers: Capo (Noize City AHHHHH!), , Young Viz, ASAR BEATS (Bitch!!!),
Influences: Having grown up on the gritty industrial streets of Detroit’s west side, “Tre Little†embodies the persisting duality that is Hip-Hop. Cocky but humble. Boisterous but quietly introspective. Collar poppin’, and sometimes violent, but always loveable, Little is a character not easily forgotten. Because of his past, checkered with family drama and constant movement from neighborhood to neighborhood, Tre Little became a walking paradox, a friendly criminal equally dependable when it was time to entertain or fight. By his own admission, as a teenager, he “robbed every store in Oak Park.†But knowing, even at that age, that his thuggin’ was only a temporary way of life, he began splitting his time between the ‘hood and the Detroit City Breakers, a break-dance crew that dubbed him “Baby Boy†because he was the youngest member. Music became his way of channeling his boundless energy and eventually led him to befriending a crew of soon-to-be emcees including gold-selling Royce da 5’9â€. However, as the allure of the streets continued to plague the young artist, Royce’s solo career took off, landing him in the studio with an undiscovered Eminem and leaving Tre to amiably take to the background. During this time, Tre worked to refine his rhyme skills while supporting his friends’ ascent to popularity. He soaked up experience, learned the game, and toured the world, performing for audiences that some established rappers will never see: a college tour with Nelly put him in front of 15,000 heads a night, a European tour with Usher topped those performances at 20,000 per stop, and the 1999 Lyricist Lounge tour with Eminem offered him underground exposure. Tre also appeared on three Neptunes-produced songs (“Mr. Baller,†“Off Parole,†and “She’s the Oneâ€) for Royce’s debut album, Rock City v2.0 (Columbia Records) at the request of none other than super-producer Pharrell Williams. Noting Tre’s natural charisma, Pharrell deemed him a “star†and encouraged Royce to put him on as many songs as possible, ultimately resulting in the production of seven Neptunes/Royce tracks (later released on a series of mix tapes. Now, ripe for solo success, Tre has decidedly left the petty-criminal life behind and is determined to make a name for himself. Partnered with Eric “Ric Riggler†Rhea, a longtime Detroit producer and former COO of Game Recordings, Tre has gone on a grassroots expedition of self-promotion. His independently recorded songs appear on the Game Tight Compilation (Game Recordings), the top-seller Rock Star video game, “Midnight Club 2,†and he was recognized in the “Off Da Radar†section of the 15th Anniversary issue of The Source magazine. He also developed a mix tape DVD, I Want In, and recorded a stellar debut album, A Day in the Life of Little. Designed as a concept record, A Day… chronicles such experiences as the tumultuous relationship he had with his mother (on “The Longest Walk†he spits: “I love you, Ma/ but I hate loving this way.â€), a rendezvous with a cousin that paints a vivid picture of encounters with the Detroit streets (“The Reunionâ€), and a female filled club scene where he launches his up-tempo single, “Cattle Call.†Of his honest approach to telling his life story through music, Tre says, “My music is a tough reality, but I’m not trying to promote that – I did it, and still got it in me to do it, but that’s not what defines me. My voice, my character, my personality, that’s what people will remember.â€
Sounds Like:
Record Label: Crown jewel music company
Type of Label: Indie