Me? Well, I guess you can say I put the original in O.G.. Started out as an abandoned and abused child who ran away constantly and often lived out on the streets of South Central L.A. where I earned the street name "Stoneman" way back in the early 70’s. My pedigree? Six Duece Boys on the Westside. Way before there were "Bloods" or "Crips" there was a group of thugs called "Brims". I was an enforcer in that crew. After several beefs with the Shaggy Dog Crew known as the Los Angeles Police Department and several attempts by rival gangs to kill me, I joined the military and went to the Viet Nam war where I found myself surrounded by the host of heaven and started believing in God. Returned home 4 years later and began my aspirations in music. Taught myself how to play instruments and how to sing. Over the years I have played in a bunch of bands in a variety of genre’s including Jazz, Reggae, Funk, Rock, Metal, Gospel, Soul, Ska, Hip-Hop and of course R&B.I started Tower Of Stone Publishing/ASCAP in 1992 and "One Man Band Productions" in 1994. All in all I have written and produced over 400 songs in 12 musical genres. Now? Well now I am producing some young folks and heading up my own label "Hands Up Records". I have had 23 songs signed to publishing deals and have released two solo CD’s. The "Stoneman Avenue CD" (R&B/Hip-Hop) was released in May of 2006. My latest solo CD "I Stop And Pray" (Gospel) was released in March of 2007. I also plan to release 2 CD’s by my artists in 2007.I graduated with a Recording Arts/Commercial Music Certificate in June of 2006. Finished with a 4.0 GPA. Not bad for an old fart huh? I Have my own studio where I write and perfom all the music and vocals on my recordings. I am self contained because I play all the instrumentation and sing 4 octaves. Also, I have won several International Songwriting Contests and am currently the reigning 1st place winner (Reggae category) in the Unisong International Songwriting Contest (see www.unisong.com for posted results). My song "Danger!!" won first place out of thousands of song entries from all over the world.Other things of note are the fact that I have a pastoral certificate and worked as a prison chaplain for eight years here in Cali. I brought the word of God to inmates in 36 prisons, Juvenile Halls and Youth Authority camps each year. Because of my past street affiliations I was very effective in reaching the hard cases amongst the bangers on all sides. They respected me because of my past street credentials. I even had several heartfelt reunions with past enemies/associates who are on death row. Forgiveness and the love of God was and is my way of life.In addition to this I am the older brother of Vecepia Towery-Robinson who is world famous for winning 1 million dollars and being the "Sole Survivor" on the popular TV show Survivor (marquesas). As you can see, strong survival instincts are a staple of my family.Today? I live in a small town called Clayton about 40 miles away from the bigidy, bigidy ’O (Oakland). I like to say that I am Claytons Black guy. Thats because I seldom see any here. Hehehehe, yeah, I’m a "burb" man now. I have lived over half a century and though I started out rough, I eventually found my way to the light. Music ability is one of the gifts I was given by God. I never had a lesson and can’t read a lick of music. Yet, I always had an uncanny knack for learning to play instruments and sing.My goals? To be a catalyst for change in the hood and in this nation. I love to write and perform music that has meaning. I also enjoy mentoring young brotha’s and sistas. Though I have won many awards and gained lots of critical aclaim, my main goal in life is to change the negative human conditions that many people face and to inspire others to seek "The Real". You may ask: What is "The Real"? Well, I’ll give you the short answer. "The Real" is positive spiritual energy derived from the infiltration of funky assed beats that collaborate with strong messages of love, respect and indisputable knowledge of self and the history of your people. It is James Brown singing "I’m Black and I’m Proud" or Gill Scott Heron declaring "It’s Winter In America". It is the chroncles of street life delivered by modern day Griots with names like Naz, Common, Tupac and Notorious Big. "The Real" can be easilly recognized when you hear yourself saying: Yeah, Thats Real!Click here to buy my CD...
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