In an area that The New York Times once referred to as "the most notorious drug bazaar in Brooklyn and one of the toughest in New York City, where one fifth of the areas residents are on public assistance & for decades the community has been decaying socially, structurally, and economically a 20 year old rapper, Shelvin Francis A.K.A MAGZ rises from the ashes as the legend of the Phoenix. At the age of 16, MAGZ would infiltrate numerous, neighborhood rap battles with the gumption of a seasoned vet. Serving as an incubator, the rap battles allowed MAGZ to hone his craft but more importantly they allowed the young emcee to create a distinct identity; an identity that would reflect values such as courage, independence, and morality ingrained by his mother, who single-handedly raised him , his two brothers and sister. In early 2005, the Bushwick Buzz MAGZ garnered led him to a chance encounter with Dan Saldinger CEO of DiggiDan productions who was shooting a video in the popular Brooklyn, S&A clothing store MAGZ worked at. In casual conversation, the manager of S&A kept telling Dan about this rap phenomenon named MAGZ. Intrigued by the managers claim, Dan immediately asked to speak to MAGZ. While on the phone, MAGZ rapped a few bars & Dan was so captivated by MAGZs supreme level of talent, he immediately signed MAGZ to a production deal which led to a record deal with SoundScope Music, an independent Hip-Hop/R&B label in New York City. Less than a year later (4th quarter 2005) MAGZ was commissioned by UNICEF who was interested in a positive rap song depicting the AIDS conflict worldwide. Aware that UNICEF had many other well known artists competing for this song, MAGZ wasted no time in writing and recording his new UNICEF single. His artistic effort was rewarded when his song, People Are You Listening, was chosen for UNICEF's $50 million, five year global AIDS awareness program. He is currently working on his highly-anticipated debut album which will be released shortly. Suffice to say, this 20 year old, Bushwick, BK native is being the change he wants to see in the world ...

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Buy the downloadable full album "MAGZ - From Hood To Hollywood" (Includes all 12 songs plus 5% of your purchase is donated to a non-profit AIDS awareness organization):

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