Joey Kid

images.myspacecdn.com/images02/97/m_38be21205c6e47928f6f8350 13f701d4 When Jose Antonio Baez- Perez came from Puerto Rico with his mother and father he was 4 years old and spoke no English. The family moved around a lot as his dad was an officer in the Army. Soon the family would settle in the Bronx, NY and that's where it all started. The Grand Concourse was Joey's playground along with his buddies George Lamond, Kenny Rosa, Eddie Melendez and Carl Mariette . The guys spent their time studying music from Baby Face to Hector Lavor. Soaking it all in and learning every dance that came about. Before they were old enough to get into clubs they would crash any house party they heard about or sometimes tag along with The Kiss Connection DJ Danny "wepa man" Vargas whenever he had a gig. These guys even stole the show back then with their natural talent for dance. They were inspired by watching New Edition, New Kids on the Block, James Brown, Luther Vandross, Robi Rosa just to name a few.... Joey's inspiration also comes from his dear friends and mentors Chris Barbosa and Little Louie Vega who are icons in the industry. Who knew that George Lamond would grow up to become one of the Dance Music's most loved and talented artists, Kenny Rosa and Eddie Melendez would become "Loose Touch" (George's dancers), Carl Mariette would road manage the gang and Joey would be a star in his own right. At age 17 Joey stood on line every Friday night to get into The Devil's Nest and was turned down each time because of his age. The bouncers knew that Joey was determined to get in but couldn't let him in because of his age no matter how much he pleaded. One night they had a talent show and Joey was finally allowed in. Joey took to the stage and sang "A Little Bit of Love" by New Edition and just blew people away. Two of the judges were Sal Abbatiello and Nyobe and they were just as mesmerized by his performance. He came in second but he stood out among the rest. Soon after he became a regular at NYC'S Heartthrobs and Latin superstar La India started asking around about him as word was getting out about his talent. She wanted Joey to meet with some people from the industry who could help him get his career started. This got the ball rolling. Shortly after Joey Kid recorded his first album which gave us "Broken Promises ", "Everything I Own", "Counting the Days" , "I'm Not In Love" on Basement Records with Craig Bevan and Barry Zeger. Atlantic records then brought his contract and Joey was all set, or so he thought. Although his album was a hit Atlantic dropped him that same year and his future looked pretty bleak. Here he is at the height of his career with a number one record, booked every weekend, two music videos but no record label. He had fallen pretty hard and was not sure about his future in music. Then one day he had a show in San Antonio Texas with Trilogy of C & C Music Factory and Duran Ramos who was one of the founding members of Trilogy suggested that he join the group as one of the members was moving on to pursue his acting career. Joey did not take that offer very seriously at the time because he thought that Duran had just casually mentioned it. A few weeks later he received a phone call from Robert Clivilles and David Cole (C&C Music Factory) who made him an official offer. They didn't even ask him to audition because they knew that Joey was already very well known in the industry and had a very impressive reputation of being a top vocalist and a talented dancer. Joey took the deal and toured around the world with them for 2 years. Touring with C&C Music Factory was a once in a lifetime experience as he saw places he never dreamed he would see such as Guam, Italy, England, Jakarta, France just to name a few. To Joey the experience was priceless but once the tour was over he quickly found out that there was indeed a price to pay. His freestyle audience had all but forgotten about him and booking him into shows became more and more difficult. Promoters were hesitant to book him as Joey Kid because of his affiliation to Trilogy and C&C Music Factory. As a solo artist he had failed to keep himself in the public eye of his freestyle fans while George Lamond, Cynthia, Judy Torres, Coro remained on the club circuit consistently. Once again Joey Kid was faced with an unsure future in music. At that point he made a decision that he could not gain the status he once had and stopped doing what he loved to do. He felt he had reached the point in his career where there was no coming back and although his voice was in great shape and he could still do his thing on stage with his dancing his career was all but over. As fate would have it he was at the Copacabana at Sal Abbatiello's Fever Records Freestyle show and Speedy (KTU) asked him to get on stage to sing a capella. As soon as he got on stage and sang "Broken Promises" and saw the crowd's reaction he knew that he would never be able to stop doing what he loved to do. He owed it to his fans who craved his energy on stage. He owed it to himself to never give up on what he feels he was born to do. Entertain...With a new manager and a new determination to show the world that Joey Kid was never gone just took some time to catch his breath do some soul searching.... Joey Kid had reinvented himself and wants the industry to know that he is here to stay. With his astonishing vocals and high energy moves, good looks and stylish gear he plans on blowing the crowd away as always. He is working on a new album which will consist of everything from his first love - true freestyle tracks to R & B rhythms and sensual slow jams. Don't sleep on Mr.Kid because he has been in the game for almost 20 years and has done his homework. This album will also have some collaboration with a few well known vocalists and producers and many other surprises due out in 2009. In retrospect Joey Kid has indeed come a long way from being that skinny kid they wouldn't let into the Devil's Nest. He has had a top 10 record on Bill Board. He has performed at Madison Square Garden, The Apollo Theatre, The Beacon Theatre, The Palladium and Studio 54 as well as various night clubs and theaters around the world. He has appeared on Nickelodeon Television. He has danced with George Lamond and Loose Touch. Joey has appeared on several recordings for a variety of artists as a back ground vocalist. He has been places we can only dream of going. He's been up for a Grammy nomination and a MTV Music Award, Billboard Award and American Music Award with a world class band. Yet he been down the path where a person has reached the lowest point in his lifetime but through it all his passion for music and dance has never departed. If you see him at the clubs you can feel his energy from outside of the building. If you met him in person you will sense his strength and determination. If you talk to him you will understand his authenticity and desire to achieve whatever he sets his mind to. Joey Kid knows that you can't get where you are going if you don't know where you came from and he is determined to use the gift of voice and dance that God has given him to its fullest capacity.