Gramz(Get To Know Me... www.twitter.com/itisgramz)

Holding true to your dreams is almost as hard as achieving them, sometimes the pressure to make it, as well as the obvious obstacles that come with task can often prove daunting.When Gramz (born Frank Javier Colmenares) takes the stage he does so with the ease and expertise of a veteran. He seems more confident and comfortable under these lights than most people are at home. But pressure is nothing new to the 18 year old product of the Projects. His mother raised him and his older brother James(Hood)Bowers, in the Boulder Dr housing in New London. It was there Gramz saw everything the outside world had to offer. From the glamour and gleam of the drug trade and all of its allure. He watched as his brother began to slip further into its clinches ultimately landing James in Corrigan Correctional Facility.Not one to be deterred by obstacles Gramz vowed to his Mother and his incarcerated brother that he would one day afford them a better life.Determined to make his name synonomous with success Connecticut bred artist Gramz is about to embark on yet another trump through tha mixtape circuit with his latest effort "worth tha wieght". riding high on the local acclaim that his first two mixtapes garnered (the game needs me vol.1 & 2),which featured widely popular records such as "Be My Lady", "Get Like Me", "Like This, Like That"...etc generating numerous radio spins(jammin 107.7 and Hot93.7) as well as racking up staggering plays on his myspace page(www.myspace.com/itisgramz)But these days he has learned to loath the word "local""i feel like I owe myself an oppurtunity to bring my sound to the whole country, not just New London".Gramz has set his sights on a more national stage after catching the attention of famed miami based faction Slip n Slide Records Gramz has enlisted their own DJ Coorilation in breaking his first smash single of his new mixtape, "Get Like Me".A baby faced teen with a glowing smile when asked if his looks hurt or help him, Gramz had this to say "Girls buy albums too, so i figure it cant hurt". Not too many artists today are capable of making sulrty records such as "Be My Lady" and without losing credibility from more testosterone fueled tracks like "We Gettin Money" a sinister street anthem. It's that ability to transist so smoothly from one to the other that sets Gramz apart and above most of the artists in any genre."Hard work is like a second language to me" he says when asked how he has built such a well rounded catalouge that boasts about 200 recordings. "I grind." He states enthusiasticly, his views on rap are not unlike those of tha drug trade. "You dont grind, You dont shine"."Gramz wasn't a word I stumbled across while in search of a stage name" Mr. Colmenares replies When asked for the meaning behind the moniker he goes by "there is alot of meaning behind the title" he goes on, "The word gramz is symbolic of the hustle, it just happens my hustle isn't a street corner my hustle is music, but im still sellin Gramz."Gramz would like to tell everybody to "Go for yours, statistics are unreal, I am currently living my dream because I put forth the time and effort to make it happen, not because the numbers worked out in my favor".