The Long Branch, New Jersey native was never a stranger to the music scene. In fact, he comes from a long line of musically talented family members. His grandmother plays the drums at a local church and his uncle Larry was one of the first people to get Encore to test out his fingers on a keyboard. After hearing the great potential that his nephew had, Larry made it a priority to buy Encore a high quality keyboard to improve his skills. Encore envisioned rap and beats as a symbiotic relationship; in a sense he felt that you could not have one without the other, like a marriage. As a result, he decided to make beats after he realized that no producer would give him a hot beat, or one that he really fell in love with. With a mouse in hand controlling his moves on the infamous beat making program Fruity Loops, armed with his two favorite keyboards the Roland SH-101 and Triton Encore has started his quest to becoming a beat making phenomena. With a tag that whispers “Mista Encore productions” on every track, it may be difficult to pick up on Encore’s unique style. If one listens deeply into his music, remnants of artists such as the great Nina Simone, Outkast’s Andre 3000, and Red Man can be discovered. Encore is no stranger to sampling either, with hot beats such as “Silly Love Song” in which he sampled a group entitled “Enchantment” and ‘The High Life” where he samples a 70’s jazz musician, he is proving that his ear for good music can only make his even better. Despite the fact that Encore posses great promise with his work, his self proclaimed obligation to personalize his music has become somewhat of an obstacle for him. Nevertheless, he continues to work diligently at his goal to having a hit song on the radio and making a name for himself.
However, he has not planned to reach his goal solely with producing. Ironically, it was rapping not beat making that earned Jerome the name Encore. The “Mista” was an addition to his stage name that he used later on. But he initially was Encore in his early middle school days. While attending middle school, Hill encountered a group of students in a circle. After assuming that it was fight he rushed over, only to find that he was witnessing a battle of words and not one of physical capabilities. Excited by the energy of the cipher, Hill decided to join the upper class men by spiting a written he had done days before. Impressed with Jerome’s skills, a member of the cipher challenged Hill to a battle scheduled for the following day. In response to the challenge, Hill went home and began to write rhymes feverishly. He had dubbed himself as a “punch line rapper”, because that’s all he would focus on. After hearing his catchy lines, listeners always would turn to the new emcee and say “yo say that again, that line was hot”, which gave birth to the name Encore for the young rapper. With coaching from his brother Famous and close ties with producer Coast, Encore is on his way to making history. He is driven to make music that is hot and still gives listeners something to walk away with. Encore works to make classics, which is a main reason why all of his songs have a message. Songs such as “Movie Star” are a clear example, in which Encore explores the life of three individuals that do negative things in order to acquire glitz and glamour. “Didn’t care about life never had a dream, since knee high he was all about cream” (Movie Star).
In the end, Encore dreams about making serious impacts with his music as well as taking an opposite route than a lot of other artists. “A lot of rappers are fantasy, I want to be real. With rapping you can tell a story your voice is more powerful”. With the release of his first album, entitled “The Paradox” which came out January of 2009, Encore is giving listeners a taste of reality with all 10 tracks produced by him. He feels that he needs to put the state of New Jersey in its proper place when it comes to hip hop. By continuing his strong work ethic, Encore wants to be the artist that gets central New Jersey rappers some attention. Encore is a talented visionary that is definitely making his mark on producing and the microphone.
(bio content courtesy of : Sha Al-Amin)
We are really feeling this EP and video! Mista Encore has clever lyrics and nice delivery. The track is dope, has a nice, Real hip hop feel to it. Definitely a breath of fresh air from what’s on the radio today. Rapping openly about his quest for fame and scoring it big, “Never Stop” is a heartfelt anthem . It’s for the ones who have ever had a dream and should keep pushing, no matter what anyone says. “They told me that I dream too much, I tell em’ you don’t dream enough”.
Jon Edwards does a nice job directing the video. It has some nice shots of the city, and excellent cinematography.
The EP itself is hot as well. I strongly suggest you go download and check it out for yourself.
He has been creating quite a buzz for himself through the internet and his shows. Hard work and perseverance is paying off for this young man. Keep doing what you do, we look forward to hearing more!
Check out his latest video off the EP called “Never Stop”. His EP can be downloaded for free Directly from his website www.mistaencore.com.
The video was directed by Jon Edwards and was shot in Brooklyn, NY. This song is also available for download off iTunes http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/never-stop-single/id469060471
To keep up with this talented artist go to:
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