Friday august 3rd
monarchy presents:
stoli sessions
(top 40 dance &hip hop)
featuring a special performanceby:
>> verse simmonds
http://www.facebook.com/ likeversesimmonds
open format music by:
>> mister gray
get open bar until 11pm with purchase of a pre-saleticket
or sign up for the guest list:
http://bit.ly/utpmxb
reserve a table:
> click: http://bit.ly/tq5zan
> or call: 561.835.6601
> or email: reservations@monarchywestp alm.com
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to paraphrase jay-z, "music… Show more should lift youlike a light breeze and slide right into your spirit".
it’s rare to find an artist that can apply theirtalents to do such a thing. however, verse simmonds aka the v.i. bachelor seemsto have found the winning formula. perhaps it’s his island roots, his strongwork ethic, or simply his ability to express exact thoughts and feelingsthrough song. either way, together they make verse simmonds the perfecttropical storm.
born in puerto rico but raised in the virginislands while maturing in ft. lauderdale, verse simmonds was blessed to besurrounded by a swirl of musical styles that shaped his formative years. verseexplains, “being from the islands, we listened to all types of music from hiphop to r&b, soca to reggae and reggaeton and even top 40. for me, the varietyof genres helped to create an understanding of what great music is.” it wasn’tlong before verse, a name he would earn through his consistent songwriting,began his own musical journey. as he puts it, “my passion for music is whati’ve wanted to do my whole life. some people want to be firefighters. i’vealways wanted to be a singer.”
verse simmonds soon gathered his strength like ahurricane and pursued his goal relentlessly. he linked with longtime friendsham to form the production team, the jugganauts. after moving to la in pursuitof his dream of being a top artist and songwriter, verse was known to “show up”at artist sessions to lend his writing talent when needed. he was great atcoming up with classic melodies. together, he and sham, were able to get workin la because in the city of angels artists were in need of both writers andproduction.
verse’s work as a singer/songwriter paid off bygarnering the attention of rodney jerkins (mega producer for beyoncé, blackeyed peas, michael & janet jackson) who helped him ink a deal withinterscope records. most artists dream of getting a deal but for verse, “ididn’t feel like i made it, i felt like it was just the beginning and i hadmore work to do.” so, he did just that; went to work.
on the strength of his hit song, “buy you a round(up & down),” verse remembers, “me and my team hit the road for almost twoyears. if we had a place to perform we would drive four hours, eight hours orwhatever, it didn’t matter, we would just go. sometimes, the money part didn’teven balance out.” but, as with every storm, there are dark clouds. thoughverse built a steady fan base and the song spread slowly but surely, atinterscope, verse felt, “i was going against big people like mary j. blige, 50cent and diddy so i wasn’t a priority. i know the record could have been biggerbut there are only a certain amount of slots to go around.” as a result, versewas happily released from the label.
there is always a bright day after the rain. versecontinues to work at his craft and has scored songwriting and productioncredits on records for jay-z/kanye west’s upcoming watch the throne cd, radiostalwart rihanna’s hit single, “man down,” r. kelly’s “crazy night” for hisuntitled cd, and an overseas gold album for capital records recording artistaccent. in addition to that, with work on jerry wonda and brian michael coxreleases under his belt, verse simmonds is headed in the right direction.
recently verse became a proud member of akon’skonlive/bu vision family. “akon has built a route for what i where i want to goin this industry and bu (senior vp of a&r, island def jam and discoveredt-pain) is taking a big interest in my project to make sure we do it right thistime.”
now, verse simmonds’ is set to focus on his newmixtape, sextape chronicles 2, hosted by dj trauma and dj sense. it’s acollection of songs that can best be described by verse as “music that one canput on with their significant other to set the mood right whether you’rechilling or really getting it in sexually.” but as verse warns, “i want peopleto be aware and responsible with sex.” with the lead single, “boo thang”featuring kelly rowland (destiny’s child and billboard’s #1 song “motivation”),verse simmonds plans to make sure his music isn’t the only thing turned on.
verse simmonds concludes, “i just want to be aninternational success and touch the world with my music.” with such a greatspirit, determination, and inspirational music it’s hard not to be blown awayby verse simmonds.
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