     At only 20 years young, Bobby Shmurda has been taking the streets by storm. After bubbling in his native Flatbush, the 20-year-old has skyrocketed from relative obscurity to viral star upon the heels of "Shmoney Dance." Originally from the south, Bobby grew up listening to 2Pac, Biggie, Lil Wayne, Juvenille, and Trick Daddy. Growing up, he also would remix 50 cent and Jay-Z and ideally would love to collaborate with Lil Boosie in the future. He became a viral hit with his “Shmoney Dance”, which hit Vine with new fan renditions shortly after he released his “Hot
N*gga” music video.  

"Music is my passion. My passion is music." — theKONGTRACKS

At an early age, I was fortunate that my Dad played the guitar and I grew-up listening to a diverse selection of musical artists — Michael Jackson, Olivia Newton-John, Leif Garrett, Santana & The Ventures were some of the very first 8-tracks & vinyls I've heard and music instantly became my very first love.

Upon entering my teenage years, my cousins from Long Island introduced me to Heavy Metal (i.e. Iron Maiden & Metallica) and was literally blown-away by the aggression, concept and technicality of the genre.

During my later teenage years, my musical taste began evolving into more of a "street-style" offering such as UTFO, Run DMC, Ice-T & Public Enemy...being from Brooklyn, I was blessed to be a part of The Golden Age Of Rap: Big Daddy Kane, Kool G. Rap, Rakim, KRS-One & 3rd Bass were my childhood rap idols.

As part of my teenage angst years, I began channeling my anger & frustrations through the power of music...enrolling in Maggio Music School in Brooklyn. It was by God's grace that I was lucky enough to have "Joe" — a "far-beyond" talented guitar virtuoso as my weekly guitar teacher. After a few years of intense guitar lessons, I began studying music theory and took classical courses as well.

During my twilight high school years, I was awe-struck after attending a Biohazard/Life Of Agony show and became fascinated by the New York Hardcore Scene — I was obsessed with collecting demos from Hardcore bands and became possessed on attending the best Hardcore shows in the Tri-State Area. My fascination with the N.Y.H.C. Scene became a reality; as my childhood friend (Jimmy McCormack) and I decided to form a Hardcore Punk/Metal band — we found a drummer -Kevin, from a store ad post whom brought in the singer -Rob and we called ourselves — Overpower.

We began playing local shows at low-key NYC venues — including Fort Hamilton High School & Village Underground — our energetic live shows and youthful following caught the attention of several concert promoters who helped us land a major gig — opening for Brooklyn rap groups: Da' Bushbabies and The Beatnuts at the 'world-famous' L'Amours the "Rock Capitol of Brooklyn" — that particular show created the buzz necessary to land perhaps our most prominent show ever — playing alongside some of our favorite underground Hardcore bands: All Out War, V.O.D./Vision Of Disorder, Out Of Line (Brooklyn), Out Of Line (Queens), Without A Cause , etc. at the Bond St. Cafe in NYC.

Unfortunately, I promised my parents that I would attend college and pursue my education as opposed to playing in a band. Overpower eventually disbanded completely and Jimmy the bassist went on to form his own band called Shutdown — who were signed to Victory Records and releasing several albums. Shutdown was a straight-edge Hardcore band w/ a positive message and they developed a cult-like following through the years.

Since then, my passion for music never waned...in fact, my musical tastes became more broad, complex and diverse...began submerging myself w/ various underground genres and scenes.

I also began creating 'critically-acclaimed' personal mixtapes/CDs for my childhood friends and continue to do so during my spare time.

[Note: Proud owner of over 1,300+ original CD's — comprised of mostly Hip-Hop/Rap, Heavy Metal & House/Trance — All-Time Fav Artists: Eminem, 50 Cent/G-Unit, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Skid Row, The Beatles, The Eagles, Pink Floyd, Big Daddy Kane, Mobb Deep, Nas, Smif N' Wessun, The Lox/D-Block, Big Pun, Phil Collins, Stevie Ray Vaughn, All Out War, Confusion, Darkside, Out Of Line (Brooklyn), Out Of Line (Queens), Candiria, August Burns Red, Parkway Drive & the Wu-Tang Clan]

PHASE 1:
NBA 2K12 PRODUCER CONTEST
Submission Portion Has Now Ended.

Duck Down Music A&R & representatives from 2K Sports will select the top 10 instrumentals on April 6th. On April 7th at 12PM EST, the instrumentals will be streamed online via a custom SoundCloud music player at NBA 2K & Duck Down Music’s facebook pages.

Fans will have the chance to vote once for their favorite track by “liking” the one they feel is strongest. Voting ends at 12PM EST on April 13th and the winning producer will be announced.

--

PHASE 2:
NBA 2K12 MC CONTEST

Starting at 12PM EST on April 14th, MC’s will have two weeks to submit one clean track using the winning producer's instrumental. We urge MCs to record music that DOES NOT include obvious references to basketball. Be creative with your delivery & overall theme.

All submissions must be uploaded to the SoundCloud drop box at this page by 12PM EST on April 27th. At 12PM EST on April 29th, after the top ten songs are determined by Duck Down Music and 2K Sports, they will again be streamed online via a custom SoundCloud music player at NBA 2K & Duck Down Music’s Facebook pages. Fans will again have the chance to vote once for their favorite track by “liking” the one they feel is best. Voting ends at 12PM EST on May 6th & the grand prize winners will be announced.The grand prize winners of the contest, which will consist of one producer and one MC, will have their song placed in the music soundtrack for NBA 2K12.

In addition, each winner will receive an all-expense paid trip to New York City, where they will have the special opportunity to perform the song live at Duck Down's CMJ Showcase in October 2011. The top ten MCs & top ten producers selected from each phase will also receive premium accounts at SoundCloud, valued at $700.

For Official Rules & Regulations, Visit: http://duckdown.com/nba2k12/officialrules/index.html

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