Born and bred from the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana, enter into the game, 20-year-old August Alsina...

With the love and hustle of the Crescent City running through his veins, August is eager to follow in the footsteps of the NOLA music legends that paved his way. His recently inked deal Def Jam Recordings looks to be a great step in the right direction, but music wasn’t always in his future. 

August learned at an early age that drugs and money could make you, or break you. With both his father and stepfather battling crack addiction, August’s mother moved their family to Houston, Texas in search of a fresh start. But Houston provided no happy ending. For years a young August endured a home life plagued by drugs and violence. At just 14, he got word from New Orleans that is father, August Sr., lost his battle with drugs and alcohol. 

In an attempt to escape his reality, August took to Youtube, where he posted dozens of homemade performance videos. His clips covering Musiq Soulchild, Lyfe Jennings and others went viral, generating millions of views in just over a month. It seemed that he was finally taking his first steps toward a bright future in music, but just a year later, reality hit home when his best friend was shot and killed in the streets of Houston. As quickly as August appeared, he vanished form Youtube, back to the real world. With tensions mounting at home, 16-year-old August was kicked out. Alone, he returned to New Orleans and took to the streets, selling drugs as a means of survival. 

With his older brother also in the streets hustling, it wouldn’t be long before August learned that the addiction to money could be as deadly as the addiction to drugs. Just days before August’s 18th birthday, his older brother was gunned down in New Orleans East, another unsolved murder in one of the nations most dangerous cities. “I never expected them [the police] to find his killer”, August explains. “People die everyday in the streets of New Orleans. Unfortunately, death has become a way of life,” but not for August. His brother’s death became his motivation to not become a statistic, but to pursue his musical aspirations on an entirely new level.

Under the guidance of Noontime Unlimited (management and production company), August relocated to Atlanta in 2011 to begin carving his own musical path with his life experiences at the center of his artistry. He recently teamed up with Hoodrich/MMG’s own DJ Scream for the release of his debut mixtape, ‘The Product’, which spawned the internet and radio buzzing anti-love single, “Sucka” which features fellow New Orleans crooner Lloyd. 

Yet to reach 21 years old, with already a lifetime of experiences behind him, August is living proof that your past doesn’t have to dictate your future, and that life’s hardships can be the motivation required for success. With Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter The Dream prepping August’s debut project for release through his Radio Killa/Def Jam imprint, the path to success has been laid. Look for August to make 2013 his official coming out party.


From “Heads High” (1998) to the newest “My Jam” (2015), Mr. Vegas has assembled an unshakable string of international classic reggae and dancehall releases including Billboard hits highlighting his career progression for the last two decades.

Born Clifford Smith in Jamaica’s capital city, Kingston. Mr. Vegas developed a passion for music at an early age. It was customary for aspiring high school age singers to gather during lunch break to test new lyrics and share their talents with classmates. Smith’s passion developed during these sessions when he noted female classmates would regularly attend without demonstrating any interest in lunch.

His first hit, “Nike Air” (1997), only came about because Mr. Vegas successfully demanded that doctors removed the wiring in his jaw after a serious injury. Despite nursing the injured jaw, ” Nike Air” raced to the top of the charts. Mr. Vegas follow up smash hit on the Filthy Riddim, “Heads High”, took the world by storm. Led by its undeniable hook over the creeping bass line, “Heads High” reached #1 on the reggae charts in five continents and #69 on the US R&B Chart. The same year, Mr. Vegas won a distinguished MOBO (Music Of Black Origin) Award in the UK.

Throughout the years, Mr. Vegas has proved adept at catchy hooks, knowing just the right beats that will hit at the right time coupled with signature song writing. ‘Tek Wey Yuhself’, ‘Hot Wuk’ and ‘Nuh Friend From Dem’, from his 2007 album Hot It Up, are a case in point. All were chart toppers in Jamaica and dominated the major American, Japanese and European charts. In 2010 Mr. Vegas was nominated for Soul Train ‘Reggae Artist of the Year‘ and performed at the Soulfusion Soul Train Awards in early 2011. “I want to be around in twenty years,” says Vegas, “and ‘Sweet Jamaica’ is the best way I can think of to put my stamp on the future, one in which real foundation reggae and dancehall both play a part, just like real life”.

By year-end 2012, Sweet Jamaica and Mr. Vegas made great strides including a MOBO 2012 Award nomination in the UK. Sweet Jamaica was named by Google Music as ‘Top 50 albums of 2012‘, endorsed by Complex Magazine in the ‘Top 100 Albums of 2012‘ as well as on the ‘Best of 2012‘ in the reggae section of iTunes. Leading the way into 2013 with solid rotations on mainstream radio throughout the US and a remix package penetrating the dance market. The versatile and accomplished Mr. Vegas added yet another achievement to his portfolio with multiple nominations at the 32nd IRAWMA awards on May 6, 2013. On that day he copped the title Song of the Year with “Sweet Jamaica” and Video of the Year with “Bruk it Down“. Standing on the Sun with Beyoncé was release on Beyoncé’s Platinum Edition Album in December 2013.
 
In addition to his many collaborations, during his journey as an artiste Mr. Vegas has opened for Deborah Cox, Foxy Brown, and Black Eyed Peas. He has also shared the stage with Brandy, Method Man Redman, T-Pain, Future, Trey Songz, Nicki Minaj, Pitbull and has done production work with industry producer Major Lazer. Mr. Vegas has appeared on all of the industry’s major shows, in Jamaica and abroad, including Guinness Sting, Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest, Reggae Sunsplash, Tobago Jazz Festival, Best of the Best in Miami, Uppsala Reggae Fest, Summerjam Germany, Rototom Sunsplash, Amsterdam Reggae Festival, SXSW and more. Mr. Vegas continues to tour extensively throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean Islands and North and South America.

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