Hip-Hop is more than just music. It's a culture. It's a movement, and it's a way of life. Growing up with older sisters gave me the chance to be exposed to it early in life. From the way that I dressed, walked, spoke, it exuded me.

When I was 15, my daddy bought me an amp speaker and connected to it was a mic, and there is where it all began for me. I started my Dr. Seuss cat in the hat rhymes that very day and no one could get me off of that thing. My sisters were furious with my pops for getting it for me because they couldn't study or get any peace of mind. I would stay on it beatboxin' and rappin' for hours. I soon sharpened my skills though.

15 was a significant time for me in my life. I started college, I was given a new form of life through music, but life was also taken from me. My father was murdered. Hip-Hop and music period, is what I turned to give me a break from reality and to give me some peace. In that moment that I would be engulfed in my cd player, I was able to travel to a different place in a different time...and I felt like everything was going to be alright. That's why I say I didn't choose music, music chose me.

I'm lucky to be a part of Hip-Hop as it's tested and broke the boundaries of music and entertainment as a whole entity. It's implemented in so many things around us...tv, commercials, movies, ad campaigns, advertisements, endorsements, clothing. Hip-Hop is a brand engine and a commodity. It has molded some of the industry's biggest music moguls. Hip-Hop and music has molded me and given me strength when I needed it most. What about you? Why did you fall in love with hip-hop?-Shakur

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