Brando's Page

Brando's Bio

Brando, born Nov 27, 1980 to a middle class Italian family inWestchester, NY. Brando’s father a Construction Executive always instilled in him to go after his dreams at any cost, always adding in that there is no supplement to hard work and dedication, while his mother formed the soundtrack of his life with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, 80’s rock bands, Lionel Richie, and numerous others. Brando was drawn to music even as a child starting to breakdance at the age of 6 and recording a rough version of a self composed song at 8 in his uncles home studio.

After hearing DJ Red Alert on NYC’s Kiss FM in the mid 80’s Brando realized he wanted to be a rapper, so at the age of 10 he picked up a pen and pad and wrote his first verse. Over time he became more and more involved in the hip hop game doing his first show at a local club at the young age of 12. His partner from the group never showed up so with only knowing the song he had written for his group he took the stage to perform a freestyle which received less then rave reviews. After that moment he vowed to be the best and never be in a situation where he wasn’t the star emcee in the room.

Fast forwarding to the later parts of his career Brando went on to perform in venues such as Wetlands (NYC) with rap super group “The Roots”, Lyricist Lounge, Don Hills, Nuyoricans Café and numerous other staples to the hip hop community around NYC as well as writing with and for artists such as K7, Pudgee The Phat Bastard, and newly signed artists to various major labels.

The buzz had built for this young emcee catching the ear of Henchmen Ent., Elektra, MCA, Dreamworks, and Motown.

In the late 90’s Brando felt it would be in his best interest to pick up and move to where he felt music was going… Atlanta, Georgia. With some push from some friends who were already down there and in the industry he packed up and head down south.

This was one of the greatest decisions musically for Brando. While in Atlanta he had the chance to work with and perform for artists such as Shawty Redd, Polow da Don, Jazze Pha, Drama, Lab Techs, Jagged Edge, Lil John, Yung Joc, Stone Stafford, Great Scott, Sean Garrett, Jadakiss and many other artists who are now a house hold names in the hip hop community.

In Atlanta, Brando went on to take the city by storm, winning multiple battles in different venues attracting challengers from as far as New Orleans to come for the crown, which he retained till the day he returned back to NJ as well as being featured in a few magazines also.

After grinding for close to a year and a huge share of disappointment Brando packed his bags relocating back to Paterson, NJ.

This became home and Brando continued being featured on mixtapes, street albums, performances, Radio shows, even as far as having songs played back to back on NYC’s Hot 97, Funkmaster Flex Show. Still, Brando’s persistence showed no signs of a career in music.

Brando Filled with frustration decided to put the pen down and pave another road for himself.

Almost 4 years later now Brando has re emerged more skilled then ever, delivering what Hip Hop has been missing, raw talent, delivery, lyrics, and charisma with hopes to be a main ingredient in bringing the New York sound of old back. In his own words “I’m addicted to this shit. To me it’s like a drug, no matter how long you try and stop the temptation always remains. I’m simply here to finish what I started.”

Now under the RU1 Records imprint with old friend and CEO Ru, they plan to take over the industry even further. Knocking down any doors that aren’t answered when knocked on. From the first remix “Pray” to the newest single “So Fly” it is evident to see that the puzzle is together and ready for display.

Brando is back with a vengeance... Let’s gooooo!!!