Tha MESSAGE is no stranger to struggle, born into a blue collar family with a long line of field and mill workers. His father a diesel mechanic worked long hours and many different shifts to support his mother and him. His mother worked different jobs throughout the years but due to her bouts with Bi-polar made it difficult to hold down a job. Throughout his youth he moved many times being forced to try to fit in he was often teased about his weight among other thing such as his own struggle with being bi-polar and ADHD. His family eventually settled in in his fathers' home state of Idaho, after moving from his native state of North Carolina and then Arizona prior to his move to the Northwest. Tha MESSAGE began his love affair with music after his grandmother passed away, she was a published author and passed before she could see her first book published. He made the promise to himself to take on her legacy and to continue working through his words just like she had, he started simply by writing poetry and then that transitioned into rhyme. In 2003 after receiving his first portable Cd player and a rap Cd he was inspired by the tracks he heard, he soon found that hip hop could speak to him and soothe his soul. So he started the slow but steady journey into becoming one of the best artists in his state. Before he knew it his headphones became as familiar to him as any part of his body, he would often spend hours closed up in his room listening to his favorite rappers and writing his own rhymes along to their songs. Soon after having a string of conflicts with his principal and school staff he dropped out to pursue a career in music. Around that same time his family had lost their home, and he found out that his mother had secretly become a meth addict which further intensified the conflicts within his home life. Thus his music became his only release, his mother surprised him with his first piece of recording equipment. An ancient karaoke machine with dual tape recorders and a 20 dollar microphone from radio shack. After that it was magic, he started recording on any beat he could find even holding his mic up to speakers to record a beat to cut a track on. As his skills progressed so did his knowledge, being a self taught artist he soon learned of the ability to record on software. So he upped his game, spreading like wild fire across the Northwest scene through use of social networking and word to mouth and as time progressed he began to develop his persona. He first chose the name MESSAGE because he felt as if his music served a purpose, he wanted to spread a message of hope or awareness to the masses all while delivering lyrics that everyone on the struggle can relate to. Once being quoted saying " at the end of the day if my music doesn't touch your soul and fill your heart with hope, then I haven't done my job as an artist" he soon grew to a high underground level with countless high reviews from A&R, numerous collabs, a full length mixtape, over 42,000 plays with just word of mouth support, a global fan list, and 2 magazine reviews and one feature. He left home when he turned that's when his journey into true poverty began. Due to being in the heat of the recession he had trouble finding work and lived for 2 months on nothing more than 10 dollars a week, after finally finding work through a staffing agency he was still only able to pay his bills. And eventually paid the price by losing 30 pounds due to high stress and malnourishment. Things eventually went sour and he spent a short stint back home with his parents before moving in with his fiancé, Life seemed to finally be coming together for him but that was short lived. Again struggling to find work and having disagreements with his fiancé he began to look for an out, he soon found one in spice. A street drug that was legal at the time and provided a way for him to 'get away" from his problems. But unknown to him the spice he was using was being cut with bath salts which made it a chemical equivalent of PCP and meth mixed together, which made him spiral into a deep addiction. After a long and hellish 8 months of battling his vice he finally was able to quit the use of the drug during his trip to NYC to meet with his first major label Shady Records. He he spent two days in his hotel room going through detox waiting for the day of his meeting, though he did not get a deal from this encounter with shady he was offered insider advice on the industry. After returning home and spending two more weeks in detox he began having nervous breakdowns, he was suicidal, and in deep depression but thanks to the support of his fiancé, family, and friends he was able to pick himself back up and continue working on his passion. But it was almost cut short as well after being arrested and put in county jail on charges that stemmed from his time as an addict, after serving his time and being released he made the choice to start to better himself and stop letting foolish things stand in the way of his dream. As of late 2012 and on into 2013 he has come back full force using each of his demons as fuel to an ever burning fire that continues to drive him to greatness, though he is still on the struggle on for him the work never stops he still feel his time is coming shortly. He knows he destined for something amazing, he intends to never stop until he finally gets the recognition he deserves and hopes that all his fans will continue to support him and help him to continue to spread Tha MESSAGE!