At first glance, it’s hard to imagine the statuesque 5’10 beauty was ever the awkward band geek that followed the popular kids around at school. These days however, landing features in videos alongside Pharrell and gracing the runways of some of fashion's most celebrated designers has definitely made Avriel Epps the leader of the pack. At the tender age of 17, this college Junior has been deemed one of the freshest new young faces in Hollywood by countless industry professionals.

Avriel has been in front of the television cameras most of her young life, starting first with commercials for McDonalds, Washington Mutual, Bumble Ball as well as appearances on Mad TV and Hannah Montana. She then graduated to speaking roles such as the voice of Little Timberly on Nickelodeon's Hey Arnold!, and the leading roles in a number of indie films. But acting and modeling are only a small component of the multi-faceted young teen’s make up. As a singer, producer, songwriter and composer, the young starlet’s musical prowess is enhanced by her formal training as an accomplished pianist, violinist and guitarist making her a quadruple musical threat. The hint of husk which coats her vocal chords, and the maturity of her insightful songwriting gives the young songstress the spirit of an old soul who has been here before.

Avriel is poised to claim the position left void in today’s popular music. Acting, modeling, producing and writing on a regular basis, the burgeoning pop star is currently in the studio preparing her debut offering to the music world. “As a model, I’m used to rejection because that’s the nature of the business,” explains Avriel of her uphill battle to prove herself to the music world, "It's been tough, people don't take me seriously when they walk in the studio and I tell them that I've made the beat that they're hearing, and that I wrote the song too" she continues about breaking gender boundaries in the male dominated field of producing. “But I’m not afraid to express the realities of my life to help bring comfort to those young girls, like myself, who have wrestled with finding their own way in the world.” With her feet firmly rooted in her belief in herself and her love of the arts, as well as the support of her family, friends and numerous big timers in the entertainment field, Avriel plans to bring the purity and innocence of the trials and errors we all experience in life to the forefront with the artistry of her music. Currently working to bring her musical vision to reality, Avriel is collaborating with some of the industry's top hit makers to tailor music for the next generation of music lovers.

Unsigned Hype Avriel

Location: Los Angeles

Myspace | Facebook | Twitter

Urban Steez: Tell everybody your name and what area you represent?

My name is Avriel and I hail from Los Angeles, CA. The valley to be exact.

Urban Steez: How did you come up with your music name?

Avriel: It's my birth name. Haha. My parents were hippies, so they gave me and my brother and sisters very creative names.

Urban Steez: How long have you been doing music and what made you get into music?

Avriel: I've been playing the piano and the violin since I was about nine, but I started writing and recording music when I was 14. My dad was a musician, and played in a reggae band. He showed me how easy it was to get groupies when you can play instruments, so I'm really only in it because of him and for the groupies.

Urban Steez: How would you describe your style and why?

Avriel: My musical style is always switching up. One day i'll record to a west-coast gangster rap track, then it'll be an electro-pop record, and next an acoustic indie song. I write on different instruments and try to work with producers who are forward and progressive thinking, and that always makes each song a little different. One thing that's constant though is my approach to writing. I always write about what's going on in my life or the lives of people that are extremely close to me. I'm not very good at coming up with make-believe stories for songs, but i'll always be able to express exactly what's going on in my life at any given moment. I feel like that's important, because no matter what the aesthetics of my song are, the message behind the song is always going to be the honest truth about me.

Urban Steez: I heard your music and you definitely have some major talent, GOOD STUFF!! If you had to pick which label to be signed to what would it be and why?

Avriel: I'm really not concerned about WHICH label I'm signed to. I just want to be somewhere where I'm supported completely. Wherever I end up, they've got to understand who I am as an artist, and not try to hamper my creative process or pressure me to be something that i'm not. But three people I wouldn't mind working under, if the situation were to present itself, would be, Kanye, Andre 3000/Big Boi, or Pharell (I guess that's four, huh?).

Urban Steez:  That’s wassup…Its all good I get your drift lol!! Who would you want to collaborate with in the music industry and why?

Avriel: It's always been a dream of mine to work with Andre 3000. I think he's an amazing producer and songwriter, and WAY ahead of his time. I was convinced when The Love Below came out, but FELL IN LOVE when I heard the Idlewild soundtrack. The way he integrated Jazz and A-tonal music into pop music on that album, and made it main stream, was inspiring to me. Another person I idolize is Lauryn Hill, my writing style is heavily influenced by her. To write a song with her would be a dream come true.

Urban Steez: You can’t go wrong with Lauryn Hill and Andre 3000…What are you working on now and when can fans expect to hear more from you?

Avriel: I'm currently just recording as much music as possible. I'm going to be featured on a Vimby Mixtape coming out early this February called The New Classics (produced by Cook Classics). It's featuring a lot of amazing West and East coast MCs like U-N-I and Pac Div, so you should definitely go download that when it comes out.

Urban Steez: I heard that !! Who are your influences?

Avriel: Besides all the aforementioned? ...EVERYONE! I'm influenced by GOOD MUSIC! I'm a classically trained pianist, so that's always been a major influence. I also LOVE jazz musicians like Cecil Taylor and Brad Mehldau, who push the boundaries a little bit. I guess right now I'm listening to a lot of experimental/textural bands like Animal Collective. And I'm always on the lookout for good song writers. People like Bon Iver, Coldplay, Paramore, and Feist that write catchy, but poetic lyrics at the same time.

Urban Steez: What do you think of the hip hop/ music world right now?

Avriel: I think a lot of the good hip-hop artists are either relatively unknown, or have crossed over into the pop world, like Kanye. Kid Cudi is one of my favorite up and comers, but he's borderline pop too. I feel like the only real mainstream hip-hop artists that are worth anything are the veterans like Jay-Z, Common, Nas, etc. Bishop Lamont will always have a special place in my heart, as well. The rest of main-stream hip hop is trash to me.

Urban Steez: That’s wassup!! What do you plan to do with your first royalty check?

Avriel: Invest it in something overseas. Haha

Urban Steez: What car do you feel will serve you right when you make it big?

Avriel: My car works just fine for me. And, I'm hoping to move to New York so I don't have to drive so much. So, when I make it big i'll just save up for a hover-craft or something extremely cool like that.

Urban Steez: Who is your celebrity crush?

Avriel: Jimi Hendrix is, has always been, and always will be my soul mate. In my opinion there is no celebrity that is as talented as him. Andre comes close, but until Jimi reincarnate comes along I'll just have to be bitter at my parents for having me in the wrong era.

Urban Steez: He was a man of his time! Yea you should go for the reincarnated version which might just be Andre 3000 lol…How can business heads and fans contact you in the future (myspace, email, number, etc.)?

Avriel: www.myspace.com/Avriel. www.myspace.com/Avriel. www.myspace.com/Avriel

Urban Steez: Any shot outs?

Avriel: Haha. No, that's too cheesy.

Avriel- Fingertips (Acoustic Original)

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Avriel- Blonde Hairs (Acoustic Original)

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