Dope Lyricist Ponce De'Leioun

Category: Featured artist

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The Fountain of youth seems to have found a comfortable seat in the hands of up and coming hip-hop artist Ponce De’Leioun. Bringing both passion and a quick on the trigger mentality to his music, life through this twenty year old’s eyes is nothing short of great. Portraying his everyday life in his music, Ponce has drawn a fan base from all over. Rather easily, his fan’s find they can truly relate to the words he has to offer, making his love for creating music unique and true.

Born on the outskirts of Orange County California, Ponce grew up in the Los Angeles area where establishing his own individuality was just another day in the sun. The next chapter of his life would take place in Wheeling, West Virginia, a town where he would soon find the values of hard work instilled in him through his family. Growing up, Ponce could be found writing thoughts turned into lyrics during class, and at the end of the school day have four to five rough songs put together. Finding talent at such a young age is more prevalent today than ever, and Ponce De’Leioun knows exactly how he’s going to become the industry’s next big name.

Ponce began performing live at the age of fifteen. From small festivals to historical leader celebrations for M.L.K., this kid could be found virtually wherever someone was willing to hand him a microphone. After quickly receiving attention from the small-town music scene in Wheeling, De’Leioun found himself performing in clubs all throughout the tri-state area (Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia). Eagerly recording several original songs, Ponce was creating a buzz in the community. Releasing multiple mix tapes shortly after lead to his first official Promo-tape in early April of 2009. The promo tape was hosted by G-Unit/Shadyville (Young Carvelli).

Location: West Virginia

Website

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

I go by Ponce De'Leioun, Im representing the state of West Virginia, as a Wheeling West Virginia native.

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

Ponce: My actual name is De'Leioun Jackson, I am actually named after Ponce De'Leon, the spanish voyager. However, I used to go by the name s.dot for years. In my senior year of high school I made some mistakes which pretty much led to me being kicked out of school. After realizing how much I messed up and upset my family I felt I needed a new start. I start hanging with a new crew, keeping myself away from trouble and making new dreams in order to take place of the basketball dream. Since everything else was new, I figured I needed a new name with more meaning. I did some research on what fit me best, and found it sitting in front of me the entire time-Ponce De'Leioun. It's is a mix between the actual voyager (Ponce) and myself(De'Leioun) with my spelling of the name.

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

Ponce: I have been rapping since I was 11, I began writing poetry and drawing pictures in 8th grade when I was sent to the guidance counselors office due to my attitude daily lol. The poetry quickly became my way of expressing myself. Once I put musical instrumentals along with my poetry I began recording myself on cassette tape. It was then I began keeping contact with my first recordings. I quit for a while and focused on basketball in hopes of college ball but after making a few mistakes in school I realized that dream would not come true. From there I picked up the microphone again and went to work, aiming for success.

Urban Steez: That’s Wassup! How would you describe your style and why? And what do you feel you can bring to the table as an artist?

Ponce: My style is simple. Not too lyrical, but not dumbfounded. It is something that most people can vibe too and college students can relate too. I keep it real, I rap about what I'm doing and what's going on around me. This way, there is no fabrication in my raps and if there was it’ll be easy to spot out. I think I have the talent of a leader! If I push myself to be the best artist out, than I can become a role model and idol very quickly. I feel like I can bring a completely different style and personality to hip-hop.

Urban Steez: I can dig that… If you had to pick which label to be signed to what would it be and why?

Ponce: Right now I feel like Young Money is one of the hottest labels out. I would definitely love to sign with them and work with artist like Drake, Wayne, Nicki and others. They are all very talented artist and I could see myself releasing very productive music with them all.

Urban Steez: Yea Young Money is getting it in for 2010!! What’s the biggest challenge you feel you face as an artist?

Ponce: Trying to make it out of West Virginia. West Virginia has never been a state known for its Rap scene. Nor has it ever really been a state known for raising boys and girls who become famous. There for, it will be so much harder for me to make a name for myself in the industry. It will be a great task I have to overcome in order to become what I want to be. I want to make history in my state. Being in West Virginia, a lot of artist and athletes are looked over. This is where I stand, but not for long. I plan on doing whatever I must in order to outshine the others and put my state on the map.

Urban Steez: Fa sho, That’s the mentality you have to have to succeed. Who would you want to collaborate with in the music industry and why?

Ponce: I would love to collaborate with a few artist in the music industry. First of all, I would want to collaborate with Jay-z because he's by far one of the best. In addition, I would enjoy collaborating with Lil wayne, J.Cole, Lupe Fiasco and Whiz Khalifa. I can see myself having very nice collaborations with each of those artist. Each of those artist have a different style/flow and I study the styles of them all in order to produce my own style/flow/Hip-Hop personality.

Urban Steez: So how do you feel you rank against top music talents today? And why?

Ponce: To be honest, I see myself being just as good if not better than many artist out now days. I am very versatile, I can mold my voice and style to just about anything and make it sound pretty good. I take this music very serious and plan on succeeding. With my creative thoughts and lyrical vocabulary I can cause a lot of attraction with my songs. Whether it is a club song or a true to life sort of song I can grab the audiences attention within seconds. Moreover, I feel like I have something to offer that a lot of artist don't.

Urban Steez: What are you working on now and when can fans expect to hear more from you?

Ponce: At the moment I'm looking for an official beat maker, otherwise I will begin producing beats myself. I am on the road to creating my album and dropping it. I plan on doing work with Dj Green Lantern again, this time as the host of my future album. As of now fans can stay tuned to www.Poncemusic.net where all my info and music will be posted.

Urban Steez: Yessir, keep us posted on that project.. Where do you see yourself a year from now?

Ponce: In a year, I can see myself being a signed artist. I have recently gained a lot of attention from many other artist and website. My talent and drive has pushed me out further than many other artist. I have always said by the time I'm 22 I want to be a millionaire. I’m 20 now. So, I have two years to make some major moves and get this show on the road. My dream is to be successful and make history in my state "West Virginia".

Urban Steez: I feel that , us here at Urban Steez support that… Who and what are your influences?

Ponce: More than anything my parents influence me to keep rising and become the best. With a sick mom and a stressed hard working dad, all i want is to succeed and better their lives. Music wise, J.Cole inspires me greatly. J.Cole proved many people wrong and made his way to the top from a state where it had not been done. Whiz Khalifa also did the same thing (Pittsburgh). There fore, I feel like I can do exactly what both of them did. Im 20, which is around the same ages of the two artist, and I feel like I have the same drive as them. In addition to the positive influences I also have the negatives that influence me such as; the people that looked down upon me and hated on me, the teachers that kicked me out of school, the hard life i lived growing up. These all happen to be leading factors in influencing me.

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

Ponce: Ahh I think it is in the process of change, like always. There is a lot of dance/club music coming out that can get you moving to the beat, which is good. There are a few artist like J.Cole & Wale who can be very lyrical which is also a good thing. I would like to hear more lyrical artist arriving on the scene. It almost looks to easy for some people to become famous now.Its almost as if, whoever knows somebody can automatically become famous whether there good or not. I think the hip-hop industry should be a little more strict on the upcoming artist, only to produce the best artist.

Urban Steez: I see, good point! What music do you have playing in your sound system right now?

Ponce: Right about now I'm all about my man Whiz Khalifa! I feel like he is one of the hottest out right now. I've been listening to him for the last four-years and he only gets better. I've recently been put on to Curren$y "Elevator Music" and ride to it all day. Besides those two, I don't listen to many more artist. As of R&B-Tre Songs all day hah!

Urban Steez: Yea Wiz stay consistent… Who is your celebrity crush?

Ponce: At the moment I don't really have one. Im sure i will sooner or later ahaha

Urban Steez: How can business heads and fans contact you in the future (myspace, email, number, etc.)?

Ponce: www.Poncemusic.net

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

facebook.com/poncedeleioun

twitter.com/poncemusic

www.youtube.com/poncethegreatest

Urban Steez: Any shot outs?

Ponce: I want to give a shout out to my man Slick Watts out here in the Ohio Valley along with me for doing my thing. Also look out for Eddy Boy from North Carolina, he's an upcoming lyricist who can go for day! Last but not least I want to give a shout out to anybody and everybody that ever believed in me.