ProPayne is a father, a son, a brother, a friend and an MC, but above all, he is a man; a man who believes in the progression of hip hop as a culture and a community, a man who speaks from the heart. Introducing: ProPayne. As a founding member of the world famous open-mic End of the Weak, ProPayne has accumulated thousands of hours on stage, in the studio and on the grind. Dedication has molded him into a phenomenal performer, songwriter and entrepreneur with multiple releases. With an Independent Music Award for "best hip hop album" (Three Kings) under his belt, his debut solo album Deep Blue is the culmination of years of hard work and remarkable talent. Born and bred in Manhattans infamous Alphabet City, He is a man who has seen it all. Pro grew up in an environment where the drug culture and the art culture coexisted for a decade; breeding violence and creativity, life and death. The first half of ProPayne’s childhood was spent living in Baruch Houses, with an alcoholic grandfather, his grandmother, mother and younger brother. His adolescence was spent living in one of the worst tenement houses in Alphabet City, the notorious drug capital of the world in the late 80's and 90's ProPayne’s tenement was home to one of the areas biggest drug lords and junkies, dead bodies, and criminals infested the neighborhood. The neighborhood which is now safe and gentrified was once abandoned and dilapidated. In pros home, water and heat were a luxury, and hard times were everyday life. Pro learned from the streets first hand, day in and day out. It was his mother’s strength that kept him off the streets and pushed him into artistry and education. The love for hip-hop culture began early in his life and Pro started writing poetry at 11. His “biological” father was a hip-hop promoter in the 80’s who exposed him to everyone from Run DMC to LL Cool J. His older cousins and role models were B-Boys and Local graffiti artists. While attending High School at Brooklyn Tech, ProPayne developed a love for freestyle and impromptu street performances. He spent hours in the park or in the lunchroom huddled in ciphers exchanging words with other aspiring MC's. His first recordings were made in home studios while he was supposed to be in his college classrooms studying. His style was unique, his voice powerful and moving. It was during these years he met the partners that would who would later become the founders and creators of End of the Weak. Pro met Vice Verses through a mutual friend in 1998. Shortly after meeting, Vice and Pro formed I.2.I, a hip hop collective that set out to change the music scene with their anti-pop attitude and aggressive style of hip hop. I.2.I continues to perform and record to date; they recently released an LP entitled 121 Steps/Year of the “I”. Pro continues to host EOW every Sunday night. He has toured Europe and will be the featured host on a video expose' of European Hip hop. He is currently writing and recording material for numerous new projects that will be released in 06' and 07'.