B-Ez was born Brandon Johnson in Baltimore, Maryland at Sinai Hospital. Born into a family of singers that include his Mother, Sister, and himself; B-Ez was reared in the church and because of his spiritual background was not familiar with the Hip Hop genre of music in his younger years. While attending Old Court Middle School, B-Ez was introduced to rap in the 8th grade. The Lox was the first group he began listening to, and admits were a major influence on his decision to begin rapping. ...
B-Ez was born Brandon Johnson in Baltimore, Maryland at Sinai Hospital. Born into a family of singers that include his Mother, Sister, and himself; B-Ez was reared in the church and because of his spiritual background was not familiar with the Hip Hop genre of music in his younger years. While attending Old Court Middle School, B-Ez was introduced to rap in the 8th grade. The Lox was the first group he began listening to, and admits were a major influence on his decision to begin rapping. He also says it [rap] started to “click” when he later began listening to other artists such as: Jay Z, Ludacris, and Lil Wayne. In the early stages of honing his skills, B-Ez started taping his at-home freestyle sessions and taking the tapes to school for feedback. He and his classmates would share music and battle each other. A self-professed “shy guy” who didn’t talk much in school, for B-Ez rapping was his claim to fame.
In an attempt to jump start his career, B-Ez became one-half of the group “Skillz & Black,” under the moniker “Black”, he became a “trapper rapper.” The central themes in his lyrics were drugs, violence, and crime but because these things were not familiar to him, B-Ez could not relate or connect to the lyrics he was writing as they were a contradiction to the actual lifestyle he actually lived. He would much rather rap about the normalcy of trials and tribulations that everyday people struggle with. He admits that he has done a couple of things he is not proud of but is an overall good guy and wants to play his position. He prefers his music to have personality and he is not afraid to be normal and reference such topics as love and relationships. With a little encouragement and inspirational words from his Uncle Warren Powers, Denver Bronco and CEO of Powerhouse Records, who advised him to, “Make Music. Be Real. Keep it true to yourself”, B-Ez left the group to pursue his solo career.
In 2006, after an introduction by a friend, B-Ez teamed with Black Colla Entertainment and began working his way through the Baltimore Rap Circuit. He performed in numerous talent shows and showcases at The 5 Seasons, The Five Spot, Bar Nun, Club 5, Club Love and Island Café. B-Ez was also featured on a reality show in the making called, “Making the Next Hit,” produced by Lil Wayne, where he won the first round; unfortunately the show was never picked up by a network. Winter of 2007, he auditioned in New York for two A&R reps at Def Jam. The highlight of B-Ez’s rap career was during spring of 2008 when he was crowned the retired champion of 92.3 FM (92Q) “Tuesday Night Fights,” winning the battle five consecutive weeks. In 2008, B-Ez released his first CD on Black Colla entitled “The Fun’s Ova”. He has also been featured on “The Last of the Best” and “The Paper Chase” also under Black Colla Ent.
B-Ez is motivated by the current state of emergency in Hip Hop. He doesn’t feel that he is better than any other artist, but feels if more artists, like himself, were in the playing field Hip Hop today would be better. He prides himself on not being afraid to try new things and step outside of the box. He has a unique style because not one of his songs sounds alike. He writes all and produces some of his music and categorizes his style simply as “B-Ez”. He would like to make music that will still be relatable 10 years from now. He strives to leave a legacy with good lyrical content and his credibility is never tested.
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