Yung Shimmy Fly

Alexander “Yung Shimmy Fly” Meeks A game-changing artist and an impervious celebrity, Yung Shimmy began his career as a near novelty. In his earlier years, people would describe him as innovative in music, a preteen who through the challenges of a rough childhood would eventually deliver a unique urban sound of hip hop through years of maturation and practice. Born Alexander O’Neal Meeks, after the great R&B singer most popular in the eighties, Alex shared the life of many of America’s p...

Alexander “Yung Shimmy Fly” Meeks A game-changing artist and an impervious celebrity, Yung Shimmy began his career as a near novelty. In his earlier years, people would describe him as innovative in music, a preteen who through the challenges of a rough childhood would eventually deliver a unique urban sound of hip hop through years of maturation and practice. Born Alexander O’Neal Meeks, after the great R&B singer most popular in the eighties, Alex shared the life of many of America’s poor black children raised in the chaotic inner city neighborhoods around the country. He grew up in Richmond Virginia with his mother and father, who often caught him dancing to Kriss Kross or listening to The Five Heartbeats, Temptations and other music that was many years beyond his age. Alexander loved getting attention from older people but suffered from a rare disorder that prevented him from speaking properly, leaving him uttering unusual sounds in his best effort to communicate. It was at this time, age five that he had been nicknamed “Shimmy”. Almost a year later, Shimmy watched as his parents marriage began to tumble. He would often hear arguments but did not fully understand the meaning of what was happening. The arguments grew more intense until finally Shimmy watched as his mother packed her belongings headed for New Jersey for good, leaving him confused and in a state of denial. Hoping that his mother would return Shimmy tried to make sense of the absence of a parent in the troubled area by listening to music and attempting to get the attention of older guys in their rap circles outside of his home. Shimmy would interrupt the more experienced men by ‘freestyling’ his own lyrics, some of which the older group enjoyed and encouraged. As his mother and father’s separation began to sink in, Shimmy’s grades slipped and trouble seemed the only comfort to ease the pain he endured each day. He was accused of vandalism and fighting increased on a day to day basis. By the seventh grade, Shimmy fought several times a week in the boy’s bathroom to prove himself to other children who constantly made an effort to bully the frail kid who appeared defenseless. This continued until Shimmy moved to New Jersey mid year to live with his mother, grandmother and two sisters, Toshaa and Cydiaa. Middlesex, New Jersey was the complete opposite of Richmond, Virginia’s poor, violent and predominately black city. Here, Shimmy fell in to the small minority of black families occupying a largely white demographic and education surfaced as a priority of the household. Shimmy returned to music, deciding to name himself ‘Meeks the Great” and began to listen more to the rock and roll he had learned about a few years earlier from a classmate in Richmond. With less stress at school and more time to focus on music, Shimmy decided to tryout for the freshman football team, quickly earning himself a spot as a wide receiver. In the tenth grade, ‘Meeks the Great’ was no more as the emerging artist began to take his music more serious, specifically focusing on recording under a new name, “Yung Shimmy Fly”. By his junior year, Yung Shimmy Fly added piano lessons to increase the creativity and image he intended to pursue beyond local mix tapes. Within a week of joining the piano course through his high school, Yung Shimmy was able to play short songs such as “London Bridge” or Kanye West’s smash hit, “Stronger”. He drew inspiration from Wiz Khalifa and Kid Cudi while admiring the marketing contributions that led Soulja Boy Tellem to national stardom just a year before. A very fast learner, Yung Shimmy seemed all but destined to become a worldwide superstar provided he acquired the proper management.