Big Till

----------------------------------- Prepare yourself for an all out invasion! Your Ipod, local concert stage and CD player is about to be taken over by the one and only Big Till. If you have yet to hear of Big Till, you will before long. Right now, Till is packing them in at venues around Orange County and Los Angeles—and his “Jerzafornia: The Mix Tape” is destined to be a hit with DJs, underground audiences and hip-hop tastemakers in both Southern Cali and in the New York Tri-State area, an...

----------------------------------- Prepare yourself for an all out invasion! Your Ipod, local concert stage and CD player is about to be taken over by the one and only Big Till. If you have yet to hear of Big Till, you will before long. Right now, Till is packing them in at venues around Orange County and Los Angeles—and his “Jerzafornia: The Mix Tape” is destined to be a hit with DJs, underground audiences and hip-hop tastemakers in both Southern Cali and in the New York Tri-State area, and soon to be everywhere. We know it’s not everyday that you hear about hip-hop acts coming out of Orange County, Calif., but then again there’s a first for everything. Till has been calling the area home for sometime, but he always will lay claim to where he was born and raised: on the rough streets of Morristown, New Jersey, a small town just minutes outside Newark. Growing up primarily with his mother and stepfather and a large contingent of brother and sisters, Till remembers how he was bounced around to live with different aunts and various relatives. “I got the best of the streets, and at the same time I got a good education and developed a real sense of family. Of course it wasn’t easy. I come from a family of hustlers—growing up around uncles and cousins who would school me on the game. I’m a street cat, and yet, a lot of people didn’t think I would even graduate high school.” Little did they know that Till, who also excelled as athlete in his high school days, would eventually go on to higher education, holding a bachelor’s of science degree. Till had been rapping since he was a kid and was a member of a couple of hip-hop groups such as [Priority Records act] Me & My Cousin (where he was a hype-man) and Pit Bull Gorillas (along with Sly Boogie). At the time, these group experiences allowed Till to share the stage with an array of hip-hop acts such as Xzibit, The Liks, Crooked I, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Obie Trice, and a host of others. Venturing out as a solo artist, Till decided to take more control of his own destiny. No longer subject to group politics, he is now like a man possessed in his quest for success. “I started getting up with various producers and recording my own rhymes,” he says. “Bringing in a DJ like the very talented DJ Oh-D and hooking up with one of the best hype-men around like Bootleg aka Barrakus was crucial to what we’ve been doing. They’ve been loyal and key to the early response we’ve been getting.” In addition, Big Till’s command for the stage has been the talk of Orange County, the Inland Empire and back home in Jersey. It’s during those high-energy performances that his large and over-the-top personality, along with his knack for being a ring-leader at getting the party started, truly comes alive. His recent Big Till & Friends Hip-Hop nights have been packing them in to standing-room only venues at places such as the House of Blues and the Bellagio Club, both in Anaheim, Calif. Till has been able to count on friends like Damizza, Planet Asia, The Homeless Nation, and the elite Power 106 DJs, Felle Fel and Raphiki to add their weight to the mix. Till also performed for an audience of over 5,000 people at the recent Labor Day Weekend 2006 Explosion in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, opening up for E-40 and The Federation at Club Animale. Till is the first and currently only hip-hop artist signed to NFE Records. He is out promoting his official “Jerzafornia the Mix Tape CD,” which features remixed versions of songs popularized by Ray Cash, Snoop Dogg, The Clipse, DJ Khaled and Daz & Kurupt, as well as four original joints: “Favorite Rapper,” “Get It,” “Bass Drop,” “Hot,” all suited for radio’s mix shows and the clubs. His full-length debut, “Jerzafornia: The Album,” is slated for a spring release in 2007. Till recognizes the vast amount of competition in the hip-hop arena, and feels he has the goods to separate himself from the near infinite number of MCs out there. “I ain’t talking about the ol’ same thing. It’s not the same ol’ candy cane. I may talk about jewels, but it ain’t just about jewels. I come strong with these lyrics—my style and how I represent Jerzafornia – which is a true statement in my mind. I still got that Jersey in me, and now living in Cali, I’ve had to adapt in order to survive out here. “Performing is also what separates me. I guarantee that you will never see me on stage just standing and pacing within three or four feet-just nodding my head like I’m too cool to get nasty. When you come to a Big Till show, you’re better get ready to break a sweat, put your hands up and feel the energy level go up. When anybody comes to see me, I want them to walk away saying they saw a great show and they had a good time watching Big Till do what he does!” For Big Tlll, the ultimate goal is very simple: “Of course, I wanna have a successful career. I’d like to sell tons of records. Pack people into the venues every night. But ultimately, I want to be able to take care of my family and create opportunities for a lot of my people back in Jersey who may not be doing so well. You know, be able to provide jobs for them, etc. The soul of the place where I grew up is so different and runs deep. It was rough growing up there, but it also was a great learning environment. Jersey people—we are different and move to a different beat. But if I could take the West Coast weather and put it on the East Coast, then that would be the perfect situation. I don’t prefer either coast, though. And that’s why I call it Jerzafornia—I love ‘em both!”