Sadly, however, that woman has been corrupted. She who once breathed light into the minds of the youth has been silenced with words colored pitch black in darkness–empty in meaning, empty in thought. In the words of Nasir Jones: Hip Hop is Dead.And the killers are amongst us, profiting . . .

In such turmoil, Darius Exum, better known as Jay Verze has grabbed hold of the microphone with dreams of rekindling the simmered out torch with an inferno of original lyrics and a message that transcends all age barriers–death is not the end. He intends to animate the lifeless beauty, Hip Hop, in his own way with his own style. Inspired at a young age by the soulful music that his Father filled their home with, years later, he decided to form a band with his friend. This was the beginning of his love affair with music. And like all love stories, things only grew more intense from there.

From the electric drum kit he received at seven to that snowy winter day when his pen first touched paper, music, Hip Hop, had claimed him as her own. In 2005, he took things to another level. He grew his musical aptitude by taking keyboard lessons and learning how to play the trumpet. That same year, a very important event took place in his life–a talent show. With hopeful stars in his eyes, he signed up to audition. Sadly, he could not make the cut. It was very difficult for him to overcome this lack of recognition as it lingered in his mind as a sign of poor skill.

Verze was not content with failure and he came back stronger than ever! In five short years later, August, he released his first mixtape “AnimateTheLifeless”. It received well over 2,500 downloads and was quickly followed up by his sophomore mixtape “Hip Hop, Life, America”–the latter of the two displaying a more mature side that the audience had yet to see.

After coming so far, with his microphone in hand, he still stands with one goal–perfecting the craft he knows and loves. With the release of his latest project “21117 (TwoElevenSeventeen)” and his upcoming ”Life Through My Dark Shades” project, there’s no denying it; Young Verze has started his legacy of being an worldwide icon.