“Music is like being in a world full of women, its so many types to choose from. You can’t just pick one, you want to love them all” says 20 yr old rapper/songwriter, Joshua “Keez” Keith, who credits his style off of being influenced by underground southern music, old school r&b, 90’s hip hop and the Woodstock era. His slogan “real men have layers” and his diversity in music created the faucets in which he identifies himself as Slim Smooth (the laid back womanizer), Poppa Scuzz (The party hard rebel) and Bossman Keez (The no nonsense businessman). The Georgia native had a rough time finding himself after bouncing back and forth from the outskirts of town to the inner cities of DeKalb and Gwinnett County which he calls“Youngstaz City”. Being the son of a single parent mother and having an on and off again relationship with his father often caused Keez to lash out and rebel in school & in his neighborhood. “I remember I use to be the smallest one in the neighborhood going off on everybody, that’s when I start turning my emotions into music.” At the age of 7 he began singing poems that he wrote and performed over beats made on his dresser. Later these became rap songs that he eventually recorded on tape and sold in middle school. He developed his stage name by taking his would be last name, Keys, and combining it with the dictionary term key; leading individual or principle. By the age of 18, he had won multiple talent showcases, organized a group of young men dedicated to the term “reach one teach one”, performed at the Apollo, was a featured poet in local newspaper, and had parted ways with 3 different independent labels.Becoming frustrated with people trying to take advantage of him, Keez hooked upwith a local producer Dj Geronimo. This lead to the recording of Bleave N Keezmix tape pt1 that sold over a thousand copies. He eventually followed up with Bleave N Keez pt 2, a double disc CD consisting of 54 songs. “Business wise we weren’t thinking about profit, we were just trying to make music.” Aside from side hustles and working hard labor jobs all his life, he landed a gig running his dad's company in Tennessee. This gave him an opportunity to learn how to conduct and run a successful business. With his plans in order, he formed an entertainment company and started penning for other artist. Along with working on his next CD, he has also kicked off his “He Lives” tour (a show combining dialogue and music). The sold out 3-day garage show ended up catching the eye of a few investors and non-profit organizations. Through all of his experience he’s learned that you succeed by being humble, heed the advice of the ones before you, and become a student of the game. Even through the let downs he still stays persistent and passionate in his work. “I live in a world of words and sounds, music runs my everyday life. All I ask is that you don’t get me confused. Rappers make songs for the moment. Artist paint pictures in their songs that last for lifetimes. I’m not gone sit here and try to convince you of what I am. Listen to my music and let your soul be the judge” Words worth beleaving in.