Tye Banks

Hailing from southeast Raleigh, Tye Banks was no stranger to street life. He grew up in a community known for drugs, crime, and violence, some of which hit too close to home. At 12 years old, Tye began writing and freestyling his own songs whenever and wherever he could. During those early years, Tye Banks formed rap groups with cousins and friends, learned how to scratch vinyl, make beats, and record. He also spent many summers with relatives in California and Texas, further exposing him to very different flavors of hip hop as well as the grassroots, indie label mindset, both of which were not as prevalent on the East Coast.

It was while attending Shaw University that Tye Banks met others also interested in making hip hop music, and when he realized that he could pursue music as more than a hobby. Tye became one of the founding members of Nebulous Entertainment, a collective of hip hop artists and producers. With Nebulous, Tye Banks was featured on 3 compilation CDs, including ?The Laundrymat Show?, ?Flood Tape Vol. 1?, and ?Flood Tape Vol. 2?. However, in 2005 Tye decided that it was time to leave Nebulous in an effort to focus on pursuing his own creative and business interests.

Tye Banks has since expanded his network to include an impressive list of producers, rappers, and singers. His collaborations with Big Latin Papi ?Salsa Les Doy? and ?Reggaeton Masters? in 2005 were played in heavy rotation on Radio Unica 1270AM DJ El Lobo. Tye has also grown into one of the most popular hip hop hit-makers on Sony Media Software?s AcidPlanet website. The emotional and heart-felt ?Love Letter? collaboration with Sikora and producer PhreshTrax reached #2 on AcidPlanet.com?s Top 10, while the take-no-prisoners ?All Souped Up? produced by DJ Sugarcane 316 reached #5.

In November 2005, Tye Banks successfully launched WhoRyde.com, the car and music community portal for unsigned music artists, models, and car/motorcycle enthusiasts. Tye has also recently added the title of actor to his resume, appearing in the feature film "Fall Down Dead" (2007) and the CW television series ?One Tree Hill?, as well as in a variety of commercials, industrial and indie films.

The joint release of Ghetto Gold, Tye Banks' highly-anticipated full-length album, and the launch of TyeBanks.com in September 2006 represents not only the road Tye has traveled thus far, but also gives a taste of what's to come from this artist, actor, and business man.