VERDICT - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW - THUR, OCT 15, 2015 - 6:00pm PST

Straight from notoriously rugged streets of Detroit comes Verdict, a young artist who's arresting lyrics delivers a hard-hitting yet positive message to the world about the power of individuality, self-belief, and overcoming adversity. Verdict's knack for creating literate thought-provoking rhymes is underscored by his near encyclopedic knowledge of all different genres of music. Verdict brings a wide array of musical styles! "Growing up in Detroit, I was just a sponge for music, says Verdict. "I listened to a lot of jazz artist like Marcus Miller and a lot of R&B artist like Mary J Blige, Michael Jackson, and Whitney Houston. I also really loved hip-hop artist who were very musically eclectic like A Tribe Called Quest and Outkast. They were huge influences upon me.The seeds of Verdict's love of hip-hop first sprouted back in the late '90s when a middle school-aged Verdict began writing and spitting rhymes after being inspired by a teacher named Mr. Cooper who would sometimes rap for his students.

The year was 2006 Verdict met Detroit hip-hop manager Jacq" Pauly" Lovejoy, who was blown away by the young man's rapping abilities and his clear-eyed, no nonsense raps about post-millennium life in Detroit. "We knew we wanted to make true hip-hop---hard hitting, real, something enough to stand the test of time & represent the best hip- hop product available today" Thus BenOfficial Music was established "says Lovejoy. Attention to detail is a trait that noticeable throughout Verdict's work which has perfectly captured the state of hip-hop.

2015 brought even more chances for Verdict to shine with opening up for Jermain Dupri, Kid Capri, Keith Murray, The Luniz, Dru Down and even rocked the mic on the same stage as Rakim, Big Daddy kane, Slick Rick the Ruler, and Brand Nubian. The Verdict is in. And he's here to stay!