About this artist
Verse Simmonds debuted on the Interscope label in 2009 with “Buy You a Round (Up and Down),” a cocky, percussion-heavy club single that failed to chart but enabled the upcoming singer, songwriter, and occasional MC to tour extensively. In December of that year, R. Kelly released Untitled, an album containing a song Simmonds co-wrote, “Crazy Night.” The Puerto Rico-born, Virgin Islands-raised native of Atlanta, Georgia was released from his recording contract, but his behind-the-scenes work advanced beside partner Sham with Rihanna’s “Man Down” (from Loud) and Kanye West and Jay-Z’s “Who Gon Stop Me” (from Watch the Throne). After signing with Bu Vision, a Def Jam-affiliated boutique label run by Akon’s brother Bu Thiam, Simmonds released the 2011 single “Boo Thang” (featuring Kelly Rowland). Simmonds then self-released the six-track EP A Sextape Chronicle in 2012 and released another Bu Vision single, the Mtume-sampling “Fully Loaded” (featuring Young Jeezy), in 2013. ~ Andy Kellman