To paraphrase Jay-Z Verse Simmonds states, “Music should lift you like a light breeze and slide right into your spirit”, and I could not agree with him more.
Verse Simmonds aka The V.I. Bachelor seems to have found the winning formula to put his talents to work. Perhaps its his island roots, his strong work ethic, or simply his ability to express exact thoughts and feelings through a song. Either way, together they make Verse Simmonds the perfect tropical storm.
Born in Puerto Rico but raised in the Virgin Islands while maturing in Ft. Lauderdale, Verse Simmonds was blessed to have been surrounded by a swirl of musical styles that has been credited to shaping his formative years. Verse explains, being from the islands, we listened to all types of music from Hip Hop to R&B, Soca to Reggae and Reggaeton and even Top 40. For me, the variety of genres helped to create an understanding of what great music is. It wasn’t long before Verse, a name he would earn through his consistent songwriting, began his own musical journey. As he puts it, My passion for music is what I’ve wanted to do my whole life. Some people want to be firefighters. I’ve always wanted to be a singer.
Verse Simmonds hooked up with longtime friend Sham to form the production team, The Jugganauts, and after moving to LA in pursuit of his dream of being a top artist and songwriter, Verse was known to show up at artist sessions to lend his writing talent when needed. He was great at coming up with classic melodies. Together, he and Sham, were able to get work in LA because in the city of angels artists were in need of both writers and production.
Verses works as a singer/songwriter paid off by garnering the attention of Rodney Jerkins (mega producer for Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Michael & Janet Jackson) who helped him ink a deal with Interscope Records. Most artists dream of getting a deal but for Verse, I didn’t feel like I made it, I felt like it was just the beginning and I had more work to do. That’s exactly what he did–Hit the lab and went to work.
Verse continued to work at his craft and has scored songwriting and production credits on records for Jay-Z/Kanye Wests upcoming Watch The Throne CD, radio stalwart Rihannas hit single, Man Down, R. Kellys Crazy Night for his Untitled CD, and an overseas gold album for Capital Records recording artist Accent. In addition to that, with work on Jerry Wonda and Brian Michael Cox releases under his belt, Verse Simmonds is headed in the right direction.
Recently Verse became a proud member of Akons KonLive/Bu Vision family. Akon has built a route for what I where I want to go in this industry and Bu (Senior VP of A&R, Island Def Jam and discovered T-Pain) is taking a big interest in my project to make sure we do it right this time.
Verse Simmonds new mixtape, Sextape Chronicles 2 has drop which is hosted by DJ Trauma and DJ Sense. It’s a collection of songs that can best be described by Verse as music that one can put on with their significant other to set the mood right whether you’re chilling or really getting it in sexually. But as Verse warns, I want people to be aware and responsible with sex. His lead single, Boo Thang features Kelly Rowland (Destinys Child and Billboards #1 song Motivation), and I think people will really enjoy it. The kid has a really good voice, and range. With such a great spirit, determination, and inspirational music it’s hard not to be blown away by Verse Simmonds.