In the 21 years André has been on this earth he's spent most of them honing his skill of using hip-hop as his means of artistically communicating his story to open ears. The influence of music on his life was evident at an early age. During his childhood in New York City his Jamaican father introduced him to hip-hop in the form of Rakim, Das EFX, & Big Daddy Kane. After moving to SW Florida at age 13 he had to readjust to a new way of life. He had to start over and find his place. André saw that the music scene in his new home was begging for artists ready to build it up; He was ready for the challenge, and he wasn't alone. Along with his best friend he started PayUp Game, a collective of young emcees, in 2004 as their way of finding their niche, expressing themselves and standing out from the crowd that didn't particularly embrace them. Since then PayUp has switched up their roster a few times but their goal remains the same: "to create a lifestyle for our supporters through music while staying true to ourselves".