Before the Tre-4, Billionz, formerly Banks-a-Billion was born in Manhattan, New York. At the age of three he moved down south to North Carolina to the city of Winston-Salem. Growing up, Billionz listened to artists such as Big Daddy Kane, Jay-Z, Nas, and Big L, all of whom would prove to be influential in shaping his musical identity. Billionz, himself, began to write rhymes at 16 years old while attending High School. In 2000, while at High School, the developing lyricist joined forces with Ricky Ruckus and Glue to form a three-man all-star team, known as the Ill Spittaz. Since then, Billionz has grown from a bunch of high-school hallway hype to a regional, reputable rapper creating a buzz in the unsigned hip-hop world.
When examining Billionz as a lyricist, it is easy to recognize that he has a very distinct style. Billionz is known for his hard punchlines and witty wordplay while still maintaining a laid back, smooth delivery. Billionz brings to the plate a hard, lyrical New York flow, topped off with a downsouth accent and slang. In an interview with www.hiphop.org, Billionz described his style as “A mixture of down south and east coast hip hop with hard punchlines. I’m working on being more versatile and there won’t be any room to label my style. But the best way to describe me is a mixture with hard punchlines.” However you want to label the up-and-coming rapper, the one truth that remains constant about Billionz is his love for and dedication to the hip-hop game and music industry.
In 2006, Billionz released his debut mixtape entitled Back on my BI (with production from Soundsquad, Chase N Cashe, Lab Ox, and others). Over his career, Billionz has worked with numerous signed and unsigned artists including Noreaga, Nature, Veneeno, Joe Scudda, and Scram Jones, whose label Scram Jones Beast Music has signed the rising artist to a production deal. Billionz has performed in several shows around North Carolina. He has opened up for some of today’s biggest names in hip hop, such as Young Jeezy, Slim Thug, Mike Jones, UTP, Three 6 Mafia, and The Game. Over the years, his constant hustle (studio time, shows, mixtapes, etc.) has brought him to the main stage of the local hip hop scene.
Billionz is currently undertaking several projects. He is working on a solo album “Billion Ways To Die” which should be released in the near future. In the meantime, Billionz says he will “be dropping Mixtapes and EPs to keep the buzz going and flooding
everybody with music”. He is also currently collaborating with Ricky Ruckus and Glue on a group album for the Ill Spittaz. As one of the most promising young talents, Billionz is sure to soon impact the hip hop music industry on a much larger scale. He has already risen to the upper echelon among local hip hop artists and with hard work and dedication, Billionz will continue to broaden his audience and expand his influence on the hip hop community. While money and success are not his driving force, his motivation is his passion for the rap game. When asked where he thought hip hop would stand in 5 to 10 years, Billionz simply replied: “[It will be] the biggest industry in the World. But we have to do it for the love.”
Interview at Sixshot.com
