B.Ez

A. Bellez

Rapper/business personality



Born: October 3, 1983

Birthplace: Pasadena, California

Name At Birth: Ashton Belle



"A. Bellez" was destined for this lifestyle. At the tender age of 6 his family lost their home and was forced to take shelter in the family business. This, at the time, happened to be an independent music store his father owned. To young to realize the reality of the circumstance, a young "A. Bellez" became exposed to every genre of music. "I remember it was like the late 80's early 90's when people were advent consumers of music; when vinyl & tapes were still being sold and c.d.'s were just hitting the scene. My pops had everything! Seven years of my life my family spent our days there; exposing me to music 24/7".

After 7 years of being mentally scarred and stripped of a much needed privacy with nothing other than a music store open to the public to call home, "A. Bellez" family finally got back on their feet and found a home. While on the road to recovery, some wounds would not heal, and his parents separated shortly after. "I can honestly say after my parents divorce is when I found myself. My dad was very strict & conforming so without his presence, I was able to go against the grain and do things I never could; but always wanted to". "A. Bellez" attended Pasadena High School but did not graduate.

"Being out of high school at 15 was a different experience. With most of my peers in class I had no other choice but to roam the streets with my older brothers whom, at that time, were dealing with pressures of their own. I was exposed to many things the average 15 year old wouldn’t witness until years later. My mother was always at work. In order to maintain the household she had two jobs; she was hardly home to monitor what I did half the time”. With nothing but idle time on his hands he acquired a niche for reading as well as writing; anything from poetry to short stories then eventually sprouting his gift to developing stanzas over hip-hop instrumentals. His passion grew far beyond his expectations when he met a producer from Pasadena whom although was his same age; already had his feet wet in the entertainment industry. Troy “Radio” Johnson, (son of George Johnson of “The Brothers Johnson”) had a production deal under QD3 and helped develop “A.Bellez” as an artist.

With the skills acquired during his stages of development “A. Bellez” decided to take more initiative in his pursuit of becoming the next big thing in music. Determined to win; “A. Bellez” would later join forces with a fellow artist from Pasadena by the name of “A.C.”. Together they formed a promising rap duo called “Belle Rose”, the group later on signed a deal with a independent record label (P.L.U.G. ent.). These endeavors would lead to great things. The release of their debut “Place Your Bets Mixtape” shook the west coast, stamped with a introduction by west coast superstar “Snoop Dogg”, hosted by radio personalities “Julio G”, “D.J. Dense”, “Mr. Choc” and features with “Too-Short” they were set to make history. “Everything was in place. We had 50,000 mixtapes on the street; Snoop stamped us. We had the labels interest and our entire city behind us. Just when I thought it was going to be my big break the label backed out. I think when that happened we got discouraged and lost sense of direction. My rap partner decided to go back to school and work on getting his degrees. I went back to what I knew best; the streets”.

Encouraged by his peers to exercise his gift; “A. Bellez” vowed that if he got back involved with the music, this time it was going to be on his watch. “I started using every bit of cash I got; whether it from the streets or a desk job, I invested back into my craft. Paying for my own studio time, giving producers incentives for tracks were all necessary steps in creating the Catch Me If You Can album. Most times I had a studio with no engineer so I learned the software myself; recorded and edited my own material. Catch Me If You Can is a body of work, an expression of me as well as a display of my artistic ability”. Catch Me If You Can. A compelling story of ambition, despair and love joy & pain. Sonically one of the best independent freshman attempts to date. Look into the heart and mind of “A. Bellez” and his triumph over inequity.