See Profiles of various celebrities that have appeared at Breakaway Tours events.
 

 


















Akon is a unique musician who has been described as a hip hop artist, an R&B singer and a rapper. Born the son of a jazz musician in Senegal, Akon’s sound has been influenced by a number of different music styles and musicians. After breaking onto the music scene in 2004 with the summertime hit ‘Locked Up,’ Akon has evolved his career to include the title of producer, and has worked with big names like Snoop Dogg, Elton John and Gwen Stefani. He’s also one of the most in-demand guest artists in the music industry. And in 2007, he was one of the featured artists at MTV’s Spring Break ’07 in Cancun.

Since his debut album release, Akon has traveled around the world collaborating with everyone from Snoop Dogg to Lady Black Mambazo. His Konvict Music Imprint, which was distributed by Interscope Records and boasts a roster that includes T-Pain and former TLC member Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas. Akon’s life story has also become one of the most inspirational music sagas in recent memory, turning his life around after a stint in prison by pursuing a career in music, notching millions in albums sales since his seminal debut album Trouble.

Akon is nominated for four awards at The Grammy’s this year set to be held at The Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb 10. The four Grammy nods follow his first American Music Award victory last month for Best Male Soul/R&B artist, where he beat out celebrated hit-makers Ne-Yo and T-Pain. The Senegalese star's first-ever Grammy nomination came last year for his rousing collaboration with Eminem, the record-breaking "Smack That," from the groundbreaking Konvicted. Akon also recently pulled down three big wins at the World Music Awards when he was awarded a trio of prestigious trophies including Best Selling R&B star in the world, topping superstar artists such as Beyonce, Timbaland, Rihanna and others. Akon was also recently hailed as Cingular’s top- selling ringtone artist ever. He is the only artist to have two double platinum ringtones, “Smack That” and “I Wanna Love You.”

  Fat Joe Breakaway Tours Appearances: (Cancun '07 & '05) MTV performance at The City &
Maxim Spring Break at the Oasis Cancun.

Joseph Cartagena, also known as Fat Joe, got a sluggish start to his career as the only Latino rap artist on the east coast. Born and raised in the Bronx, he worked tirelessly to become the huge success he is today. When his first album didn't sell as many records as he had hoped, Joe teamed up with Big Pun for his second album, and found success. Joe produced Big Pun's first album, which was the first ever by a Latino artist to go multi-platinum! After Big Pun’s tragic death, Joe formed the Terror Squad, and together they produced their first number one single ‘Lean Back.’ The rest is history, and he continues to make his mark on music, film, clothing and urban culture today. In 2007 Fat Joe was one of many celebrity stars that performed during March break.

Fat Joe has been on a number of different labels recording about 8 albums for the past 14 years. He has had both underground and major label success as a respected recording artist for labels such as: Imperial, Virgin, Capital, Atlantic, and his own company, Terror Squad.

In 1998, Fat Joe released his first album with Atlantic records (his third studio album) entitled Don Cartagena featuring the hit singles “Bet Ya Man Can’t” and the albums title track, “Don Cartagena.” The album hit number seven on the Billboard Top 200 and number two on the hip-hop charts making it Fat Joe’s first Gold release certified by the RIAA.

Following the success of Don Cartagena, Fat Joe released his second album on Atlantic called The Jealous One’s Still Envy (J.O.S.E) in 2001, including the song “We Thuggin” featuring R. Kelly. The album didn’t reach the success of Don Cartagena, but managed to continue to gain popularity for the artist.

Fat Joe continued his career teaming up with many artists and changing labels a couple times releasing, All of Nothing, My Myself and I and eventually The Elephant in the Room on Imperial Records.

The Terror Squad is Fat Joe’s group, record label and production company for hip hop artists like Big Pun, Cuban Link, Triple Seis, Remy Martin and many more whom are featured on various Terror Squad recordings. Fat Joe, the CEO and main artist in the company established the Terror Squad in 1998 with his solo album Don Cartagena. A year later Terror Squad released their first major label hit “Whatcha Gon’Do” featuring Big Pun who later died from a tragic heart attack.

Despite their success, the group took a several year hiatus following Big Pun’s death. Fat Joe was the only artist within the group that continued to record and release albums during that period. They later reformed in 2004 for the release of there second collaborative album, True Story, bringing them back into the mainstream and public eye with the hit “Lean Back,” produced by Scott Storch. “Lean Back” went on to be the groups biggest single to date hitting the Billboard Hot 100 at number one. To further the success of the single, the Terror Squad released a remix of “Lean Back” featuring vocals from Ma$e, Lil Jon, and Eminem released on Fat Joe’s solo album All or Nothing.

  50 CentBorn Curtis James Jackson III on July 6, 1975, 50 Cent is a true man of the streets, familiar with its codes and violence. He was born into a notorious Queens drug dynamic and lost those closest to him at a very young age. He started rapping early on, but did not decide to go about it seriously until the birth of his son, first signing with JMJ, then with Columbia Records to make his name known. In 1999 however, 50 was dropped from Columbia during his recovery after being shot in front of his grandmother's house 9 times! 50 did not give up, he was soon backed by G-Unit and signed on to work with Eminem and Dr. Dre. 50 is the most sought after newcomer in almost a decade, producing many albums and touring for packed houses of adoring fans.

A tenacious artist, 50 Cent rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre and achieved multi-platinum success with both albums, selling over twenty-one million records worldwide. 50 Cent's business acumen was already the talk of the town back in 2005. In 2004, Curtis Jackson pocketed $50 million after taxes thanks to his involvement in different business ventures. Things were different then - there was the friction that 50 had with the Game, there was tons of buzz on his latest album "The Massacre" 50's follow-up to his debut, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'", the lead drack "Disco Inferno" was doing well on the Billboard top 100 and everyone wanted to see if "The Massacre" would top his debut 2003 album.
Produced by Eminem and Dr. Dre, "Get Rich" consisted of agressive chants, angst-ridden overtones and shakin-all-you-got dance floor tunes like "In Da Club" and "P.I.M.P." the album's success was phenomenal - it trumped acts like Shania Twain and spent six weeks at No. 1 It was the best selling CD of 2003 and 11 million copies were sold worldwide. this was the most amount of sales for a rap-debut album.
His company G-Unit in additon to music includes apparel, video games and ringtones. His involvement with the business is wholehearted and full-fledged. 50 makes it a point to meet regularly with the Reebok team to discuss ideas and actions for his line of footwear which was worn by several players on the Indianapolis Colts in the 2003 season. As 50 candidly states that the environment where he grew up taught him to either step up and be agressive about things or just lie back and be a victim. 50's been known to show up unannounced at his record distributor's office for the weekly staff meeting, to steer his own marketing campaign. This work ethic is appreciated and admired by all his business accociates.

50 also launched a line of vitamin water called Formula 50. In addition, in 2004, in line with his new CD launch beverage marketer Glaceau introduced a brand new platinum label for its grape-flavored Formula 50 vitamin water. Needless to say, the drink's sales were nearly as pathbreaking as his record sales.

  LudacrisBorn Christopher Brian Bridges in Illinois, hip hop artist and actor Ludacris is one of today’s hottest stars. This multi-talented Georgia State graduate was discovered by famed producer Timbaland while working as DJ Chris Lova Lova in Atlanta, GA. The two paired up to record Ludacris’ debut album ‘Phat Rabbit’ and Luda’s meteoric rise to super-stardom began. Since then he has created Grammy-winning solo work in the album ‘Release Therapy,’ has collaborated on mega-hits with other artists such as Usher’s ‘Yeah,’ and had a major role in the Academy Award-winning movie ’Crash.’ All this, and Luda still made time to perform at MTV’s Spring Break ‘07 events in Cancun .

At nine years old, Chris Bridges started rapping and was soon influenced to start his career as a hip hop artist. He first made an appearance as DJ Chris Lova Lova at Hot 107.9 in Atlanta, Georgia. His name Ludacris is based on the word “ludicrous” meaning foolish or unreasonable. After producer/rapper Timbaland heard him on the Atlanta radio station, Ludacris gained commercial exposure. The two worked together and got Ludacris his recorded debut on one of Timbland’s tracks called “Phat Rabbit” on Timbaland’s 1998 album. Following his debut, Jermaine Dupri was interested in signing Luda, however, Ludacris ended up releasing his independent album “Incognegro” in 1999. Working mostly out of the trunk of his car he was able to sell over 50,000 copies of the album. The next year, Luda was signed by Def Jam Records, who then created a new imprint, Def Jam South focusing around him. His independent album “Incognegro” was re-leased as a newer version called “Back for the First Time.” This launched Ludacris as a Southern rapper with a comedic rapping style. He currently owns a house where his mother lives in Centreville, Virginia, along with a house in LA, California, and his permanent address in Atlanta, Georgia.

Ludacris has appeared in many movies showing off his acting skills as well as making appearances on some TV shows such as: “Eve,” “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,” and personal appearances on “SNL,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” and “Chappelle’s Show” just to name a few of the many. Luda has been in high-promotion movies like “2 Fast 2 Furious,” and most recently “Fred Claus,” as well as his movie debut in “The Wash” in 2001. He also has many album tracks on the soundtracks of close to twenty movies/shows.

  Sean Paul Sean Paul Henriques was born in Kingston, Jamaica to Garth and Frances Henriques. His father and mother were both known to be very talented athletic people, and his mother was also known as a very well respected painter and artist. He grew up comfortably in Jamaica, listening to Reggae music, however his original plans were to follow in his grandfathers footsteps and become a professional water polo player for the national team. It wasn't until the age of 21 when he decided that music was his true calling.

At a very young age, Sean Paul found a love for music. Along with reggae, he had a passion for Dance-hall music as well. Because of this interest he became skilled at crafting rhythm tracks and creating songs of the genre. Using his family ties to the industry, he made business contacts for himself and in 1996 he released his debut single “Baby Girl (Don’t Cry)” produced by Jeremy Harding, producer of many other reggae artists. The energy and success of his first single led to further tracks like “Deport them,” “Excite Me,” and “Strategy.”

To gain an audience in the United States and Canada, he collaborated with a dance-hall song writer, Mr. Vegas, where they produced a song called “Top Shotter.” This song was used in the film entitled Belly, directed by Hype Williams. This also sparked a number of collaborations with the artist featuring DMX and Beenie Man. Soon after, Sean Paul worked with a team of producers and released his first North American album entitled The Trinity, featuring the hit “We be Burnin,” which is a song something greatly accepted in his culture growing up…smoking marijuana. This led to Paul’s major label success in the United States and earned him several awards including: the Jamaica Awards, American Awards, Billboard, and a Grammy in 2004. His combination of dance-hall music and reggae created a widespread major label phenomenon in North America forming a new genre called Reggae-tone.

The unmistakable voice of Sean Paul has been known to turn up the ‘Temperature’ wherever there’s a party. This Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist who hails from Kingston, Jamaica, was influenced by artists such as Super Cat and Don Jute. His sound made its way to North America in the late 90s and has been a party staple making people ‘Get Busy’ ever since. Sean Paul enjoys making live appearances and has partnered with MTV for concerts in Panama City Beach.

  Lil Jon Lil Jon was born Jonathon Mortimer Smith on January 27, 1971 in Atlanta, GA. His start in the music industry began in 1993 when he started to work for Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def record label and stayed there until 2000. It was in the mid 90’s when Lil Jon started making a name for himself with his flair for club music remixes. Soon after, Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz were formed consisting of Lil Bo, Big Sam and of course – Lil Jon. After some guidance from legendary Miami bass artist Rick Taylor, Lil Jon came out with “I Don’t Give a F***” featuring Krayzie Bone and Mystical in 2002, which immediately took to the dance floors. However, it wasn’t until he teamed up with the Ying Yang Twins for the song “Get Low” to bust him out into the mainstream. This proved to be a great year for Lil Jon’s “Get Low” with all the remixes for the song featuring other mainstream artists as well as his album Kings of Crunk making the top twenty in the U.S chart for 2003.

In 2004 Lil Jon produced an Usher song featuring Ludacris called “Yeah!” which quickly took off to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Lil Jon also helped produce two other giant hits in that year with one being “Goodies” by Ciara which reached #1 and Petey Pablo’s Freak-A-Leek which had huge success as well.

Lil Jon continues to top charts and is getting involved with everything from the X-Games to launching his own cartoon airing on his Myspace page and on Will Ferrell’s Funny or Die website.

Lil Jon is acknowledged mostly as the pioneer of the sub-genre of hip-hop known as “crunk,” which is a combination of southern hip-hop with bass, bounce, and disco music. Lil Jon has taken crunk to a new level and collaborated on hits with popular artists such as Ice Cube, Usher, and the Ying-Yang Twins. His beats, chants, and catchy choruses have become his signature sound making him in high demand in the hip-hop music scene. Even with his busy schedule; Lil Jon made appearances in Cancun with Breakaway Tours and had the March break crowd rocking!

  MIMSIt didn't take the rapper MIMS long to come up with the title for his debut album. Both of his parents died by the time he was 13, and it was his love for and dedication to music that kept him focused on success and out of trouble. That's why the Washington Heights, New York, rapper named his first album Music Is My Savior. The title carries additional weight, too. "If you think of Music Is My Savior as an acronym, it stands for my last name, which is Mims," says the rapper, born Shawn Mims. "I wanted to be a little clever about it."

Clever also describes MIMS' smash single "This Is Why I'm Hot." It makes a certain amount of sense that the cut -- a skeletal, braggadocio club track that gives nods to classic New York rap, Midwest Hip-Hop, the Southern rap scene and the hyphy movement -- has become so popular in clubs and on the radio. The song's producers, the up-and-coming The Blackout Movement, double as DJs. "They understand what the mentality of a DJ is and that's where we broke the record, the mixshows," MIMS explains. "The DJs broke the record, and when a DJ creates a record and another DJ listens to it, they have a connection. I think that's why a lot of DJs appreciated it."

Becoming a star rapper was a minor accomplishment given the personal setbacks MIMS has had to overcome. MIMS discusses the lessons he learned from his mother, who gave MIMS the DJing equipment that served as the foundation to his musical aspirations, on the moving "Don't Cry." But rather than lash out at the world because of his loss of his parents, MIMS used the experience as a learning tool. "I lost both of my parents when I was younger, and people think that automatically I'm supposed to be this bitter person, this dude that runs around being mean to everybody," he says. "The song shows you that I can make positive situations out of negative situations. It's a very emotional record."

Thanks to his mother's support of his interest in music, MIMS had the confidence to pursue his dreams. In fact, MIMS learned a number of valuable lessons from his mother: to learn from his mistakes and to be mindful of others and your surroundings.

These characteristics helped MIMS as he launched his DJ career at age 13. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, who had a DJ set at his house. Once he started playing songs, MIMS became more interested in the creation of music, and his interests turned to engineering and producing. By the end of high school, though, MIMS became focused on MCing after his friends encouraged him to continue developing his lyrical skills.

MIMS' background as a DJ, engineer and producer helped him tremendously as he made the transition to rapper. He knew something many MCs know little about: how to make records. Furthermore, as a producer, he had a platinum release in Canada with the Baby Blue Soundcrew. That international exposure and experience gave MIMS the incentive to keep pushing for his own success as an artist.

In 2003, MIMS got his first big break when his song "I Did You Wrong" (also produced by The Blackout Movement) became a regional hit. The song's success enabled him to tour as an opening act for Method Man and to develop several key business relationships. In 2006, MIMS launched his own American King Music and released his smash "This Is Why I'm Hot" single.

"People are like, 'Damn, you've been through so much in life. But every time I see you, you're smiling, you're happy and feeling good,'" MIMS reveals. "That's what Music Is My Savior is about. It's about feeling good, showing you everything I've been through and that I've built no excuses for myself."

And that's why he's hot.

  FergieStacey Ann Ferguson began her career in 1983 as the voice of Sally Brown in the children's cartoon series Charlie Brown. Shortly afterwards at the age of eight, she made her first appearance on the variety television program Kids Incorporated. Since, Fergie has blossomed into a pop icon with both the Black Eyed Peas and as a recent solo artist. She performed in Cancun during the 2007 American Eagle Concert Series that also featured Ludacris. Breakaway Tours travelers got to see Fergie perform at The City and at MTV's daytime concert series.

Fergie is an American pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actress who got an early start in the entertainment industry. Stacey Ferguson was born in Hacienda Heights, California to Terri Gore and Patrick Ferguson with one sister who is now an actress. She came from a strict Roman Catholic upbringing. During her teen years attending Glen A. Wilson High School, Ferguson was involved in various gangs in her home town leading to further drug addictions. Her early start in the industry as a child actress, eventually led to the music industry where she began her true recognized success.

During her teen years, finding time in-between being a child star and her small career as a cartoon voice, she decided to put her voice to greater lengths as a singer of 1994’s pop group Wild Orchid, which she fronted along with former Kids Incorporated members, Stefanie Ridel and Renee Ilene Sandstrom. Writing songs as early as high school together, they received the help from songwriter Bobby Sandstrom. They signed with Sony Publishing as a group called NRG, but for legal reasons was forced to change their name to Wild Orchid. As Wild Orchid, they signed with RCA Records in 1994. The group released their self-titled debut album Wild Orchid in 1997 featuring the Billboard hit "Talk to Me," which was included in the hit movie Fools Rush In. They toured vigorously on the album along side with N*Sync and 98 degrees. The video and single “Talk to Me” received recognition and awarded the group nominations within Billboard, The Soul Awards, and The American Music Awards. The group released two more albums and supported them touring along side Cher and Cindy Lauper, which was very successful. The group has recorded an album entitled FIRE, but the record company refused to release it due to the industries change. Because of the frustration with the record companies and failure of the groups final record, Fergie began to use crystal methadone and checked into rehab.

After overcoming the drug addiction Fergie became the lead singer and sole writer for the already formed group The Black Eyed Peas. They released their major label hit “Let’s Get Retarded.” The track gained the group worldwide success and also captured the attention of many companies who later purchased the song for TV commercials.

On September 19, 2006 Fergie released her debut solo album entitled The Dutchess. The album had many Billboard top hits such as "London Bridge", "Glamorous", and "Big Girls Don't Cry" She continues her success today as a solo artist, a member of The Black Eyed Peas and still, as an actress.

  Panic! At the DiscoPanic! at the Disco began to form in a suburb of Las Vegas when 12-year-old Ryan Ross asked his parents for a guitar for Christmas and his neighborhood buddy Spencer Smith begged his parents for a drum set. The two began jamming together covering only Blink 182 songs. It wasn’t until the next year that they added bassist Brent Wilson and Brendon Urie as the bands lead vocalist.

After acquiring a full set of band mates the group began practicing in Spencer’s grandmother’s living room, which is where some of the songs from "A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out" were formed. However, it wasn’t until the band was noticed by Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz who introduced them to the Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen label and were signed soon after.

The band quickly got more serious shortly after signing with the record label, but they were all still very young and had to make some choices. Brendon was barely passing his senior year of high school and Ryan chose to drop out of college after just one year to pursue the bands music career. With some family members angered about the boy’s choices, the band kept at it, packed up their stuff and headed to Maryland to meet with famous producer Matt Squire.

Panic! At the Disco being as creative as they are, didn’t want to make an album with 11 songs on it that all sound the same, so they came up with the idea to split the album in two. One half was upbeat and futuristic and the other featured a Vaudevillian piano and accordion, which gained both young and older listeners. This first album came to be a great success.

Panic! at the Disco, as young as they are, has already managed to become a giant name in the music world. Their intensely creative first album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, got immediate exposure and set the band on their way to stardom. Their singles off the album, “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies” and “But It’s Better If You Do” both hit big for the band and earned them much recognition. They performed in Panama City Beach for Spring Break 2008 and should have plenty more years of Spring Break performances to come.

  Clinton Sparks Globally renowned DJ, Producer, Innovator, Hustler, Entrepreneur, Frontrunner.

In just six years as a professional DJ, Boston's own Clinton Sparks has set himself apart from the rest of the field. His drive to succeed, coupled with his creative marketing & sales ideas, have helped him emerge from a cluttered field of DJs as one of the most exciting figures in the music game. These days DJs are a dime a dozen. To stand out regionally is a task in itself. Clinton has blown past the goal of being a regional figure and has positioned himself as a pre-eminent DJ known throughout the world, through his radio presence, mix-tapes & in the club.

Starting in 1998 with an unbranded 10-city nationally syndicated mixshow through Super Radio, Clinton has taken that notoriety & ballooned it into his own personality branded #1 rated syndicated mix show called "SmashTime Radio" in several top US markets & worldwide in Canada, Europe and Australia. Most recently Eminem asked Clinton to be apart of his totally uncensored hip-hop channel Shade 45 on Sirius Satellite Radio. Broadcasting live every week from NYC, Clinton hits the national airwaves "shock-jock" style with the newest exclusives, custom remixes and special guests celebrities.

Clinton Sparks has traveled the world playing in countries such as Australia, Hong Kong, England, Ireland, Scotland, Mexico, Canada, etc. There are few DJ's that can produce the excitement that Clinton Sparks does in the club, which is what makes him such a hot commodity for promoters who will fly him half way around the world for him to perform. When he is at work you can feel the energy and passion he has for the music. As he aggressively switches from record to record the crowd feeds off his intensity. Clintons record selection, energy and attitude truly define him as an artist. Hearing and watching him play is a performance in itself!

His shrill catchphrase Get Familiar garners instant reaction when it rings over the airwaves during his top-rated broadcasts, in the clubs and on his mixtapes. Artists from Kanye West, 50 Cent, Eminem to Pharrell of the Neptunes & beyond have all proceeded to Get Familiar with Clinton, either hosting his radio shows or making special guest appearances on his nationally prominent mix-tapes.

While succeeding in the music field, Clintons diversity immensely adds to his allure. Aside from his prowess as a DJ, he has written comedy for Bostons #1 rated morning show (JAMN 94.5), toured as an opening act with Joey McIntyre (of New Kids fame), is a nationally recognized music producer (producing and writing for Akon, The Notorious B.I.G, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Diddy, D-Block and Mobb Deep, among others), and as an artist dropping his own albums featuring some of the hottest hip-hop and R&B stars. So whether its over the airwaves of 40+ stations, via satellite, or in the streets with his 500,000+ mix-tapes, Clinton has surpassed 99% of the DJ field and he wont be content until he is at the top of the pile. Get Familiar!

  Steve Aoki, AKA Kid Millionaire While a student at UC Santa Barbara in the late 90’s, Aoki starting throwing unrehearsed concerts in his living room and is now one of the most preferred DJs in the country. He has become a jack-of-all-trades in the music scene, whether providing the indie soundtrack at Chinespace in LA on his highly popular Tuesday nights, or spinning the best party hits at NYC’s Marquee or Hollywood’s LAX.

DJ Aoki tours all around the country and recently to London and Japan, and manages the indie label, Dim Mak, who founded many up and coming bands. Dim Mak is one of the most respected indie labels in the country. His label promotes nights in LA and NYC for any band looking to make it, which has included bands like Wolfmother and Kaiser Chiefs.

“I like hip-hop and respect hip-hop just as much as I do rock. As for everything else, a good song is a good song.”

  Flo RidaBorn and raised in Carol City, Florida, Tramar Dillard was the youngest of eight children and the only boy. Flo Rida was inspired to express himself through music at an early age by his father who just happened to be a multi-talented musician. However, his parents split and his father wasn’t around much during his childhood. His sisters were also musicians and formed a local gospel group, but disaster happened when one of his sisters died due to complications with bronchitis. Flo Rida gained a new perspective on life and knew he had to make the best of it by using his god-given talents. He got a lot of support and strength from his mother who would show him that with sacrifice and a good head on your shoulders you can achieve anything.

Ninth grade was the first start of Flo’s rapping career when he formed a group called Groundhoggz, which he still considers to be a part of to this day. The name means being grounded, because without it you have nothing to stand on. Nothing can last without starting from the ground up.

The Groundhoggz found some success locally selling mixtapes in the late 90’s and opening for rappers such as Scarface. Later, Flo Rida got a great offer from his brother-in-law to become the hype man for Fresh Kid Ice of 2 Live Crew at age 18. He quickly found himself on a tour with them going nationwide.

As a hype man, Flo Rida gained major exposure and caught the attention of DeVante Swing , formerly of R&B group Jodeci. There he was able to get his demo heard by DeVante and was suddenly flown out to LA where he stayed for three years. Yet, he found himself going no-where on the West Coast and returned to Miami where he finally got his big break.

With no luck getting signed in Los Angeles, Flo Rida decided to head back to Miami in early 2006 after receiving calls from CEO E-Class of Poe Boy Entertainment. E-Class was an acquaintance of Flo-Rida’s for sometime, and began creating some buzz in the South, promoting Flo-Rida’s demo. Naturally, Flo Rida was signed by Poe Boy Entertainment and shortly after, caught a deal with Atlantic Records. His hard work had finally paid off.

Flo Rida’s first single “Low” shot to the top of nearly every chart immediately after its release. It’s gotten to the top of MTV’s TRL, BET’s 106th & Park, and Billboards Hot 100 just to name a few. Even though Flo Rida hasn’t been in the mainstream for too long he’s managed to make a huge impact already in 2008. We will be sure to see a lot more of him for years to come, starting with his first Breakaway Tours Spring Break appearance in Panama City Beach for 2008!

  Kid SisterBorn Melissa Young in 1980 and raised in the Chicago suburb of Markham, IL, she grew up interested in musical theater, but did not pursue a career in music until after she graduated from college. Encouraged by the burgeoning career of her younger brother Josh Young, also known as J2K of the Chicago DJ duo Flosstradamus, Young adopted the name and persona of Kid Sister in early 2006; with J2K as her DJ and producer, Kid Sister debuted with the giddy single "Pro Nails," which became popular enough as a digital download that Kanye West included a remix with his own guest verse on his summer 2007 mixtape Can't Tell Me Nothing. That connection happened when Young began dating West's DJ, A-Trak (Alain Macklovitch), who also signed Kid Sister to his label, Fools Gold Records. Following a second single, "Control," and an appearance on the MTV reality show My Block, Kid Sister prepared her debut album, Coco Beware, for an early 2008 release. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide

She makes rap music and works at a children's clothing store slinging bibs and teething rings. Yes, her hype man J2K of Flosstradamus is her real brother, and yes that does rule. Together they took the Chicago music scene by storm rocking parties and causing all around dance-floor mayhem, and have spent the last year rocking shows from the sweatiest, chic-est basement parties in Paris to the main stage of Coachella. Now that "Pro Nails" is hitting MTV and radio across the country, there's no denying that Kid Sis is growing as a star.

  Will GilbertWill Gilbert (Will Gill) enjoys helping to bring out the artistic creativity in aspiring musicians, which is why the music producer role suits him well. He has recently teamed up with former Real World member Randy Barry (DJ Ran) to keep the Spring Break crowd rockin’ in PCB for 2008. Will is both an emcee and a DJ and has made appearances at all the hottest clubs for 2008.

Name: William Gilbert
Hometown: Detroit, MI
Age: 24
Height: 5’11
Key Characteristics: Entertainer who loves to speak his mind and question authority. Humble and neutral. Fun and outgoing. Wild but packed with wisdom. A big kid. Loves the idea of being in love.

Well before the documentary, Will's been emceeing and DJ’ng at corporate events, nightclubs, spring breaks, bar and bat mitzvahs, and radio stations.

As you’ve probably heard, seen or blogged, season 20 of the Real World is set in Hollywood. This season, MTV pulled out all the stops and switched up their style, big time. This season was all about documenting 7 strangers with aspirations for the entertainment industry. There were models, actors, singers, dancers, and even entertainment reporters and journalists in the house. Will was documented as a songwriter, producer, and (as an added bonus for appearances) a DJ & emcee.

  Cohutta LeeAs a small-town Georgia boy, Cohutta Lee was in awe of the big city when he arrived in Sydney for his stint on 'The Real World.' Assimilating comfortably into the household, this log homebuilder by trade proclaimed that he was in search of an elusive 'classy girl' in Australia, but then jumped into an ongoing 'friends with benefits' relationship with house-mate KellyAnne .

As a true southern gentleman, Cohutta is used to defending ladies, but once found that he needed to defend himself against the ladies when he got caught in the middle of a battle between Shauvon  and Parisa . All in all, this wise and witty cowboy is a big softy, just looking to settle down and raise a family.



  Patrick Roach (Randy)Patrick was born in Halifax and now makes his home in Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia. Aside from some sketch comedy he performed with Robb Wells and John Paul. Patrick had never acted before he took a role in Mike Clattenburgs pilot "Trailer Park Boys". He did so well that Clattenburg cast him as Randy, the Assistant Trailer Park Supervisor in the series.

Patrick first met John Paul in the summer of 1984 when John Paul agreed to drive Patrick and another friend to PEI to attend Mike Clattenburg's and Robb Wells' high school graduation party. John Paul, who had never met Patrick before this, thought Patrick and his buddy were a couple of "nerds". To Patrick, John Paul was the cool guy with the cool car. By the time they reached Cavendish, Patrick and John Paul became good buds. In fact, they became business partners. Patrick, Robb Wells and John Paul opened a restaurant business on the Island. Eventually Patrick and Robb sold their interests in the business to John Paul, who has expanded his operation to three restaurants. Like Robb Wells, Patrick holds a degree in business from Saint Mary's University in Halifax.Patrick is married to his wife Candyce and together they have two children.

  John Dunsworth (Lahey) John was born in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, not far from the sea where he now spends most of his time on his yacht when he's not working. John is one of Halifax's most venerable and revered actors. He has appeared in countless CBC radio dramas and has held leading roles in over 25 Neptune Theatre productions. In 1970, long before the days of waterfront renewal, John convinced the city of Halifax to lease to him a run-down old building by the shipyards which he turned into Pier One Theatre Halifax's first and arguably its most successful alternative theatre company.

John first met Mike Clattenburg in the mid-1990s when he auditioned for a small role in Mike's short, "One Last Shot". Halfway through shooting, John's small role blossomed into a leading part a part that garnered him a Best Performance award from the Atlantic Film Festival. From there, John developed that role into the character Jim Lahey, the trailer park supervisor on the series "Trailer Park Boys".

Johns recent film credits include principle roles in "Sleepmurder" for CTV, "Blessing" for CBS, "Shattered City: Halifax Explosion" for Salter Street Films and Thom Fitzgeralds Indie film "Three Needles".

John is an avid bridge player, holding master points. He also holds, until somebody proves otherwise, the Internet Scrabble record for having three 7-letter words in a row. Around town, John is easy to spot. He drives an old truck with a thousand pound winch that he uses for hauling granite. In 1987, John founded Filmworks Casting where he worked as Halifax's most successful casting director. Prior to that, John worked in the transportation industry. To be precise, he drove a cab for three years and worked the CNR trains from Halifax and Sydney.

John is also an accomplished public speaker and is available to act as an emcee, conduct auctions or deliver keynote addresses.


Sam Brody JennerSam Brody Jenner (born August 21, 1983) is an American reality television personality and model. Jenner is the son of Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner and actress Linda Thompson. Jenner has modeled for Guess? and had a short-lived TV career on the Fox reality show, The Princes of Malibu. Jenner is currently featured in the MTV reality show The Hills.

In 2007, he appeared on the E! reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which features his father, his father's current wife, Kris Jenner, and Jenner's step- and half-siblings including stepsister Kim Kardashian.

In 2008, Variety announced that Jenner will be the host and star of a reality show on MTV. It is tentatively titled Bromance.

Jenner dated actress and fellow reality TV personality Kristin Cavallari of Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, for one year. Though sources differ, the couple reportedly began dating in September 2005 and broke up in August 2006. Weeks after his break-up with Cavallari in August 2006, he began dating Nicole Richie. Multiple internet gossip sources, and Richie herself through her MySpace blog, have suggested that the relationship between Jenner and Richie was staged for publicity purposes. By early October, representatives announced the pair had split.

Jenner moved on to date another former Laguna Beach personality, Lauren Conrad. Their first date was featured on season two of Conrad's MTV reality show, The Hills. Less than one month later, Jenner confirmed he and Conrad were no longer seeing each other. Jenner appeared on the show with former best friend Spencer Pratt. Rumors surfaced that both Jenner and Pratt went on the show to become famous. Pratt recently ended the 10-year friendship after Jenner began hanging out with Pratt's nemesis Lauren Conrad. Their feud, along with Pratt, Montag, and Conrad's, is featured weekly on The Hills. He still frequently hangs out with Conrad and they remain close friends.
 
Kevin RudolfAt first glance, Kevin Rudolf’s enigmatic anthem “Let It Rock (featuring Lil Wayne)” seems to have air–dropped over radio out of nowhere, becoming a genre–defying game–changer that has put the alluring artist smack in the cross–hairs. Truth is – the urban music world’s been waiting for a cutting edge hit–maker with a rock pedigree to turn the page on the current musical landscape. Kevin Rudolf answers the call, stepping up with reigning hip hop imprint Cash Money Records to deliver a riveting album debut, In The City.

Produced and written by Kevin, the new CD mines his reservoir of innovative production skills, righteous songwriting and smoldering rock guitar chops. The New York City native showcases the kind of streetwise riffs and adrenalized punk aesthetic he wielded when navigating the hardscrabble world of studio hit–making prior to In The City. He earned his gun–slinging rep as an in–demand guitarist/producer for some of music’s most adventurous artists, offering his scorching guitar brand to trailblazers such as Timbaland, Nelly Furtado, and Black Eyed Peas among others. Unlike most prodigies, Kevin continued to refine his legendary skills under the radar even as he began to craft songs for his own debut.

His first album shines with the same confident but shadowy mystique (online bloggers searching for even a photo of Rudolf has made a guessing game as to his origin and back–story.). In the age of Facebook–flaunting myspace–taunting GPS tracking wannabes, there still remains a refreshing mystery about him. But one look at the cover of his new CD – a silhouetted Rudolf, guitar–at–the ready in front of an ink blot of an urban landscape that would make The Clash proud – and you realize his DNA of rock, rap, and soaring song–craft is in his genes, and not tacked on as some last minute record company marketing plan, with a healthy irreverence that hasn’t fallen through the cracks. “I grew up in New York City. You have to learn how to survive, but hopefully in a way that’s true to you,” he says. “That means putting your head down once in a while and just saying F*** it, too. I promised myself if I got here I’d let my music do the talking. It’s the same way when I work. I’ve always let the music channel through me.”