Bio
II Face was born on the same day as Prince and poet, Nikki Giovanni, June
7th. A rapper for over ten years, Miguel Martinez was motivated to rap
because he felt a strong need to express his life’s story, “We (rap
artists) speak from what we go through and I definitely went through
something, and when you set that to music you have the opportunity to help
somebody else.” Growing up in Camden, New Jersey, Martinez states that he
had the “typical hood story, Mom over here, Dad over there.” Describing
an all too common broken home, and an all too common lack of relationship
with his father until his late teens. He was forced to grow up early
surrounded by drugs and crime. “I was raised in a bootlegger house, my
house in the hood was the house that people came to get the liquor and
drugs.”
The turbulence of his childhood, sent Martinez from Camden to Portsmouth,
Virginia to live with his grandmother, he describes the move as giving him
balance and ‘tightening his loose screws.’ His grandmother, an avid
churchgoer kept her grandson in church “ten days a week,” he says with
a laugh. The exposure to church life brought out his instrumental side, he
began to play the keyboard, and sharpened his skills as a producer, after
being deemed by his friends as “too smart to be a rapper.” He was
encouraged to study the business of music, he did, this study would come in
handy later in his career.
Growing up in VA, Face, as he is affectionately known, was exposed to
master producers like Pharell Williams, Timbaland, and the incomparable
Teddy Riley. Producing became a skill that Face could benefit from and
eventually he began to sell his beats locally, later getting some interest
on a national level. He plans to push his production career between albums
because it comes so naturally to him. “I do that like you drink water,
it’s nothing.“ Keeping some of his hottest for himself as he honed his
rap skills, it was the birth of his two children that when “the beast
came out.” Face who describes himself as a “dude that smiles all the
time.” However, he sometimes wore that smile like a mask. He realized
that a rap career is not a hobby it is a lifestyle and as he put more and
more time into it, he knew he was in too deep to turn back.
Creating mixtapes became an outlet for ‘Face, he produced and wrote
tracks for The Die Hard Family Mixtape Vol. 1 and Jet Noise Vol. 2,
together the albums sold an incredible 75K units, independently. He was
courted by major record labels only to be slept on, he chose to sign with a
large independent label and be a priority rather than sign with a major and
sit on the shelf. Face found a home at Black Russian Music Group. His debut
album was released on September 4th.
With features from up coming rappers and the legendary DJ Kool, 2 Faces 2
Every Story is an album that is worth listening and exploring.
And listening and exploring is what not only music fans have been doing,
but so have major corporations. II Face has a song the McDonald’s Back to
School Campaign disc, entitled The After Party. He and other artists who
participated in the campaign peformed on Nov. 17, in Alberqerque, NM for
World Children’s Day. Currently he's back in the studio recording his 3rd
highly anticipated mixtape "Live Bait", which is expected to be nothing
less than the "FIRE" he's already produced.
With a radio audience of over 5 Million, major endorsements, and an acting
debut it appears that II Face has definitely put his best face forward.
