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Verse Simmonds
Maurice "Verse" Simmonds is a Virgin Islander singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. Based in Los Angeles and raised in the Virgin Islands, he moved to the United States after high school and formed the production duo the Jugganauts (with Shama "Sak Pase" Joseph) in the 1990s. The duo has since co-written and produced songs such as "Man Down" by Rihanna and "Who Gon Stop Me" by Kanye West and Jay-Z, both of which charted prominently on Billboard.
Simmonds began recording as a lead artist in 2007, and signed with Def Jam to release his 2011 single "Boo Thang" (featuring Kelly Rowland), which peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. He has also released several full-length mixtapes, which contain guest appearances from Young Jeezy, Akon, Snoop Dogg, and Travis Porter. Under his birth name or as Verse Simmonds he has co-written several hit R&B songs, such as "Confident" by Justin Bieber and Chance the Rapper, and "New Flame" by Chris Brown, Usher and Rick Ross. The latter earned Simmonds his first Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Song in 2015.
Maurice Simmonds was born in Puerto Rico. Raised in the Virgin Islands, Simmonds spent his youth on the island of Saint Thomas. Introduced to music primarily through the radio, in high school he and several friends formed the musical group 2 Xtreme, performing at local venues and talent shows. He moved to Fort Lauderdale in Florida after graduating high school, where he continued to work on hip hop production and songwriting. In 1996 in Fort Lauderdale Simmonds met and befriended the producer and songwriter Shama Joseph, and together they formed the production duo the Jugganauts. The Jugganauts moved to Los Angeles, California in 2003 to work on a number of projects for major record labels. Several years later Simmonds was contacted by Theron Thomas, a childhood friend and member of the production duo Rock City. Thomas convinced the Jugganauts to move to Atlanta, Georgia, where they began recording with producers such as Rodney Jerkins and Akon.
After moving to Atlanta Simmonds began working more intently on his own solo material, both performing and recording original material around the city. In February 2007, he became associated as a solo artist with Cloud 9 and Raydar Management, and one of his live shows led to a contract with Interscope Records. Simmonds released his first solo track on Interscope on June 30, 2009. Titled "Buy You a Round (Up and Down)," AllMusic called it "a cocky, percussion-heavy club single" that "enabled the upcoming singer, songwriter, and occasional MC to tour extensively." "Buy You A Round (Up And Down)" peaked at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and at No. 63 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. An official music video for the track was uploaded to VEVO on November 22, 2009.
Simmonds released a mixtape in August 2009, titled The Sextape Chronicles. Sham and Simmonds served as executive producers, with Raydar, Cloud9, Darkchild, and DJ Trauma listed in the credits as presenters. In December 2009, a track with co-writing by Simmonds was included on the R. Kelly album Untitled. The album ultimately went on to be nominated for a Grammy Award. In 2010, a number of Simmonds' recent tracks were included in the free V The Compilation Vol. 2 mixtape, which was presented by DJ Ill Will.
He signed to Akon's Konvict Muzik as a singer-songwriter and producer in January 2011, also becoming associated with MVD Inc. and the Konlive imprint. Later in 2011 he signed to Bu Vision, a label run by Akon's brother Bu Thiam and affiliated with Def Jam and Konlive. Simmonds' August 2011 mixtape The Sextape Chronicles 2 was released through Bu Vision, Konlive, and Carteblanche, and listed hosts such as Angela Yee. In 2011 he worked as The Jugganauts with his production partner Sham on both writing and producing the reggae-infused song "Man Down" for Rihanna's album Loud. Also with Sham, he worked on "Who Gon Stop Me" by Kanye West and Jay-Z for the Watch the Throne album.
Through Bu Vision, in September 2011, Simmonds released his single "Boo Thang," featuring Kelly Rowland. As described by MTV, apart from Rowland's vocals, "Verse starts by rapping over a midtempo piano-laced track. His raps give way to a melodic refrain that he sings, leading him all the way to the hook." A music video directed by Gil Green and starring Rowlands and Simmonds was released to accompany the single. "Boo Thang" peaked at No. 66 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and at No. 44 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. The song was ultimately included on Simmonds' mixtape Sextape Chronicles 2.
His April 2012 mixtape Sex Love & Hip Hop was hosted by DJ Drama, with other guest artists such as Yo Gotti, Kelly Rowland, Snoop Dogg and Akon. The third in his Sex Tape Chronicles series, Simmonds at the time called it his "biggest mixtape." In August 2012, he self-released A Sextape Chronicle, a six-track EP, and his October 2012 mixtape Fuck Your Feelings featured guest artists such as Red Cafe, Gucci Mane, and Young Jeezy. In late 2012, he contributed to studio sessions involving recording artist Omotola Jalade Ekeinde.
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Verse Simmonds
Maurice "Verse" Simmonds is a Virgin Islander singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. Based in Los Angeles and raised in the Virgin Islands, he moved to the United States after high school and formed the production duo the Jugganauts (with Shama "Sak Pase" Joseph) in the 1990s. The duo has since co-written and produced songs such as "Man Down" by Rihanna and "Who Gon Stop Me" by Kanye West and Jay-Z, both of which charted prominently on Billboard.
Simmonds began recording as a lead artist in 2007, and signed with Def Jam to release his 2011 single "Boo Thang" (featuring Kelly Rowland), which peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. He has also released several full-length mixtapes, which contain guest appearances from Young Jeezy, Akon, Snoop Dogg, and Travis Porter. Under his birth name or as Verse Simmonds he has co-written several hit R&B songs, such as "Confident" by Justin Bieber and Chance the Rapper, and "New Flame" by Chris Brown, Usher and Rick Ross. The latter earned Simmonds his first Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Song in 2015.
Maurice Simmonds was born in Puerto Rico. Raised in the Virgin Islands, Simmonds spent his youth on the island of Saint Thomas. Introduced to music primarily through the radio, in high school he and several friends formed the musical group 2 Xtreme, performing at local venues and talent shows. He moved to Fort Lauderdale in Florida after graduating high school, where he continued to work on hip hop production and songwriting. In 1996 in Fort Lauderdale Simmonds met and befriended the producer and songwriter Shama Joseph, and together they formed the production duo the Jugganauts. The Jugganauts moved to Los Angeles, California in 2003 to work on a number of projects for major record labels. Several years later Simmonds was contacted by Theron Thomas, a childhood friend and member of the production duo Rock City. Thomas convinced the Jugganauts to move to Atlanta, Georgia, where they began recording with producers such as Rodney Jerkins and Akon.
After moving to Atlanta Simmonds began working more intently on his own solo material, both performing and recording original material around the city. In February 2007, he became associated as a solo artist with Cloud 9 and Raydar Management, and one of his live shows led to a contract with Interscope Records. Simmonds released his first solo track on Interscope on June 30, 2009. Titled "Buy You a Round (Up and Down)," AllMusic called it "a cocky, percussion-heavy club single" that "enabled the upcoming singer, songwriter, and occasional MC to tour extensively." "Buy You A Round (Up And Down)" peaked at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and at No. 63 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. An official music video for the track was uploaded to VEVO on November 22, 2009.
Simmonds released a mixtape in August 2009, titled The Sextape Chronicles. Sham and Simmonds served as executive producers, with Raydar, Cloud9, Darkchild, and DJ Trauma listed in the credits as presenters. In December 2009, a track with co-writing by Simmonds was included on the R. Kelly album Untitled. The album ultimately went on to be nominated for a Grammy Award. In 2010, a number of Simmonds' recent tracks were included in the free V The Compilation Vol. 2 mixtape, which was presented by DJ Ill Will.
He signed to Akon's Konvict Muzik as a singer-songwriter and producer in January 2011, also becoming associated with MVD Inc. and the Konlive imprint. Later in 2011 he signed to Bu Vision, a label run by Akon's brother Bu Thiam and affiliated with Def Jam and Konlive. Simmonds' August 2011 mixtape The Sextape Chronicles 2 was released through Bu Vision, Konlive, and Carteblanche, and listed hosts such as Angela Yee. In 2011 he worked as The Jugganauts with his production partner Sham on both writing and producing the reggae-infused song "Man Down" for Rihanna's album Loud. Also with Sham, he worked on "Who Gon Stop Me" by Kanye West and Jay-Z for the Watch the Throne album.
Through Bu Vision, in September 2011, Simmonds released his single "Boo Thang," featuring Kelly Rowland. As described by MTV, apart from Rowland's vocals, "Verse starts by rapping over a midtempo piano-laced track. His raps give way to a melodic refrain that he sings, leading him all the way to the hook." A music video directed by Gil Green and starring Rowlands and Simmonds was released to accompany the single. "Boo Thang" peaked at No. 66 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and at No. 44 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. The song was ultimately included on Simmonds' mixtape Sextape Chronicles 2.
His April 2012 mixtape Sex Love & Hip Hop was hosted by DJ Drama, with other guest artists such as Yo Gotti, Kelly Rowland, Snoop Dogg and Akon. The third in his Sex Tape Chronicles series, Simmonds at the time called it his "biggest mixtape." In August 2012, he self-released A Sextape Chronicle, a six-track EP, and his October 2012 mixtape Fuck Your Feelings featured guest artists such as Red Cafe, Gucci Mane, and Young Jeezy. In late 2012, he contributed to studio sessions involving recording artist Omotola Jalade Ekeinde.