A Prince Among Men!

When 1st glancing at the Compton, California native, Alphonso “A.L” Williams it’s hard not to notice his charming smile, and sense of easily having the attention of his peers once he steps into the room; “The funny thing about all the attention that goes on now, they may mistake me not talking to everybody, or walking around the room quiet per say, as a way of being egotistical, but it’s the exact opposite” laughs the self- proclaimed “Crown Prince of Rap”, “I’m a very shy and humble person, and a lot of people don’t expect that from a person like me, they expect the unruly noise when I step in the company of the mass public, which is never the case”. Such humbleness, included with a passion for everything music, has put A.L himself in a position only few new Hip-Hop artists have been able to achieve over the past decade. Stemming from a successful feature on the street single “Top of the World” released by Roc-Nations(Rap Mogul Jay-Zs newest record company) flagship artist J.Cole, The Crown Prince was inspired to start on the creation of his 2nd installment of the successful underground mixtape California Nights(volume 1 reached over 15,000 downloads). Boasting features from the likes of R&B legend D’Angelo, and platinum UK artist James Morrison, A.L.’s 2nd released mixtape “California Nights Vol.2” June 29th, 2010 and to date has reached over 120,000 downloads across the globe. So what’s next for the Colorado State University graduate, “The next step is to continue working on new material, perfecting my own sound, and putting a dedication towards getting my music out to the masses across the country.” Though the road to success is seemed a given for the California native, some might say the pavement was certainly bumpy on the path there.

During 2006 after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colorado State University, A.L. was offered a chance of a lifetime, A childhood friend put him in contact with Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, and he loved his songwriting ability. During a span from October 2006 to July 2007, Hip-Hop’s newest star, lent his penmanship talents to the likes of Nelly, Avery Storm, Latoya Luckett, Lil Eazy-E , and Ashanti. The tides would soon change for a month later for the highly sought after songwriter, as he was soon convicted with felony charges of forgery stemming from his days in college. “I made a very dumb decision while I was in college, thinking about the fast dollar. When you‘re young you never, ever think about certain things coming back to haunt you, but that’s what certainly happen”. Since his release from the Larimer County Detention center in Jan 08‘, Williams has since found a lasting passion for the thing he loves most “I believe God exposed me to the life I wanted for myself right before I went to jail for a reason? I think it was to show me that in just a blink of an eye you can have it all taken away from you.”With the fall release of his 3rd installment of the mixtape series “California Nights” currently sitting over 25,000 downloads , and the upcoming release “California Nights :Takers Edition” (Hosted by The LA Leakers),scheduled for May 25th, A.L. has come full circle with his dreams becoming a reality. Boasting features from several major artist, A.L is certainly enjoying riding the wave of recent success, and is ready to make his mark in Hip-Hop history, “I want my music to stand the test of times, and last centuries from now, so in order to do such a thing I have to speak in a universal language that, no matter who you are, you will enjoy what I do, and how I do it.” No question this “Prince” is certainly on his way to becoming the “King”.

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