STATE

STATE BIOGRAPHY

State, government name Earl King is what some might call a life rapper. His lyrics embodies his life experiences with a vivid story telling narrative. Born on May 3,1975 in Tampa, Florida he was raised his first five years in Ponce de Leon Projects. From a young age he had a great love for music. “My parents were devout servants of God so they didn’t allow me to listen to anything but gospel”, says State. So when I went to my grandmother’s house my uncle and aunts would be playing all types of music. They would play everything from Michael Jackson to The Gap Band. It wasn’t until he was six his father joined the military and he got to travel. “I loved to travel to see new places, people, and different cultures” replies State. He states, “traveling opened up my mind and I was introduced to rap music”. He started rapping at the age of 12 against a childhood friend in school. “The more I would rap people would listen and wanted me to rap more for them to listen”,says State. With my father being in the military moving different places I got to hear many styles of rap music. At the age of 16 his father moved his mother ,State, and four brothers back to Tampa, Florida. “This is where I started to move very negative in my life”,replies State. My father was out of the military and we had to move around the hood areas of the city. My father was a hardworking man it just wasn’t enough money at the time to move to a better place, says State. So I started hanging around the wrong people selling drugs and robbing. I knew better because my parents raised me up in the church and always taught me right from wrong, he testifies. During the ages of 17-20 he was buying drugs in Miami transporting them back to Tampa to sell. Then at the age of 21 he got married to his highschool crush and moved to Germany. “This is where I refound my love for rapping”, says State.I would do all types of performances in clubs in Germany but still couldn’t kick the habit of selling drugs. “Me and a close friend would buy pounds of weed from Amsterdam and transport them back to Germany”,says State. We made a lot of money for the years I was there. When I moved back to the U.S. that’s when things made a sharp turn in my life. I got divorced and started getting locked up for all sorts of things like drugs and assult to name a few. “ Through it all my mother keep praying for me and telling me about God”,he states. So after 10 years of going in and out of jail I gave my life to the Lord,he testifies. God has blessed me with a beautiful wife and everything I could want, so when I do music now it’s for God’s Kingdom.