Cballa

Cballa, born Samuel Young, in Springfield, Missouri, is the oldest of three children. His family moved to Phoenix, Arizona in the late 1980's to pursue better opportunities.

Growing up - music wasn't the first love for Cballa. His aspirations were to play in the NBA against Michael Jordan. It was the early works of rap star 2Pac along with young rap and hip hop groups Kriss Kross and Another Bad Creation that served as his early musical influences.

While thoughts of college and corporate careers occupied minds of many high school seniors, Cballa recognized that writing and performing his music was what he wanted to pursue. The music group he started at Maryvale High School, The Phoenix Sector began booking shows and performing all over the Phoenix metropolitan area.

When the group broke up, Cballa had saved enough money to book a little studio time so that he could lay his lyrics and his tracks to disc.

Cballa credits his family and Marcus Staples of Clicc Made Entertainment as being the people who made him believe he could be successful as an entertainer. Cballa says, "It's the instant response," from the people toward his music that is also a key to his belief.

When asked what artist or artists he listens to and draws a musical inspiration from, Cballa is quick to name rap mega star 2Pac. For Cballa, he sees a little of 2Pac in himself. "2Pac had a rough road, the rejections and the difficulties in getting recording labels to hear his music too. But I push on, it's just a matter of time.

"Competition is my greatest motivation," says Cballa. "Listening to other artists and watching them blow up is great. I want that, I'm going to be that person!" That's apart of what drives Cballa to success.

Cballa classifies his music as real music for real people. It's the essence of Cballa's world mixed with modern day story telling. He has played to live audiences in club dates throughout Phoenix and beyond. He has opened for acts such as DMX, Boot Camp Click, P. Diddy, Ludacris, Ruff Endz, and Xzibit among others.

His talents on the turn tables have allowed him to work with artists like DJ Quik and the Nappy Roots when they come to town. Cballa hopes to work with noted artists such as Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Jay-Z to name a few.

Cballa likes to think ahead about his music, "I want to be lasting. I want the hits, but I want something deeper. I never want to be thought of as a fad or a trend. I want to leave something for generations."

Cballas a new voice on the Hip Hop music scene. With his strong edgy lyrics, hard hitting beats, and powerful determination, there is little doubt that Cballa is on his way.