Express

Texas rapper Express hails from the Alief community of Houston. Born Darele Taylor on August 15, 1987.

In Alief, Taylor was constantly surrounded by musical influences. His mother exposed the future to an eclectic variety of music from Hip-Hop and R&B, to Jazz. Whereas a number of emcees begin their musical careers at a relatively early age, Taylor did not consider becoming a rapper until later in his teenage years. He began rapping on the schoolyard at the age of 15, but at the time, rapping was a hobby and not yet a career choice.

The critically acclaimed jay-Z album "The Blueprint" (2001) and Fabolous' debut album "Ghetto Fabulous" (2001) solidified Taylor's interest in pursuing a career in the music industry as a rapper.

Express's orginal stage name was Golden Child, and later, Prodigy. Both names were short-lived, as they were already being used. Seeking a name that would reflect the purpose of his music, he then chose Express. The name conveyed the way in which he strived to represent and distribute his message from a different perspective than his fellow artists. The stage name Express best describes how he, as a southern artist, aims to make his audience aware of the dynamic music industry-wide movement taking place in Texas region.

Express seeks to use his music as a platform to give back to his community to lead his fans and audiences to freedom from peer pressure, self-imposed limitations, and obstacles that southern artist face.