ProPayne's Page

ProPayne also known as Prolific Wone, is a key founding member of End of the Weak, the worlds longest running weekly Open-Mic. Pro has invested thousands of hours on stage, in the studio and on the grind, molding himself into a phenomenal performer, song writer and entrepreneur. With multiple releases under his belt with EOW, and an Independent Music Award for "best hip hop album" (Three Kings), His debut solo album Deep Blue is the culmination of years of hard work and remarkable talent.

Born and bred in Manhattans infamous Alphabet City, ProPayne is a man who has seen it all. Pro grew up in an environment where the drug culture and the art culture coexisted for a decade; breeding violence and creativity, life and death. The first half of Pros childhood was spent living in Baruch Houses, with an alcoholic grandfather, his grandmother, mother and younger brother. Pro's adolescence was spent living in one of the worst tenement houses in Alphabet City, the notorious drug capital of the world in the late 80's and 90's

Pros tenement apartment was former residence to one of the areas biggest drug lords and for years after he had fled police, junkies, dead bodies, and criminals infested the neighborhood. A neighborhood which is now safe and gentrified was once abandoned and dilapidated. In pros home, water and heat were a luxury, and hard times were everyday life. Pro knew the streets, first hand, day in and day out. His mothers strong will however, kept him off the streets, and into his artistry and education.

Pro began writing poetry at age 11 and enjoyed music and performing for his entire life. The love for hip hop culture began early on in his life. Pros "biological" father was a hip hop promoter in the 80's and exposed him early on to the likes of everyone, from Run DMC to LL Cool J. His older cousins and role models were B-Boys and Local graffiti artists. He first developed a taste for rhyming while attending Brooklyn Technical H.S. There pro developed a love for "freestyle" and impromptu street performances. He spent hours in the park or in the lunchroom huddled in ciphers exchanging words with other aspiring MC's.

His first recordings were made in home studios while he was supposed to be in his college classrooms studying. His style was unique, his voice powerful and moving. It was during these years he met the partners that would make history with him and who would later become the founders and creators of End of the Weak. Pro met Vice Verses through a mutual friend in 1998.

Shortly after meeting, Vice and Pro formed I.2.I, a hip hop collective that set out to change the music scene with their anti-pop attitude and aggressive style of hip hop. I2i continues to perform and record to date; they recently released an LP entitled 121 Steps/Year of the "I".

Pro continues to host EOW every Sunday night. He's toured Europe and will be the featured host on EOW's expose' on European Hip hop. He is currently writing and recording material for numerous new projects that will be released in 010'. Pro is a father, a son, a brother a friend and an MC, but above all, he is a man; a man who believes in the progression of hip hop as a culture and a community, a man who speaks from the heart, introducing ProPayne.