Drew32 to Headline Detroit River Days Festival

Andrew M. Parks "Drew32" Hip Hop Artist

A few weeks ago Andrew M. Parks, AKA "Drew32" www.myspace.com/drew32 was contacted by AM 910 Radio Disney who had received a copy of Drew's newly released CD "Awakening" and liked what they heard. Andrew (Drew32) has been invited to perform at the Rhythm & Rhymes Festival as part of the International Freedom Festival (the night of the fireworks) on the main stage at Hart Plaza on Wednesday, June 27th at 8:00 P.M. So, young Drew32 will be up there in front of an expected overflowing audience. Drew32 has his own unique sound and raps about having a good time. No swear words here, his lyrics send a clear message that life is a good thing and here is a young man making the most of it. It's about the beat and the sound.

Drew 32" is a Greek-American rapper who was born on December 3, 1991 in Royal Oak, Michigan. He started playing organized basketball at age 4 and began Capoeira training at age 6. At around age 9 Drew began rapping to Lil' Bow Wow songs that he heard played on the radio. A short while later, after purchasing Bow Wow's "Beware of Dog" CD, Drew was able to skillfully flow to the album's tracks.

After the terrorist acts of September 11th, Drew's father, Peter Parks, wrote a poem entitled, "Pray for Peace". Drew's first experience with recording involved his rapping the lyrics to a beat inspired by LL Cool J's "We Need Love" with the result being a song entitled, "Pray for Peace (We Need Love)". The song was recorded at MPA Studios, Canton, Michigan and was produced by Terry Simaan and Chuck Alkazian. Although the song was not commercially released, it was distributed to students at Drew's elementary school and elsewhere as well as to several local radio stations.

The name "Drew 32" was derived from Drew's first basketball number, 32, and his name, Andrew. The name appeared for the first time on the "Pray for Peace (We Need Love)" single.

At around age 10, Drew began creating hip hop beats on his home computer using Magix Hip Hop Maker software. Over the following year or so, Drew graduated to ACID Music Studio 5.0 and Cakewalk Kinetic and began incorporating keyboards into the mix. Gradually Drew began creating his own catalogue of beats as well as poetic lyrics. His first efforts to create complete songs, though displaying advanced talent for his age, were lacking in audio quality.

At 13, with the acquisition of a better microphone and an Alesis Multimix12USB Mixer, Drew began recording and re-recording his songs in his bedroom studio, aptly known as "Drew's Crib". He also returned to MPA Studios where the songs "Get Up" and "Come 2 Conquer" were recorded. Around this time, Drew began working closely with rapper and VH1 Freestyle 59 Contest finalist, Jay Hussle. Hussle's studio experience and rap style helped further mature Drew's sound.

Drew's first live performance was at a junior high talent show where he rapped "Get Up" and brought the house down, receiving the loudest applause from the crowd. Later that year he performed at the local high school's Spring Fest as part of a group called the "Enayalatas" along with rappers, Young Poet and B Smooth. The Enayalatas were a crowd favorite and word of Drew's rapping abilities began to circulate among high school kids.

At 14, Drew completed a self-produced album, "Awakening", consisting of 10 pumped-up hip hop tracks along with 4 skits, which display Drew's clever lyrics and smooth flow. The album was release in March, 2007 and is available for purchase on iTunes.

Parents Peter and Jane Parks, are going to have a busy time in the future. Watch for this young man at 15 he's got nowhere to go but Up, Up, Up, and Up, Yup. (Yo)

Malista!