by: Jessica Ordenana
The Queens native, known as BAG$™, has worked for years on writing his music. Despite these challenges, BAG$™, and thanks to the popularity of his “B!T©H I’M A STAR™ imprint, the Queens Hip Hop scene would never be the same. Raised with his brother in South Jamaica Queens, BAG$™ learned at a young age how to improve upon the “not so perfect” conditions around him. “My mother always said I used to set up stands and always try to sell somebody something, whatever it was,” says the rapper born Angel Melo. “My father worked extremely hard to get what he has, so that work ethic was instilled in BAG$™, since he was young. I knew that anything I wanted to get I had to work for. “While attending City College, I’d go straight to the studio in Brooklyn, go to sleep, wake up at 8am, go to class, and repeat the process for the love of my craft. I knew I wanted to do entrepreneurial things, but I was still trying to find myself at the same time. Then I focused.” A strong focus was a part of this young talent which brought him into the next level. It wasn’t until a 7am call from DJ FatFingaz in 2007 that made BAG$™ work harder. “The first thing FatFingaz said was “Yo, you wrote that ‘Who You Know Fresher’ joint? Cuz I’m gonna start playing it wherever I’m at.” He was actually playing the song everywhere, then after, all the other DJ’s of various camps started catching on.
BAG$™ worked with DJ FatFingaz during the upcoming months. Noticing more DJ’s was playing his song; “Once I realized that people were feeling me I just went out and hit the streets. I just started emailing the song out and going through different networks and promoting. I would pass out CDs; go out partying and made sure all of the DJ’s played my song. The buzz just started to grow and before I knew it ‘Who You Know Fresher’ was at played at all Queens’ nightclubs.” This was when he began to work on his 2007, Superstar Jay hosted, mixtape “B!T©H I’M A STAR™.” Not being content with how the project was received by the public and fans, BAG$™ changed his flow and reinvented his image. With a new image, BAG$™ got to work on his 2009 release of “Bitch I’m a Star 3: Illusions of Grandeur.” Tracks like “What We Need” offered new kinds of radio music that was headed towards the charts. His hit single, found the Queens artist taking an introspective look at his past by lyrically dissecting his feelings. While other singles spoke of subjects offering a glimpse of the streets and the hunger building around him. With underground stations like DTF Radio, Urban Latino Radio, and Alistradio.com supporting BAG$™, “Illusions of Grandeur” opened more opportunities for a larger fan base, more music industry notice from DJs and demonstrated his versatility of talent.
I had the pleasure of asking him a few questions;
JC: May we know your DOB or age?? BTB: I’m a summer guy, I was born July 25th in Jamaica Queens.
JC: You mention your brother mentored you, is it just you and him? Any other siblings? BTB: Yes, it’s definitely just us two. It’s funny because we’re always together even though we live apart.
JC: We know you are Dominican, what part of the Dominican Republic are your parent(s) from? BTB: My parents are from deep, deep in the ghettos of DR. My mother is from Moca, and my father is from San Pedro.
JC: Have you been? How many times? BTB: I’ve been to Dominican Republic a million times before the age of 11. After my passport expired, it hasn’t been renewed until now when I’m going back in May.
JC: The fans know a little bit of your struggles, can you share a little more in depth what those struggles were? And how they came about? BTB: As far as my struggles go, anyone with a goal or a plan for themselves have experienced my hardships. Coming from where we come from, we have to overcome so many obstacles, as far as racism, poverty, oppression, etc. Just to be in the right frame of mind to prepare yourself for something greater. Having extremely hard working parents also helps a lot. My father would work 16 hour days at minimum wage to be able to put food on the table and pay all the bills. Contrary to peoples belief I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I had to work hard, long hours just to be able to pay bills as well in order to move out of the hood.
JC: Other than your struggles and hardship in life, what drove you to have this passion for your craft? BTB: I’ve always had a thing for the performing arts. As a child I would put on comedy shows for my family and mimic people as far as their speech patterns. I was always the kid in the school plays or the school choir. I love the spot light but when I started playing around with hip hop I feel in love with what it was. I say what it was because now it’s become more business than anything.
JC: I just learned how DJ FatFingaz was your first inspiring “wake up call” (which I adore) who else was your fellow inspirations? (Famous or not) BTB: The biggest inspiration to me was The Notorious B.I.G. and my father. To see a big fat dude surrounded by women, draped in the best clothes, and flaunting money. Who wouldn’t be drawn to that lifestyle. I’m from Jamaica Queens where the drug game was heavy so you would see dudes with jewelry, cars, and money. Yet my parents tried their best to shield us from, that so it was like we could watch what was going on outside, on the TV. I would also say I was inspired by my father because when he wanted something he made sure he was going to get it thru hard work.
JC: If you didn’t happen to follow your dream, what do you think you would be doing right now? BTB: I can’t even answer this question because I can’t imagine my life without what I’m doing right now. I feel I would be empty without everything I have now.
JC: Being that you are a statistic & minority? Do you feel the need to help others like yourself? BTB: I help everyone who is willing to help themselves. If you don’t have the drive to try to better your situation then I don’t really associate myself with people like that because it’s a waste of time.
JC: Can we know one thing, anything that you’ve never told your fans before? BTB: I have never told my fans that I would rather eat Crown Fried Chicken with French Fries over ANY meal in the world. LOL!
JC: Are you involved in a charity? Organization? If not, are you interested? BTB: My close friend @CashCowDez has his own charity called Change Is Inevitable, I do anything he needs from me for that charity. I’m actually looking into working with charities that have to do with diabetes. The reason behind that is because 80% of the men in my family have this disease and I’d like to make the future generation aware of this problem that can be caused due to obesity.
JC: Other than your mother, brother, are there other family members who support you? BTB: ALL of my family supports me, they’ve seen how much time I’ve dedicated to this and how it consumes me, so they are always looking for ways to connect me to the right people.
JC: Now that you have finished “Audacity of Hope” what is next for BAGSTHEBOSS? BTB: Next for me is my new project called “Born Star” for which I’ll be releasing 3 or 4 videos. I’ll also keep building my fan base through shows, events and building the “The Road To Hope” webisodes.
JC: What message/advice/thoughts would you like to leave to your fans? BTB: Hard work and sacrifice is the only thing that gets you anywhere!
FOLLOW BAG$™ on Twitter @Bagstheboss @TEAMBAGS and Facebook! Also visit his ‘Bandcamp’ site as well!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BAGSTHEBOSS-FAN-PAGE/133138776714784
http://bagstheboss.bandcamp.com/
I want to thank BAG$™ for his time, and for answering all my questions. Love your story; you are a very passionate person. Congrats on your hard work! Like many other fan’s out there, the anticipation for “Born Star” is already killing us! We wish you; I wish you the best of fortune for your present and future success! Also proud to mention, BAG$™ and DJFatFingaz are both supporter’s of my mission www.jesscares.tumblr.com
