Charles "J" Charles "J" was born 2-29-80 in Erie, PA, an industrial city where time has passed it by and the city is now trying to catch up with the times. He moved from place to place with his mother who was avoiding his abusive father. He finally settled down on the lower east side where he now calls home. As he grew older, Charles began to read poetry and listen to his mother's old Jim Morrison records and read books by poet Arthur Rambone. Charles attended many different schools and finally dropped out to help his mother with the family. As time went by, he began hanging out in the streets trying to make more money to help his mother. One day he came across some of his friends smoking blunts and rappin' on a street corner. He began to take an interest in the rap game and tried his hand at it. For a while it was okay, but he never took it seriously enough to think he could actually go somewhere. One night, while listening to some music, he came across some 2-Pac and Spice 1. This peaked his interest even more. He began to write diligently and even started to enter into local talent shows and was making a little name for himself. The streets called him back, however, and he returned to the corners just hanging out smoking blunts and battle rappin'. After the tragic death of a close friend, Charles decided that he had to change. He left the streets and began to focus on his music and rappin'. He entered more talent contests to hone his lyrical skills. Although he had some street credibility, he still faced ridicule because he was a white boy trying to make it in the rap game. In 1995-96 the Method Child was born ("the beginning of an unorthodox mind"), and Charles began to work with other local artists and really started to make a name for himself. Several rappers started to take note of Charles' rappin' ability and the jealousy began to erupt. He had to face street confrontations almost daily. After gunning several local artists down with his vocal lyrics, they soon got the message that "Charles J" was no joke. After working with several local recording studios and finding that they were playing his beats and raps for other rappers in town, he decided that he had to do something. In late 2002, he entered into another local talent contest to blast all the rappers who had been dissing him. They ran up on the stage while he was performing and unplugged his mic and his music at times, but this never fazed him. Should he have won? Yes, he should have. After that performance Charles "J" was approached by DC Smoove for 19th St Productions and was asked if he wanted to record with him. Charles, hesitant at first, finally contacted DC Smoove and found out that he could actually trust him and they got along well. On June 21, 2003, the CD "No Seeds or Stems" by Charles "J" was dropped. Charles "J" is currently getting local college airplay and is making a buzz in the surrounding Erie, PA area. He is making heads nod and people stop and take a second look, not because he is another white rapper, but because of his lyrical style and the power of his vocal delivery. Charles "J" is an up-and-coming force to be reckoned with and the haters who hated on him have now come calling, but Charles "J" is not at home. " Powerful Poetry is only as Powerful as the Poet." Charles "J"