Side Hustle Radio 4-30-18

OTM is a rap group that consist of Jerrod "UPTOWN" Nelson and Kalek "LEK" Simmons. The
group was formed in Raleigh, NC in 2015 after Uptown, who was then a solo artist, who had done
several features with other local independent artist, influenced his cousin Lek to start rapping.
They then reached out to Dee Money, a producer that they had known from high school, who was
on the verge of making moves in the music industry. The first song they recorded together "Bad
Situations", created a slight buzz on the streets of Raleigh NC, and built heavy anticipation for
more. They decided to continue to work with Dee Money, but they also reached out to other
producers such as M-TUNES, BK, Polo Boy Shawty, 919 BANGERS and BLACK ROB with
the hopes of finding tracks that would define themselves and separate them from everyone else.
The results turned out to be a mixtape titled "If The Streets Could Talk", hosted by Dee Money.
The 1st single and video releases was a song called "Make It Work", which was well received by
local critics as well as industry insiders. As their buzz started to increase they employed the
services of David "DJ" Evans and Richard "Rich" LaGuane of D & R MANAGEMENT, to
help guide their career. With the assistance of Evans and LaGuane, this gave Uptown and Lek the
freedom to focus on the music, while management handled the business. Their 2nd release was
"Krazy", a solo song by Lek that also consisted of a B-side freestyle by Lek over the Panda
instrumental by Designer. This release, which was accompanied by a video, was also well
received by their growing fan base. Shortly after the 2nd release, the group was invited to Choice
92.1 FM, for an exclusive interview and an opportunity to have their unreleased song "No Games
" aired on the radio. Highly impressed with their professional mannerisms and quality of music,
the station opted to put the song in rotation. Not long after their radio appearance, they received a
call from a promoter wanting to book them to be the opening act for 21Savage at THE RITZ, a
local concert venue that caters to all of the mainstream artist that come into the city. OTM
received rave reviews and was immediately asked to come back the following month to open for
Lil Yacht. This led to OTM opening for several other acts such as A-Boogie, Migos, Dae Dae
and Nick Grant. Towards the end of 2016 they released 2 more videos "BANKROLL" and "No
Games", both have increased their social media following and have gotten them many more calls
from promoters wanting to put them on tours with mainstream artist. They have also partnered up
with David Fields of INTELLECTUAL FASHION to donate a portion of their earnings to the
Sickle Cell Foundation, to bring awareness to the masses of the serious effects of the disease.
OTM equipped with the backing of D & R MANAGEMENT should have a promising career.