Born Kwame Holland, the Queens native enjoyed short-lived popularity after debuting at the age of 16 with THE BOY GENIUS (1989). Influenced by story-teller rappers like Slick Rick and the Fresh Prince, Kwame laid feel-good rhymes over instrumentation from back-up band A New Beginning. Videos for “The Rhythm” and “The Man We All and Love” showed the young rapper sporting a proliferation of polka-dots which became his signature. While his 1990 sophomore concept album, A DAY IN THE LIFE: A POLKADELICK ADVENTURE, achieved modest success, Kwame’s third and fourth efforts came and went with little notice. In 2002, he re-emerged behind the boards, producing for varied artists (Mary J. Blige, Fantasia, Jesse McCartney).