Willie learned at a young age that his calling in life is in music. He displayed his passion and proved his dedication through participation in talent shows and the church choir. Those experiences were only enhanced by the times that Willie spent with his father in local juke joints. At the age of twelve, Willie established The Baby Gangstaz. This group landed him a deal with a local record company, French Jamz. Through this opportunity, the group was able to gain local fame and release their first album in 1993 entitled “E-Z Goin’ Gangsta”. In 1997 Willie became the Missouri State Champion in the 100 meter dash which earned him a full track scholarship to the University of Mississippi. At his alma mater, he earned a degree in psychology, pledged the historically black fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, and established himself as a renowned student athlete. Being a college track star with Olympic dreams as well as a reputation as an artist, Willie made a life altering decision when deciding to pursue his music career full-time. In 2002, Willie was signed by Universal Records for his single, “Roll Wit Me,” which led to the creation of his debut album, “Enter the Life of Suella”, a collaboration of Hip Hop and R&B. The single outsold Whitney Houston’s national anthem single for 6 weeks straight in 2002 earning rave reviews from Billboard That album yielded several other successes such as the single “Na Na” which was featured on the soundtracks of the hit movies Guru and Bad Company, starring Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins. It also garnered the attention of Rap Snacks Potato Chips which featured Willie as a celebrity figure. Willie also co-headlined for several mainstream performers including Sean “P Diddy” Combs, New Edition, Mario, R. Kelly, Raheem Devaughn, Tank, Life Jennings, Dream, Mike Jones and Keisha Cole. In 2003 and 2004, “Pretty Radio” on KATZ 100.3- The Beat became the 1 radio show on weekends largely because of its host, Willie, who became well known throughout the Midwest as a radio personality. This radio show provided a bevy of opportunities for him to increase his business savvy as well as progress his music career. He was also afforded the opportunity to get listeners’ feedback on his new music. From this process of testing, Willie emerged with two bona fide hits, “Wooo”, a hip hop hit, and “Lay Your Body Down”. Lay Your Body Down later became an unofficial love anthem for all generations. This success propelled Willie’s career onto new levels. It enabled him to launch his own company “WILFLO Records” (2004), which is a tribute to his parents Willie Sr. and Flora. Without their unconditional love and support, the magnitude of his success would be non-existent. With a new label and a renewed sense of confidence, Willie released an independent album “Pretty Willie vs. P-Dub” which was reflective of his dexterity in both rap and R&B. The album included the songs “Four Walls” and “Lay Your Body Down,” which featured in the movie, “Johnson Family Vacation”, starring Cedric the Entertainer and Vanessa Williams. The album further solidified his position as a hit maker. In reference to what the creation of the album meant to him, Willie states, “I did this album independently so I could be myself and build my own fan base and my own brand.” That he did. With a successful independent release under his belt in 2005, Willie’s music as well as the success of his album reached the ears of Warner Bros. Willie spent a year with the Warner brand and as time ran out for them to release a single, he was able to cut ties freely. Since then Willie “Pretty Willie” Moore Jr. has become a favorite for all age groups on the world wide web. Willie has extended his brand by having one of the most viewed MySpace pages of any unsigned artist (myspace.com/pdub; 7.5million page views, 11.4 million song plays). With his new style of music “KINGDOM MUZIK” well underway, Willie has been able to cross genres with his new single “Good Thang” and “Angel” which are currently getting airplay across the country on Hip hop, Urban AC, and Gospel stations. “Love is a universal language that everyone can relate to.” says Willie In 2008 Willie landed a national ad as a face model for the Gillette Fusion razor. He was seen around the world in a plethora of magazines as the “face of Gillette.” The advertisement included a brief bio which further facilitated Willie’s efforts to build his brand and solidify himself as businessman as well as an artist. After enrollment in Brian Reese School of Acting in Los Angeles California in 2007, in 2008 Willie landed a supporting role in the national stage play “Those Jeans” staring Antwan Tanner (Coach Carter, One Tree Hill), Latavia Roberson (Destiny’s Child) and Michael Mario (Law and Order). Willie also stars in the reality show “Peep” in which follows the lives of independent artist who, like Willie, strive to build their own business models and brands. |“I never focus on the obstacles, but on the opportunities that are presented. Everything is a learning experience and I am grateful to have the eyes to see life as such. The past is history, the futures a mystery, the present is a gift, that’s why they call it the present. I cherish my present!”| |
|
 | ||||||||||||||||
