Da Band

As the stars of the top rated MTV reality series, “Making the Band,” the collective have become an instant hip-hop mainstay, capturing the hearts of the masses as the public watches them live out their career triumphs and tribulations weekly. These six individuals were chosen in July 2003 after battling over 40,000 wannabe’s to not only become the featured group on Making the Band, but also received a Bad Boy/Universal recording contract. In September of 2003 they will launch their first self titled CD. Meet the talented six members.

Sara-The Survivor
“My greatest fear was not being successful in life” says Sara Stokes in her Midwest twang. As the oldest member of Da Band, the sexy 26-year-old songstress, of Port Huron, MI had been trying to enter the music scene since she was 18 years-old and had just begun the production on her solo independent album before she beat out almost 40,000 contestants for not only, a place on the team, but as the only R&B member of Bad Boy’s Da Band. Since her first appearance on MTV’s Making of the Band, Sara has received rave reviews from media and fans alike. The fact that Sara has been happily married for seven years and has three children to whom she’s extremely dedicated, has resulted in the development of several fan based websites dedicated to her, talent, beauty and driven vibe.

Dylan-The Rebel
Respected for his untouchable Caribbean Reggae/Hip Hop flow, and notorious for his distinctive mesmerizing voice, Dylan whom has also been characterized as the rebellious group member, always manages to bring a dramatic twist to most episodes.

As a small child, Dylan moved back to his family’s war conflicted homeland of Grenada from Flatbush, Brooklyn, where he began supporting his family by planting corn. Although working daily in the field, he became enamored with music. Years later back in Flatbush, Brooklyn, he took his love of music to the streets where he became a reggae DJ and eventually sold his own dubplates and mixed CD’s to the streets. Unfortunately, Dylan turned towards the ills of the streets and had a run in with the law. Since his release he’s made a promising life decision.

“All my life I’ve been surrounded by everything from hustlers to gangsters,” the 24 year old says about coming up. I got caught up in the street game, but fortunately I got saved. I’m never going back to that, music is my only focus. There’s no stopping me now, I’m gonna become a legend.”

Chopper-The Wild Card
When asked recently by a reporter to describe his fantasy date Chopper’s answer was “the date when I get a deal.” With confidence and persistence brewing, he knows, the days of hustling, drugs and life based on crime lived in uptown New Orleans are over.

“That wasn’t me,” Chopper reflects. “I couldn’t just stand outside and sell for another man. I never wanted to do that, put my life in somebody else’s hands. I’ve been set up and in trouble. I’ve experienced it all.”

Trained and tested, Chopper earned his rapping chops the old fashioned way, going around N.O. battling any up and coming MC who wanted to spit. Inspired by the success of the Hot Boyz, he pursued his dream of becoming a recording artist steadfastly and eventually won a spot on MTV’s Making the Band II.

Babs Bunny-The Warrior
Hailing from Brooklyn, the breeding ground for some of hip-hop’s most acclaimed MCs, Babs knows that every line she emits has to be head spinning… and so it is. Her relentless rhyme style had been cultivated the past couple of years as she had not only recorded her own demos but had been independently shopping a record deal, before signing with Bad Boy.

In between dropping searing lines in ciphers and recording material, she worked as an usher in an off-Broadway public theater so she’s use to drama. The fights and antics of her teammates in “Making the Band” didn’t faze her. Especially since everyone grew tight like a family.

“At first we really didn’t like each other because we didn’t know each other. You got six different people, everybody wanted to call shots, but now we understand each other better. It takes time.”

Ness-The Thinker.
Oddly enough, the usually levelheaded, Ness had his life changed around by some unfortunate mishaps and bad judgments. While serving almost a year in prison in 2000 in a Delaware County Prison for a drug charge, he earned his moniker and honed his skills competing in lyrical fights in the yards.

After establishing himself as the king of the hill, and given the title “the lethal wordsmith,” Ness knew he had to pursue music full time upon his release. “This is not only my second shot at a career, it is my second shot at life, I can’t blow it. I know Da Band is the foundation for everything,” Ness explains. Without them I wouldn’t be here and I’m grateful for this opportunity.” Noticing that Ness was mature, focused and unstoppable, early on Puffy labeled him the team captain to oversee the other members of the band.

Outside of his ventures with Da Band, Ness runs Rest Ya Neck, an entertainment company that specializes in hosting events.

Fredrick-The Soldier

“Everybody is going to see how six different personalities can gel and form one hell of a an album!” 21-, Frederick, from Liberty City, an rban section of Miami, discloses his anxious excitement surrounding the release of Da Band’s debut.

Known by diehard fans as the wittiest and most comical of the bunch, his charm has obviously carried him through, past early teen crime and into a circle of friends and fellow MC’s that not only had his back throughout the years, but convinced him that between his distinguished, dirty growl and poignant lyrics, he had enough potential to put him on the map. So he used the same fervor he had with past rime and channeled it into making music. Now with a recording contract in tow, Fred is still learning life lessons everyday.

“It goes further than just going in the booth and recording.” “It’s a business side to this and once you realize that, everything is simple. Our group has always been rich with talent. Now that we’ve learned how to work together and the consequences of not working together, our team can’t be stopped. We have it together now.”