Artist on the Lookout: A-Styles

Born in New Jersey and raised in North Carolina, A-Styles (born Alex Steins) is cooking up a crunk revival from his Cornelius, N.C. studio. The aspiring producer has been on the grind since middle school, when he decided to commit to music.

“I had skateboarding, soccer, or music," Styles said. "I said to myself, 'Which one do I want to do the most?’ and I picked music.”

He and fellow songwriter, Jack Sherrard, led the band, The Finx and played alongside local Charlotte bands Old Fashioned and Spastic Colon (which later became Minority Party).

With a background in hardcore punk, Styles didn’t make the transition to hip-hop until high school when his sister’s boyfriend introduced him Ludacris’ Word of Mouf.

Inspired by Ludacris’ flow, he started writing raps to industry beats. He improved until his name became known around school. His first shows at his parties with himself as the host and MC proved to be a convenient avenue to his peers.

“I loved doing it,” Styles said, “I loved the attention.”

He moved into producing soon after, and rapping took the backseat. He would like to get behind the mic again, but not now, he said.

Currently, A-Styles is producing singles for D-Roc of the Ying Yang Twins for a project called Da Muzicianz. Since meeting D-Roc at Club NV in Cornelius, N.C., aaastyles has worked on several songs for D-Roc's debut album, Stop Hatin', Get Money which features artists Mr. Ball, Birthday Boy, and Geeski.

aaastyles plans to host a mixtape with Charlotte, N.C. rappers, though he doesn't have official plans to release it for at least a couple of years.

"I want to have a really great mixtape. I want to get the best local kids I can find, and I plan on being a pretty big producer in a couple years, so I figure a lot of people will listen to it."

Click HERE to view A-Styles' MySpace page.

Rock n'Roll - Da Muzicianz (produced by aaastyles)