Many have said the hip hop music industry is dying.  For those that believe so, all they have to do is dream like Aladdin, rub the lamp, or in this case play the music and a geni will appear to change that.  For those that want the hip hop industry to grow more Lesean Mellers a.k.a Sity the Geni awaits with a simple reply.  Your wish is my command.

​

Lesean Mellers, AKA Sity the genie, is rapper/songwriter and music producer that is based out of Stamford CT.  His family has a strong musical background which has influenced his decision to pursue music as a career.   Before he was born his mother, Maxine Miller, was touring with Bob Marley, Sugar Minor, and Capleton as a background singer and many other reggae artists during the 80’s.  It wasn’t long before Maxine Miller ventured in pursuit of her solo career, which lead her to be inducted in the Reggae Artists hall of fame as an icon in Reggae Music.

Growing up in a musical household influenced him greatly.  His family also had formed a reggae band called Anthem which consisted of his uncles, brothers, and cousins.  Lesean was always surrounded by music.  It wasn’t long before he started experimenting with his talents and growing up.  Although it wasn’t easy for him to display his own talent in a family full of talented individuals, he spent his time learning and developing as much as he could.   His parents were separated and there were times when his mother was on tour, Lesean would have to stay with his father and grandparents.  His father also aided in his musical growth by constantly playing classical soul music the likes of Delfonics, Blue Magic, James Brown, Surface, Stylistics and many more.  Lesean use to imitate the sounds he heard and many of his family members and friends recognized he had the potential to become a great artist.  There was only one problem, with so many different styles of music to choose from and having a knack for all of them, what avenue should he take?  It would be a long road of discovery before he realized that he wanted to make current music that still had all the elements of the great music he had been listening to all his life.

​Lesean started out by rapping and free styling with his friends.  At first he was a bit shy about his music and kept it to himself.  He would write in his musical journal and quietly recite his lyrics to himself never thinking that he was quite good enough.  After a few sessions and cyphers and receiving numerous accolades he began to find confidence in reciting but it wasn’t enough to compete with the full songs that he was hearing from other artists of the time.  He knew he would have to put more effort to establish himself as an artist, since rapping over rap instrumentals that were being already played on the radio would not suffice in propelling him to stardom.   He made an important decision that would change his life and give him another avenue in the music industry.  He decided he was going to produce his own music.  With the aid of his cousin he purchased his first piece of equipment which was a DR5 beat making machine without a manual.  A few weeks later he and his cousin were writing to their own musical compositions.  Without a place to record they realized they had to get into a studio to be able to accomplish the goal of making hit songs.  Lesean’s uncle, who was the drummer in Anthem band, had a studio and offered to help Lesean set up a studio of his own.  With a small budget and a couple of handed down pieces of gear he began to record his songs on a program called Nuendo.  He was 16 at the time.  He also began to perform more in the local venues to build up his credibility as a performing artist.  Some of the places he performed ranged from block parties, local centers, talent shows, open mics, and community benefits(such as benefits for cancer)  Performing at these local venues made him realize he was capable of being a great artist.  The crowd always seems to like him and always starved for more which made him want to put more time and energy into creating music that would always satisfy the crowd’s hunger for his art form.

Lesean’s hard work had paid off.  His older cousin K-Melz, (recording artist) began to take interest in his cousin’s work and they decided to team up and create something different but still stayed along the lines of great current quality music.  K-Melz was one of the first people to introduce Lesean to the business aspect of music.  He would push him to write commercial songs that could be played on the radio or be sold in stores.  Together they came up with a song entitled “Ooow BABY” that received some radio play on Hot 93.7, New Haven CT, and 107.5 WBLS and is now currently overseas.  This would only motivate him to get more professional in his recordings.  He upgraded his studio software to include programs such as Protools HD, Reason by propeller head, and Cool Logic pro.  He also purchased a few pieces of equipment to aid in his arsenal such as a Yamaha Motif, Triton modules, MPC 2000 Excel and a G5 MAC Computer. 

It seemed all was going well but like any great story there are always trials and tribulations and Lesean quickly learned the music business also had an ugly side.  The song “Ooow Baby” had been played on the radio without any consent of Lesean or his cousin and they were not receiving their royalties or payments for the record, this lead to some bitterness in the relationship with K-Melz and Lesean who eventually decided to part ways amicably.  He decided to move forward and began working with other artists.

​

Lesean made another decision that would change his career path.  He decided he would complete his own album.  This would lead him to countless hours in the studio and learning the ins and outs of studio recordings.  Lesean knew that for him to have a strong project he would also have to feature other strong artists.  He called on a few acquaintances that he had come into contact with over the years.  His good friend Lee Carr(R&B Recording Artist) was one of the first to respond.  They recorded a track titled “ready for love” produced by K-Melz who was still in the loop with Lesean’s career.   He also recorded a few tracks with Jonessa Monique from P. Diddy’s  Making of the Band.  During this time he was released as a featured artist on Urban Beats Vol. 1 which was being sold in stores.  Lesean also continued to improve his stage performance.  He got out of the local scene and started performing in New York at places like Sullivan Hall, The Canal room, Nagasaki, and other local New York Clubs.  He took his music even further and performed in some of the southern states.  He performed at Virginia tech in VA, Armstrong College in Savannah Georgia and also at South Beach Florida.  In his home state he also was performing at bigger venues such as Toad’s Place, Terrace Club, and Streets north, The Roxy, Norwalk Community College and still gave back to the community by performing at local High schools.  All these endeavors helped him fully develop as an artist and would lead him to completing his album.

​