Bio
Not your average up and coming artist, 211 (2Eleven) Tha Bizness aka Rondey Gibson didn’t just make it here overnight. Instead of listening to his teachers during his high school classes, he began experimenting with raps. He never expected that what he was crafting during the teacher’s lectures would be the route of his future. Nor did he expect to have made a big name for himself in the music industry today.
The young up and coming star hailing from Inglewood California, brings a universal west coast flow that any demographic can relate to. His rhymes deal with realist views from the perspective of a young man who’s dealt with issues in urban life that force a boy to become a man sooner than most, to go along with a delivery so crisp, it opens up the ears of everyone. Like his super star gangsta rap predecessors, Mack 10, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg, 2Eleven is also a product of his environment. Growing up in Inglewood, a city known in L.A. to be dominated by the “Blood” gang, he was raised as the only child of a single parent mother, leaving a void in the male role model department. He turned to the OG’s in the neighborhood for guidance, not knowing it would transform his life into a corrupt lifestyle. The gansta’s life led him to getting kicked out of school for battling with rival gangs, then getting locked up for gun charges and several other felony offences. This is when he was given the street name “211”, after a big homie that took a liking to him. As we all know, 211 is the California state penal code for, “…strong arm robbery”. The way he is strong arming the rap game and captivating fans, it seems no coincidence that 2Eleven’s industry movement is just like a Calif. P.C. 211 in progress.
As a single parent, his mother provided all that she could for him however, 2Eleven chose the streets. With his mother fearing for his life or being permanently lost to the California state prison system system, she sent him to New York to live with his Uncle. It was in New York that 2Eleven landed his first job as a production assistant through his uncle at Def Jam. Being in the atmosphere of the Def Jam building with other artists gave him the inspiration that he needed to embark on his future as an entertainer. Coming from California and being apart of the gang culture, grabbed the attention of a couple of producers that took interest in him as an artist. It was there where the producers would persuade 2Eleven to spit his raps, and surely it didn’t take long to see he had star potential and a lot to say. What started out as just spitting a few bars, would eventually lead to recording a whole mixtape. Since everyone at Def Jam knew him through his Uncle, and not from Inglewood, they called him Nephew. After being gone from home a year, 2Eleven came back to Cali fully motivated. Happy to be home and back in his hood, he had a glow about himself and a mixtape to go with it that had the streets on fire. One of his big homies Squeak Ru, who had a deal through Priority Records, along with Mack 10 quickly snatched 2Eleven and put him in the studio. After recording songs but not seeing any instant progress or money, 2Eleven began to get distracted and fall back in the same destructive loop that he spent the past year away in New York trying to get out of.
Fully embracing the street life and it’s underground ways of making fast money, 2Eleven moved out to Las Vegas, where the money would pour in faster than he’d ever seen. He became motivated to rap again with a new outlook and a more exciting story to talk about. With a second mixtape buzzing LA like a hornet, 2Eleven was getting approached by music executives, big time managers and eventually the infamous rap mogul: Suge Knight. Before any moves were made, Suge would end up in jail and 2Eleven still searching for a deal. Through his best friend one of 2Eleven’s mixtapes reached the Platinum hands of super star Young Jeezy, who loved what he heard and even more so respected 2Eleven’s hustle game. It didn’t take long before Young Jeezy signed him to his imprint C.T.E. (Corporate Thugs Entertainment) as its first west coast artist.
His first cameo and song with Young Jeezy was “My Buddy”, which has over 1 million Youtube views. After appearing in several music videos, including Christina Milian’s “Say I”, Young Jeezy’s “Trapstar”, “White Girl”, “Corporate Thuggin”, and “Respect The Shield” videos, he quickly gained popularity. No stranger to a sold out venue in 2007, 2Eleven took the show on the road, performing on the Street Dreams Tour, which featured multi-platinum artists such as Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, Jim Jones and Rich Boy. From there it was on to Young Jeezy’s Inspiration Tour and the Ozone Awards in 2008. 2Eleven’s Stage presence has been felt all over the country, from Houston to Miami to Atlanta including a stellar performance that shut down L.A. Coliseum.
With an International fan base that is continually growing at a rapid pace, 2Eleven has reached the masses with only satellite radio play. His Myspace page has reached over 700,000 song plays, and his music videos broadcast via Youtube are incomparable with a daily average of over 2,000 views a day. His 2008 mixtape, “Product of The Block”, which featured platinum artists Snoop Dogg and Mack 10, received 4 star reviews in the Ozone Magazine. 211 was also featured on the USDA album released on Def Jam Records which sold over 500,000 units.
“V.V.S. vision I’m a diamond in a rough/Jeezy Knew it, that’s why he signed me in a rush”, quoted from 211’s sophomore mixtape, “Money Ova Everythang”, gives you a vivid picture of the mentality of this young upcoming star. Already wearing the crown to his city and being a part of the New West movement with SoCal peers Glasses Malone, Jay Rock, and Nipsey Hussle, be prepared for this conglomerate artist to bring his unique swag to the game like no other. Well primed by C.T.E./Def Jam, 2Eleven is on the road to great success.
