Where did Mr. Yola get this keen understanding of women’s rights and need for equality? Rapper Mr. Yola was born in New York and raised in Kentucky aka “The Bluegrass State” where he honed his rapping skills and developed a passion for music recording, engineering and producing.

Drawing musical inspiration from Cassidy, J Cole, Lil Wayne, Drake, rock outfit The Frey and dubstep music, Mr. Yola says his musical interests and inspiration is “all over the place.” But what really got things going was the gift of a laptop from his older brother. From there Mr. Yola kicked off his rap career with a group called Y4L and penned on of his first song, “Pretty Thangs” to critical acclaim locally.

“As a kid I used to listen to my brother make lots of music until he handed me a laptop said ‘I need beats,'” Yola explained.

Shortly thereafter, Mr. Yola joined music executive Big Heff who puts together a quarterly tour called the Streets Most Wanted Tour. Traveling nationwide and bringing artists to radio stations and clubs, Big Heff brought along Mr. Yola after believing in his message and his sound while it is still growing and developing.

Listen to the track above and be sure to drop us your thoughts in the comments.