TOLEDO FREE PRESS NEWSPAPER

B. Wills hits Main Street Bar & Grill on Sept. 25 Written by Martini Rox | | starmusic@toledofreepress.com It’s not often that we can welcome back a local rapper who has made waves across his home state and the rest of the country. B. Wills has spent his summer doing just that and at 6 p.m. Sept. 25, Toledo is welcoming him home with his very own homecoming at the Main Street Bar & Grill on 151 Main St. The winner of 2009’s Ohio Hip-Hop Awards Best New Artist and nominated this year for Best Mixtape and Best Mixtape Artist, Wills is gunning for a top spot in Hip-Hop. Softspoken, determined and extremely humble, it’s hard to imagine the hard knocks in his past that at one point left him being homeless and heading down a criminal path. Hate him or love him, you have to respect his hustle. In less than three years, Wills went from unknown to award-winning, proof of what happens when you give a dream your full attention. At first glance I noticed an individual with tattoos, piercings and a mohawk. I quickly gathered he felt free and willing to take some risks regardless of what others might think. As a rapper, he has relied heavily on the mixtape formula of rapping over the instrumentals of songs that top the Hip-Hop charts. but now, B. Wills will finally be able to express who he is as an artist; incorporating lessons learned by providing original music to go with his lyrics on a project set to be released in the next six months. For now, he is focused on providing a great show for the loyal fans who follow his every post on social networks. Realizing the odds are against him, what compels him to keep pursuing a career in rap? “I never knew sacrifice until I started music especially now that I have a daughter,” he said. “Not being able to see key moments in her life. I might be out at a show, I might have to miss a birthday party. It hurts, but to know that my baby will be able to go to college with no problem makes it all worth it.” Stepping out on faith, B. Wills had a chance meeting with Cleveland-based company, Gorilla Productions, the group responsible for the success of national and Ohio standout Hip-Hop artists like Kid Cudi, Chip Tha Ripper and Machine Gun Kelly, all from Cleveland. Having heard about the successful fan base Wills was quickly gaining, they asked him to be a part of their summer tour. Starting out as an opener at the beginning of the show, they soon began to see why B. Wills was a star. Selling his own tickets until he became a headliner, B. Wills eventually was able to headline a show anywhere in the country. B. Wills chose to bring it home to Toledo, where it all started. He’s slated to debut original music at his homecoming concert with Toledo favorites like T. Diamond, Yung Prof, Infamiss, Cleveland’s Chevy Blue and others. There are a few things he wants to make clear for those who are skeptical about supporting a Toledo artist. “I’m serious. There are so many that have come before me that might not have made the best of their situations. I want to show people I am for real. You can put your faith in me and I am not stopping,” he said. As we continue on …