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A Feature on Rutgers Native Artists: Deuce 1's and Joe Spiffster Jemmiah

Rutgers University is buzzing with musical talent, here's the inside beat.

Deuce 1's

Hip-hop group Deuce 1's has a lot of creativity and drive that puts them on the map for Rutgers' local talent list. Originally from South Brunswick, N.J., the three guys created a group to capture their collective imagination. The trio consists of Isaiah McNeill, 19, Andrew Buckner, 18, and Charles Ferrone, 19, who are all more commonly known by their nicknames, Izee, Buck and Chuck, respectively. But Izee wouldn't call the group a "hip-hop trio," he says he'd prefer them to be known, "more like a pyramid, with various blends of a number of genres supported by a base of hip-hop." How's that for a classification?

The Crew: Isaiah McNeill, aka Izee, the group's beat-maker and one of the lyricists, is majoring in engineering at the University and is currently a sophomore. He incorporates what he's doing in the classroom into his musical hobby by producing his music, as well as engineering all of the group's recordings.

Andrew Buckner, aka Buck, is a lyricist as well as the group's visionary. A transfer student from West Virginia University, Buckner is currently at the University and is majoring in history. He is the go-to man of the group when it comes to envisioning the group's potential to creating new and exciting projects.

Charles Ferrone, aka Chuck, is the group's manager — but don't rule him out as simply that. Ferrone also contributes innovation by writing a few verses here and there to add to the group's depth. Business management is his highlighted academic interest, thus being group manager is a perfect fit for him.

Around Town: Izee, Buck and Chuck have started to spread their talents throughout the University by performing at ResFest last year, as well as scheduling to perform this year at the University's homecoming events; Oct. 1 at RU Idol and Oct. 2 before the football game. The group has been together since their junior year of high school, and they have performed at various local events since then, making putting on a live performance nothing new.

Going Pro: Deuce 1's will be putting out their first album Wednesday Sept. 29. The 14-track collection will be appropriately named The Beginning of Everything. Some of the group's favorite tracks are "Take Off & Dance," "Mark of A Genius" and "Greatest Fear." Their first single, "Digital Dream," is another group favorite that is hopefully catchy enough to get stuck in your head. Deuce 1's already made their mark in Rutgers student's minds with their song titled, "RU State of Mind," (a spin-off of Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind"). The YouTube video received nearly 50,000 views and is a great starting ground for the group's publicity. McNeill claims that he, "didn't expect the reception that it got and that the song really jumpstarted the group's motivation to make more music." Hopefully the more music fans hear, the more drawn in they will be to the group's expressive music.

Follow-Up: YouTube: youtube.com/deuce1s

Twitter: twitter.come/Buckdeuce1s

Joe Spiffster Jimmeh

Dialin' the 411: Joe Spiffster Jimmeh, a 22-year-old from East Orange, N.J., has a lot of talent to bring to the table. The R&B/soul artist has a huge creative drive and an amazing voice to accompany his musical visions. The fifth-year University student has been creating music since he was twelve years old. The first real song he wrote was titled, "Why Did You Leave Me?" and Spiffster wrote it "because it was the day Aaliyah died, and [he] was so sad." Since a young age, he always felt a deep emotionally connection to music and has done his best to capture it through singing and songwriting.

Spiffster's tenor voice led him to join the Rutgers Liberated Gospel Choir. The two-year member credits him joining the choir as a launching pad for him to further pursue his solo career. Despite his depth in musical ability, Spiffster only uses one instrument when he performs — his voice. Whenever he needs some musical assistance, he simply generates a collective crowd-clap to keep a steady rhythm for his heartfelt melodies. When practicing by himself, Spiffster claims that he uses his wrists and knuckles to tap and create beats for a sing-along.

Raw Materials: Having written more than 50 original songs, the journalism and media studies major has a lot of material to perform. His favorites consist of songs titled, "Matinee," "Faithful" and "Treasured." Spiffster says that "Faithful" is my favorite song to perform because it is the song I feel I'm most creative with." He performed at many locations both on and off campus. Over the past year he has performed at Rutgers' AIDS Awareness Ball, RU's Step Into the Spotlight, Skipper's Jazz Club in Newark and Cecil's Jazz Club in West Orange, just to name a few.

Trying to Make Dreams Come True: Spiffster continues to share his talents by consistently performing at Verbal Mayhem, a weekly open-mic night at the University, every Tuesday evening at 9 p.m. in Scott Hall on the College Avenue campus. He also aspires to join the Livingston Theater Company, and he ambitiously states, "It's going to be a challenge, and I'm ready for it." With that attitude, it seems that Joe Spiffster Jimmeh is a musician to look out for.

Follow-Up: Facebook: facebook.com/spiffster

Twitter: twitter.com/MrSpiffster