Hiddens Gems: Ayo 215, The Pride Of Philadelphia

Current Philadelphia musician, Ayo 215 has been making waves in the music industry recently. A rising fan base throughout the world, hit single "Bother You" featuring Lil' Baby, and being honored recently in a Puerto Rican Day parade in Philly for his community out reach impacting the youth of the city lives in a positive way; which really signifies the amazing run the artist has been on.

However, it was not always easy for Ayo, he been through a lot to be in the position he's at currently. "Losing my dad before I touched the Earth already put me in a position to where I'm the man of the house," he said. He continued with "It made me realize, early in my life, that you got to work hard and push through the bad times, no matter how hard life gets. At the end of the day, there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel."

Ayo 215 Defines Perseverance

Hearing these words from him really spoke to me. Ayo, in my opinion, embodies the word "perseverance." More than just surviving his circumstances, he used his pain to push him to achieve new heights through pure hustle and grind. Also, it gave him a heart of gold that he needed to help out Puerto Rican youth in his city to keep them on the right track in life. Being Puerto Rican and Dominican, Ayo deemed it essential to provide the Afro-Latin youth supplies and opportunities that he never had growing up.

"At the end of the day, it's about giving the youth the opportunity to be better than us," Ayo told me passionately. Thus one statement he told me stuck with me, "with that mindset of being selfish with our resources, we will remain stagnant as a community so I strive to help the youth; being honored for it is icing on the cake." When he heard the crowd at the parade recite his music while he was performing, brought Ayo to a place of humility and gratitude. More than music, Ayo is a man of the people, that is what really makes him shine as a hidden gem.

Even with a song with Atlanta superstar Lil' Baby, he carries the same grit he has growing up. "What I love about 'Bother You' is that our two sounds blended so thoroughly and we was even able to drop a video to it is amazing," Ayo said. Two members of each artist management teams knew each other, so they linked the two artist together, and "Bother You" was made. While the song is great accomplishment for the young artist, he has bigger plans in store.

The Future of Ayo 215

The Philly emcee plans to dive more into his Hispanic heritage and add that flavor into his future music. He wants to be a new era leader for his culture, music and community wise, so be on the lookout for the hidden gem of Philadelphia, Ayo 215, to bless bigger platforms and stages real soon. "While I love my city of Philly, I plan on gracing the biggest of stages throughout the world soon and bringing the flavor of the Latin community and Philly to the entire world," he told me emphatically. For now, watch the video of "Bother You" below to get a taste of Ayo's beautiful word play.