Substantial is synonymous with hip-hop, from the U.V. Ink label he launched, to the lyrical dexterity of his common-man flow. His debut solo album, To This Union A Sun Was Born (Hyde Out Productions), did well everywhere, especially in Japan where it hit the Top 10. This success set off a career touring Asia, Europe and almost all of North America.

As things got busier, Substantial linked with QN5 Music to focus solely on artistic creation. That led to profound collaborations with the legendary DJ Kool Herc, Bootsy Collins, Chew Fu, Cunninlynguists, Nujabes (R.I.P.) and an appearance on Bruce Kulick’s (of KISS) album with all-star rocker Gene Simmons. His videos have appeared on MTV, BET, and VH1, while his music has made it to the second round of Grammy voting in three categories. Even the renowned car company Bentley reached out to have Substantial’s supergroup FANOMM (with Chew Fu & J-Cast) create a song for them and perform in China at their car show.

Vogue Magazine included his duo’s music (Bop Alloy) in a recent playlist. Not bad for the Prince George's County rapper and community activist: He builds recording studios for at-risk youth in conjunction with Covenant House, and raises money for school music programs in VH1’s Save The Music Series. For his newest album Home Is Where The Art Is (Mello Music Group), Substantial called upon Oddisee, an acclaimed musician who directed, mixed and contributed a large portion of the production. That's just the start of things to come. No wonder they call him Substantial.