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SixONE
(Hip Hop Artist / Rapper)
For Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
SixONE- Hip Hop Artist/Rapper
Pre-Video photo shoot - La Ceiba, Honduras - 2014
Born Lenard E Ebanks
August 28, 1983 (age 33)
Roatan, Honduras
Occupation ● Performer
● Rapper
● Songwriter
● Lyrsist
● Label President
● Group Founder
Years active 2004–Present
Websites Reverbnation/KingSquad1
Six ONE Ebanks@Facebook
RealSixOne@(expired link)
Musical career
Genres ● Hip Hop
● R&B
● Dance Hall
● Reggaeton
Instruments Vocals
Labels ● KingSquad Records
● (expired link)
Associated
and
Collaborated
with:
● Kool G Rap
● Faculty
● Sheek Louch
● Pete Powers
● Lil Ro
● Tony Sunshine
● San Quinn (Bay Area Legend)
● Brian James (Producer)
● Harry Fraud (Producer)
● TMS Productions
Contact: Six2da1@(expired link)
SixONE;​ Born (1983) Lenard E Ebanks, the youngest of 10 children, he feels he lost his childhood innocence early when
one of his older brothers died in a tragic accident at six years old. He recalls listening to Hip Hop music with his brother
and focused more on the artists’ messages after his brother’s passing. As a way to remember his brother
and fill the void while mourning his loss, he recalls frequently listening to a particular mix tape that
included rap legends; MC Hammer, Tupac, Eazy E, TooShort, NAS, and KRSOne. Looking back, Lenard
remembers feeling calm when he was surrounded by music. Somewhere around 12 years old, Lenard
encouraged his mother pursue her dream of opening a restaurant and vowed to help her get it going.
While working in the family restaurant, he realized he had a passion, too - a passion to perform. He clearly remembers
the video, “Triumph,” by WuTang Clan, encouraging him to pursue more than what his small island of Roatan was able
to offer. Lenard enjoyed playing team sports when he was younger but the satisfaction of winning a game still wasn’t
quenching his personal desire to be the best at something. He knew he wanted more of the spotlight and began
exploring his musical passion. He enjoyed karaoke when hanging with friends, singing, and performing which eventually
lead to writing his own lyrics and composing his own rhymes.
Coming from a small unknown island with very limited personal resources, Lenard was determined to keep writing
and someday have the chance to showcases his talents, so he resolved to start a new rhyme book every year. He
wanted to record all of his work, but the island didn’t offer the luxury of a studio to actually record any of it, but he
stayed positive and kept practicing.
When Lenard heard of a local talent show, he was excited, now he could make his big debut. He had only been
practicing up to this point, reciting his rhymes at parties and family gatherings. The talent show was his first public
performance, but it didn’t go as expected. “I kinda froze,” says Lenard, as he laughs while recalling that initial fear and
epic failed attempt at age of 18. With his sister’s help to “face his fears,” he began performing in front of more
audiences which lead to impromptu rap challenges/battles. As Lenard became more and more comfortable, he began to
enjoy the spotlight. This was the beginning of Lenard’s performance career and soon the buzz was about ‘that kid,
Lenard from West End.’
His focus on the mental preparation of performing paid off three months later at the next local talent show with
a 2nd place victory amongst the group of over 15 performers. Now confident in his abilities Lenard continued studying
other artists for inspiration. He established his performance name one day while walking down the streets of his home
town West End, Roatan when someone randomly asked about his height, “Hey, are you Six One?” Without hesitation,
Lenard answered, “Yes, Yes I am,” and it just felt right.
SixONE was born and debuted at the next freestyle radio show on a local station, Sun 107.1, July 4th 2003. The
success of the radio spot drove him to continue, whenever he wasn’t working at the family restaurant, and even
sometimes when he was, he was creating new material. At 16, SixONE was constantly reciting rhymes and practicing,
sometimes behind the bar when it was slow at restaurant. This led to a chance meeting with members of a well-known
local group “Universal Species” who liked what they heard, and saw SixONE’s potential as a performer. The group
approached Lenard and made him an offer to come to their studio on the mainland to record in an actual studio setting
with original beats. Extremely excited about the news, he asked his mother for permission to travel to the crime ridden
mainland and follow his dream. Not willing to risk the loss of another son, his loving mother was skeptical and denied
his request. Although he understood, Lenard wasn’t happy about it, but realized others were starting to notice his
talents.
Later that year as he met the new group of seasonal guests, young New York rapper Adam Santos, aka Verse,
arrived on the scene. Lenard immediately challenged him to see what he had and quickly realized he was a worthy
opponent and respected his work. The two shared ideas and spoke about how they could proceed. As Lenard gained
recognition in Roatan, his sound eventually found the ear of a local DJ personality; DJ Crazy. (Who later became;
CrazyLegs) after meeting “DJ Crazy” and the unapproved use of his radio station's studio, they began recording SixONE’s
early work. The duo completed a full album's worth of tracks, and was ready send it out to his audience when the station
manager found out about the unauthorized studio use and deleted the everything. Now 19, he was angry and hurt, but
not discouraged, he knew he was ready and was bound to get the break he needed. He and CrazyLegs found a new
facility and began working out of a local cellphone store with equipment they considered less than junk, but it was
enough to get them back up and recording. SixONE, CrazyLegs, and his new friend, Verse, met other up-and-comers
who were also working at the same facility and formed the group “King Squad FLB” from the cellphone store recordings
they got more radio time which lead to concerts at local venues and more popularity. The group decided to focus more
on the concerts and scheduled a multi-week promotional tour “Roatan’s Finest” on mainland Honduras and performed
at as many Hip Hop clubs and venues as they could in all the major cities; LaCebia, San Pedro Sula, and Tegucigalpa
under the KingSquad title with tracks including: How to party, All Night, One Look, and the local favorite hit; Spanish Fly.
(2005)
KingSquad kept reinvesting every dollar they made back into their work and continued promoting. It finally paid
off when they caught the attention of a local area talent scout who introduced the group to San Pedro Sula rapper,
“Killa”, who saw their talents and offered them access to a first class professional studio with new equipment and top
level training. As King Squid continued their studio work they began getting press and was featured in several national
Honduran publications. After a misunderstanding over deadlines with the labels investors, and the group's friendly visit
to a rival studio, Killa broke his ties with group destroying some of their work and forcing KingSquad to re-record the
tracks for the album “Remember the name”. Luckily they didn’t have to return to the cellphone store, the group
reached out to some of their contacts and was offered studio time at an amazing new state of the art facility in New
Rochelle, New York. So they packed up, got passports, visas, and all the required travel documents and headed to the
United States, to once again, record all the tracks and finalize the album for a final release date in early 2008.
“Remember the Name” was their best work to this point, and the national newspaper “Tiempo” credited them as the
largest local Honduran artists of the year.
While still in the (expired link). SixONE was riding the high from “Remember the Name” and kept recording, producing a
pop-techno track “So Right”, as member CrazyLegs took the marriage plunge and telling the squad he would not be
retuning when they went back to Honduras. KingSquad now finds themselves as a HipHop Duo as they head home in
2009. Using a track provided by Faculty f/t Kool G Rap the duo began working on one of SixONE’s favorite mixtapes
“EarthQuake” releasing it in the caribbean for New Years Eve 2009-10 as an opening act for well know Honduran artist,
Shaba Khan.
SixONE and the KingSquad are feeling unstoppable as they continue gaining popularity until another personal tragedy
hits home, once again, for Lenard with the tragic death of his older sister. Coupled with some controversy surrounding
fellow KingSquad member Verse, and then the unexpected death of CrazyLegs. With so much negative energy, SixONE
finds himself turning to his music for comfort and heads back to the studio to work on the solo works he’s been wanting
to express. “Last of my Breed 1st of my Kind” is a true self expression that took six months of personal introspection and
evaluation to create, while working with producer Brian James, to release mid 2011 at an opening act for popular
DanceHall artist DeMarco.
As things calm down and get back on track in 2012, KingSquad featuring Verse and SixONE, recruit and begin
working with a new member Clint Forbes aka:“YardMan”. With more refined talent and the addition of Yardman’s
unique sound KingSquad would create one of their popular works “Island Hop 1” featuring “Hard Fuck” which was
dubbed an overnight hit. SixONE keeps pushing simultaneously working on his second solo piece “Reloaded” releasing it
less than a year later in early 2014, and another from KingSquad immediately following, with mixtape “Island Hop 2” for
a late 2015 release.
SixONE continues composing, focused on his solo work, and always excited to get back in the studio and
collaborate with fellow artists who share similar visions.
Contents
1-Early life-Childhood Photos:
2. Productions:
2.1 - 2015: Island Hop 2 - KingSquad Mixtape
2.2 - 2014: Reloaded - Solo Mixtape
2.3 - 2013: Island Hop 1 - KingSquad Mixtape (Featuring “ Hard Fuck”)
2.4 - 2011: Last of my Breed First of my Kind - Solo Mixtape
2.5 - 2010: Earthquake Music - KingSquad Album
2.6 - 2008: Remember the Names - KingSquad Album
2.7 - 2005: For Da Luv - Vol. 1 - KingSquad Album
2.8 - 2004-05: Roatan’s Finest, Mixtape - KingSquad
2.9 - 2004: You Can’t Stop This - Solo Single
3. Influences & Style:
3.1 - Influences:
SixONE has cited several artists that have influenced his rapping style, including; Biggie Smalls,
Tupac, Wu Tang, NAS, DMX and Jay Z.
3.2 - Musical style and rapping technique:
SixONE’s East Coast style best embodies that of rap legend Notorious (expired link) Smalls, coupled
with his own struggle to succeed while rising up in an area of the world more associated with
violence, as opposed to musical expression.
4. Achievements:
4.1 - Recently achieved over 1 million views for combined works of art
4.2 - Represented Honduras during FIFA 2014 - BBC 1Xtra Freestyle
4.3 - Interviewed and featured in the daily rotation on 1Xtra Freestyle
4.4 - Interviewed and debuted on Ooh Way Radio - NYC, New York
4.5 - Selected to represent Honduras in a 2010 - Washington Post interview
featuring up-and-coming underground Hip-Hop artists from around the world
4.6 - Featured on (expired link)
4.7 - Video featured on UK’s Vlad TV
4.8 - Collaboration and performance on La Manteca DVD w/ Tony Sunshine
4.9 - Selected and featured on (expired link)
4.10 - Multiple tracks advanced to top 10 on BET’s “Ya Heard”
4.11 - Tracks available on (expired link) / (expired link)
5. Tours and Performances:
5.1 - 2012-2014: Headlined throughout Honduras’ Bay Islands and mainland venues.