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BIOGRAPHY
I am known as Bay Bay and was raised in the small city of Gary, Indiana. Famous for being the hometown of Michael Jackson and his family, the place got slept on. Gary is not a tourist attraction. It’s more what you see on The Corner - straight slums. In 2003, Gary was rated the worst city to live in the US, but growing up there was both dangerous and fun.
Despite dropping out of school in the ninth grade and being involved in the system since the age of thirteen, I believed in myself. In ’92 I received my GED and an Associate’s Degree in ’98. It was when I took a break from school that drama from my past caught up to me. Now the feds have me in custody.
There are a lot of things that pushed me into the writing field. I remember being twenty-one and a tutor in prison. The person I tutored was a wiz at getting grants for the system. She would type proposals and ask me and another tutor to proofread for her. She always encouraged me to write a book. Then I arrived in Virginia and a former roommate, Terrance Stokely, was writing a book. He would always ask me to spell certain words he had problems with. Then I got in trouble and was sent to confinement. Isolated, I read a couple of HIP Hop fiction books and was inspired to write one.
A stepson and three bad boys along with my beautiful wife provide me with the inspiration I need. Through my writings I can show my boys a better way.
I write about the two things I know: the streets and the penitentiary. The drama is from the city I grew up in. My hood is real, the peoples are real and I’m trying to make sense of all the violence.