Southwest Philadelphia native Mont Brown grew up under the musical influence of Bad Boy Records, Jay-Z, and Mase, as well as the fashion styles of Ralph Lauren and Pharrell Williams, which stoked his creative fire to become a rap artist and fashion creative, writes Lynette Hazelton for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

With his understanding that millions of others his age had the same dream, he is set on giving back now that he has reached his success.

“I want to show kids there’s another way,” said Brown.

His work has resulted in him being recognized by the city with a ceremonial renaming of the 1400 block of South 55th Street between Springfield and Chester Avenues to “Mont Brown Way.”

Growing up on that same block, Brown got his foundational beliefs about giving back to others from his father’s mother, who was a minister, and his maternal grandmother, who was a Jehovah’s Witness.

Despite losing his father to murder at the age of 2, and his mother to incarceration for over 20 years, Brown has insisted on displaying optimism and resilience.

Those, coupled with his hustle and grind helped generate his hip-hop success.

Brown’s main goals now are to advocate for the creation of performing arts for young music and fashion creatives and stop the violence.

Read more about Mont Brown’s life and career in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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