Jeremiah ‘Lil Quan’ Steede, Javon ‘Grenaid’ Duhart and Dariel ‘DJ D’Reb’ Reyes-Nunez were just three teens looking for something positive to do after school. Then a few years back they started writing and creating rap songs — and in the process found an outlet for their creative talents.

Now, the trio have formed UGR, the Island’s newest rap sensation, and next month are planning to release their first mixtape ‘We Are UGR’.

They are also in the process of creating a mini-documentary about their experiences in the music industry to give fans a glimpse into all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes.

UGR were formed when 17-year-old Grenaid got the three rappers together after he got tired of rapping on his own.

“I figured I could make a rap group because I had some friends who I thought would be interested,” the CedarBridge Academy student said. “Jeremiah was one of them and I noticed he had some anger issues so I asked him if he wanted to put his emotions into music.

“We started writing some things and recorded them in my closet and it turned out we liked it.

“Dariel was also interested in joining the group, but he didn’t rap so we made him our manager to get our name out in the local music industry. Now that JROC Communications is managing us, Dariel is our DJ and plays the music for us at different events.”

Over the past few months the group has been gaining some international exposure, thanks to Lil Quan’s noteworthy appearances on BET’s hit show ‘106 & Park’ from May to August.

However, he said his solo success didn’t hurt the future of the group. “You would think these guys would be jealous of my success, but they really didn’t get like that,” Lil Quan said. “They are just there to support me and when I came back I just felt the love.”

The rising star described his rapping style as inspirational and said many of his lyrics talk about things he has been through in the past.

“When people listen to my music I want it to help them through their hard times,” he said.

“I had some family problems growing up. I lost my father when I was really young and lots of my rapping has just been about family issues and how I got through that.

“I had a lot of anger problems in middle school and that’s when Grenaid introduced me to rap. He inspired me to get my thoughts out on paper and rap about it. It calmed me down.”

DJ D’Reb said he and his friends had a more positive outlook because they now have a common goal to work towards.

“Our main goal is to get our sound and name out there to the world and get everyone to love our music. And of course we want to earn a lot of money,” he said with a laugh.

“I would say rapping has definitely made us all better people, because we used to look for trouble because there was nothing else to do. But, getting in with the JROC Communications camp has made us realise if we wanted to get into this business, it’s more than just how you look, and approach people.

“It’s also about how you produce the sound and timing for the release is very important. It’s a lot of work more than people would think.”

Manager Jonathan ‘JT’ Talbot can attest to the transformation he has seen in the rap trio’s life.

On learning about the budding artists he invited them to be featured on his weekly radio show on Power 95. He decided not to sign them on the spot, but monitored their progress over the next year to see if they were growing creatively, and were proactive in getting their songs, and videos, out to the public.

After seeing the great strides they were making in their careers, he decided to look into representing them seriously.

“I put them on a three month probation, and that meant they had to keep out of trouble, keep up with their school work, and keep positive,” Mr Talbot said.

“Over that time one of the things I saw was that they were passionate about it. I didn’t have to force them to come to the studio, and they made good time, and came up with ideas that helped me to make their sound become a reality.

“I really didn’t dictate to them what they should rap about, but I did monitor what they did so it didn’t come across as negative.”

He said it has been a lot of fun working with the trio; he also praised them for wanting to learn as much about the glamorous entertainment side of the industry, as they did the practical business side.

In addition to the upcoming mixtape, UGR have recently released a video for their latest song ‘Check Out My Gear’. The video was filmed at the new Mambo store on Front Street, which also sponsored Lil Quan’s clothes for two of his BET appearances.

To check out the video or find out about upcoming appearances, you can like the group’s social media fan page: www.facebook.com/ItsUGR. The group’s mixtape will be available to download for free on www.datpiff.com and www.hotnewhiphop.com.