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- Edreys Wajed, better known by the stage name Billy Drease Williams is an American hip hop emcee and producer from Buffalo, New York; known for his uptempo production, clean lyrics, and motivational messages. Billy Drease Williams started as part of a short lived hip hop group called The Elements (formed with Soulive members Alan Evans and Neal Evans) and later was one half of a duo known as Raw Intel (with producer Trevor "TrevThorne" Drayton). Raw Intel found success early, placing five songs on the ESPN NFL 2K5 Video Game, and producing a little known but highly acclaimed self titled album in 2002/2003. Edreys also collaborated with Soulive again for their Turn It Out Remixed Album and released a project on Velour Records with drummer Alan Evans, entitled M.E.K.A. 54. After the Raw Intel album failed to provide Edreys with a viable major label deal, he focused his efforts on production and visual art: placing several tracks on films and television, including Lionsgate Films' "The Farce of the Penguins" and Lifetime Television's "Officer Down"; as well as opening an independent art gallery in Buffalo called Gallery 51. Additionally, he produced several tracks for Atlanta-based rapper, Stat Quo. Soon thereafter, Edreys decided to embrace the industry's movement from mainstream to indie and signed a deal with Buffalo-based independent label DeepThinka Records, which then proceeded to re-brand themselves as DTR45. Creatively invigorated by the deal, Edreys' first tune "I Like It", secured features in Billboard Magazine and on Myspace; and the video was quickly featured by YouTube and BET. Due to the increasing amount of exposure and continual difficulty of pronouncing his birth name ("E-Drease"), Edreys decided to take on the moniker Billy Drease Williams, both in homage to the actor Billy Dee Williams and as a way for his birth name to still be present within his stage name. Since the renaming, he has released two albums with DTR45 and secured several high profile features and appearances, including Warped Tour, NXNE, and CMJ Music Marathon performances. His latest single, Just Doin' It has proven to be his biggest commercial success to date, and the groundbreaking music video has received nearly half a million views to date.
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