TooSmooth

TooSmooth's New Album "The Come Up Vol.3 (Signed)" - Arena Music

Hip-hop/rap artist TooSmooth grew up in a rough neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, where he hid his passion for music.

Even though he was from a musical family — his father was a Chicago State University music teacher (Kanye West was among his students) and his uncles played in bands — it wasn't until the family moved to Schaumburg for his freshman year of high school that TooSmooth (real name, William McClam) felt comfortable enough to start singing, writing and producing songs.

ADVERTISEMENT

"In Chicago, you're trying to fit in to survive. In Schaumburg, I could just be me. Everyone (at Conant High School) accepted you just for you," recalls McClam, 20, who now lives in Florida and just released a new album, "The Come Up, Vol. 3 (Signed)."

He graduated from Conant early, earning a music scholarship to Full Sail University in Florida. While there, his first single, "In Love," was picked up by U.K. radio stations and his career took off.

TooSmooth's biggest hit to date is the single, "Future Dreams," which has aired on MTV, and which McClam wrote about his childhood friend, Michael Haynes. Haynes had just earned a full-ride basketball scholarship for college, but was shot to death in July 2012 on the South Side, a few days before he was supposed to leave.

"It hit me hard. I even saved the news clippings," McClam said. "I was on my way to living my dreams, and he got his taken away because he couldn't get out fast enough."

As with many of McClam's songs, the song's a sad but triumphant story. Some of his music is autobiographical. In "Future Dreams," he raps:

It's more than just a notebook,

It's more than just a pen.

It's more than just a few words I can rhyme over again.

It's my life.

TooSmooth's life is, well, going along smoothly. He runs his own record label, Lights Out Entertainment, and is responsible for all of the work involved with creating, releasing and promoting his music in the U.S. and Europe.

TooSmooth was accepted as a member of the Grammy Awards' Recording Academy, which allows him to vote on the awards and attend the music industry's biggest night. He walked the red carpet for the first time at last year's Grammys. While he jokes that "no one knew who I was," he was honored to be surrounded by the biggest names in hip-hop.

In "Future Dreams," TooSmooth raps that he's "trying to be the next Kanye, sittin' on the top." Now, he's moving in that direction. - Jamie Sotonoff

William Alexander McClam grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He took on the name Too Smooth (Lights Out Entertainment) after his family moved from Chicago to Shaumburg.
He began his music adventure by recording with friends and others that lived nearby. Meanwhile, William was building his home studio and learning intricate inner workings of the recording business. His drive took him into the depths of the style of the creation of music. He took his solo career to a higher level. Too Smooth and Lights Out Entertainment broke the barrier and expanded their horizons to include national recognition. He released “The Come Up Vol. 1 (Baby Steps)” with hit single “In Love” heading the lineup. Now as the second installment to this experience, a new CD is set to release in the near future.

Lights Out Entertainment is proud to announce the release of Too Smooth’s new single “Experience (Eda)” which is on the yet to be released second installment titled “The Come Up Vol. 2(Stage, Lights)”. He wrote this song with a friend and fellow musician whom he is very fond of. “Experience” pretty much what I feel about having her as a friend. Not only is she a big part of my life but a big part of my music life as well”, states Too Smooth. This song has a smooth R & B rhythm to it and it flows like water. This song delivered with provocative overtones set to a classic R & B rhythm. Too Smooth is a smooth talker, a poet and understands how to deliver a song like this. Nobody does it better. It is a perfect example of the wonderful sounds of Too Smooth.
Once again, Too Smooth accomplishes what he sets out to do - he brings those smooth R & B tunes to life and that provocative delivery, well, he gets it. It is all about love and knowing your woman, after all.

Too Smooth has recently become a member of the Grammy Academy and ranking #6 in Hip Hop and R & B in Illinois. This single is also the 12 song on iTunes, which not only gives him the right to vote in the Grammy’s this year he will also be attending.
Too Smooth is planning a big college tour along with a summer tour. No dates are available at this time.

“Dreams do come true. You just have to wake up sometimes to see them. Don’t chase dreams, ride beside them”.

“I’d like to thank my mom for believing in me when others didn’t. Also I would like to thank my track coach for telling me one day after I walked my first meet, “Let Your First Race Be Your Worst Race”, and from that day on, I’ve never walked to a finish line which lead me to the stage and I’m still running but this time it’s with a mic in my hand”. - A&R Select

William McClam, a 2010 Conant High School graduate, is on his way to becoming the biggest local music artist since the The Smashing Pumpkins formed in Elk Grove Village in 1988.
McClam, better known by his stage name TooSmooth, grew up in Chicago and later moved to Schaumburg, where his musical talents began to blossom while he attended Conant.
“I wasn’t very serious about making music until I moved out from Chicago to Schaumburg. I had some recording software in high school and starting producing music with people from school,” McClam said. “I graduated a year early (in 2010) and took that extra year to work on my music. I then attended Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida on a grant I got for my music.”
Since graduating, McClam has been busy working on producing music through his own record label, Lights Out Entertainment. Through the use of social media to self-market his music, McClam’s songs have seen increasing popularity on iTunes and Amazon. His top-selling song, “Experience,” has had 20,000 downloads between the two websites, and another, “One For Me,” has had 15,000 downloads so far. This has provoked many in the industry to see McClam as a potential artist.
McClam’s success with his online sales has earned him enough interest for a spot on the Grammy Academy, including a nomination for Best New Artist, among others.
“Being a member Grammy Academy has to be the biggest thrill for me so far. It all started when I got an email about the possibility of being nominated and from there, it was confirmed when I got a letter. It’s really exciting to achieve something like that so early.”
McClam went on a recent radio tour on May 7 through May 12, where he visited London, Berlin, and Toronto to play live on three radio stations. He says his popularity overseas has really helped him rise as an artist.
“I’m really big in the UK- they were playing me there before any other place was. I really don’t know how that picked up, but British radio stations began airing some of my songs and many people became fans after hearing them.”
More recently, McClam mentioned that he has a working deal with Best Buy and other local music retailers to start selling hard copies of his album, allowing many more listeners throughout the country to access his music. McClam says he takes pride in selling albums that he produced himself.
“I like doing my own thing with my label because I like the idea of keeping my own creative rights. I took my own step in creating Lights Out Entertainment so I would have the freedom to continue doing what I want instead of having a big name label step in and change things,” McClam said.
Music has always been a part of TooSmooth’s life, and from an early age, it was present in his family.
“I got started singing when I was three and sang at family parties. My dad was a music teacher at Chicago State University and he taught Kanye West before he dropped out, so that really got me inspired musically as well,” McClam said.
McClam listed West, as well as fellow artists R. Kelly and Marvin Gaye, as some of his biggest inspirations. He specifically noted that personally meeting West, a Chicago native, really got him inspired to start making music.
“I actually met Kanye when my dad taught him, before he really broke out with his career,” McClam said. “I started listening to him after that because he was from Chicago and we were both from the same neighborhood. Kanye got out and was able to make something of himself, which really got me to want to do the same.”
McClam’s newest album, The Come Up Vol. 2 (Stage, Lights), is currently being mixed, and is set for a June 17 release date.
“I’d say it’s a dedication album because it has two songs about my friend Eda, a song for my mom, and one about my former track team. I want to recognize the people that have played a big role in my life,” McClam said.
“I appreciate everyone at Conant that was supporting me when I was unknown, up until now, and I really want to thank everyone for continuing to listen as I grow and progress as an artist.”
For the latest news on TooSmooth, he can be followed on Twitter (@lightsoutentlo) or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/L.O.entertainment. - Conant Crier

Hip-hop/rap artist TooSmooth (real name William McClam) took the inspirational words of his Conant High School track coach to heart.

He also tattooed them across his chest.


"Let your first race be your worst race" were the uplifting words Conant coach John Powers said to the teenage McClam after he had run poorly in a track meet. McClam had just moved to Schaumburg from a rough neighborhood on Chicago's South Side and was struggling to believe in himself.

"He said, 'You don't have to worry about that life (in Chicago) anymore. You can be anything you want to be,'" McClam said. "It's been with me, and my music has taken off ever since."

McClam, 22, now lives in Los Angeles and is writing music for Hollywood movie studios, including Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures. He's also working on two new albums, both due out next year, and is toying with the idea of launching a sports agency business on the side.

"Everything, this is meant to happen," McClam said. "It's a crazy life."

After graduating early from Conant and receiving a music scholarship to Full Sail University in Florida, McClam started writing and recording songs while learning everything he could about the music business. He launched his own publishing company, Lights Out Entertainment.

"I was trying to be ahead of what everyone else was doing," he said. "I wanted to be able to write the song, produce the song, distribute the song ... because I know if I didn't do it, no one else would. I'm not the type of person to wait around for someone else to help me out."

His first single, "About You," was made using a keyboard and a laptop in his home office. It got picked up by MTV, Spotify and a radio station in the United Kingdom. It also was among 300 songs on the 2014 Grammy Award ballot for Best Rap Song. While the song didn't end up being a finalist, people in the industry took note.

Last year, after Warner Bros. executives heard his song "Future Dreams" -- his biggest single to date -- they flew McClam to California to talk about some music licensing opportunities. McClam ended up moving to California last September "with 52 songs and big dreams," he said.

Those dreams are coming true.

McClam is regularly asked to write original music for specific movie scenes, or sometimes he submits his pre-written songs. None of his music has appeared in movies yet, and he's contractually prohibited from talking about the movies he's writing for. He said it's a long process.

However, he did share that he was asked by Universal Studios to write a song for a party scene in "Furious Seven," and they gave him the dialogue as inspiration. His song wasn't chosen, but he said it was fun to write music and get an early look at part of the script for such a big movie.

"My songwriting is storytelling in the first place. And a movie is basically a moving story," he said. "That makes my style blossom more. I can run with my imagination."

TooSmooth also hopes to start doing more live performances. At a show he did this spring, famed producer Harmony Samuels -- who has worked with artists like Ne-Yo, Ariana Grande and Jennifer Lopez -- encouraged him to keep doing what he's doing.

That includes work on an album of love songs, called "Be Mine," and another record called "Promise Land." Some of the songs from these upcoming albums are among those he's pitching to movie studios.

"(The album) is a whole bunch about staying focused, and continuing what you believe in, until you get to the promised land," he said. "I'm trying to get to that peak of what my life and career should be. To me, California is the promised land." - Jamie Sotonoff and Dann Gire