"If Life Gives You Apples, Make a Pie"

That's the name of a new song from Kurrell Rice aka Toon. And it pretty much describes his disposition on life, despite a history of struggles. He finally started coming into his own between the ages of 18 and 19, he said. Even then though, when he first met his producer and good friend John Harmon, he still had some ground to cover before becoming the artist he is now.

"Honestly, my first opinion of him was—I thought he was corny," Harmon said. "I like seeing the jokey side of stuff, too, but I also wanted to see the other side. It's not all jokes. It's how you portray yourself. That's what I wanted to see come from him. And over time, that's what I've seen."

Rice is scheduled to be playing at this year's LDOC, but when and on what stage have yet to be fully determined. He's also headlining a show at the MarVell Entertainment Center in downtown Durham, April 1st. Rice believes it's his live performances that will really help him win over more fans in the future.

"His performances are freaking awesome," Harmon said. "He just entertains. He jumps on bars, he gets in people's faces.... The energy—you feel whatever song he's singing at the time."

You can check out Toon's music here. There's a couple mixtape remixes over some Kanye West beats as well as a rap song over the driving rock song "Seven Nation Army." It's this eclectic mix of musical interests and inspirations that make Rice confident he can appeal to a variety of people.

"People should listen to me because anybody can listen to me," Rice said. "My music comes from both sides of the fence. I don't make 'hood music. I don't make suburban music. I make great music."

--Matthew Iles