LoveRance

Born in San Francisco's Bay Area, Rance Oliver performs under the name LoveRance and rose from an unsigned local rapper to an internationally signed major-label act in just a few months. Before stepping behind the microphone himself, he spent time arranging events for other performers throughout the region, then chose to test his own skills. In summer 2011, supported by coverage on blogs and shares via Twitter, his debut release "Up!" climbed into the Top 100 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

The track, which featured his associates Skipper and its producer IamSu!, highlighted LoveRance's easygoing Southern delivery and reached Interscope executive VP of A&R Larry Jackson, another San Francisco native, after rotation on local station KMEL. A meeting followed at the end of September, resulting in a contract for the then-24-year-old artist. Interscope subsequently recruited 50 Cent to add a verse, sending "Up!" onto the Billboard Hot 100 in early 2012. After sharing stages with Show Banga and Rayven Justice, LoveRance began work on his first album.