Juan Neal, aka Philly Blocks, grew in the 28th and Dixdale area of the West End of Louisville, Kentucky. This 21-year-old rapper claims that he stayed on a thin line between school and the streets. While females around his way were focused mainly on school and religion, a lot of the men, including his father, worried about the streets, and Philly took that on. “I stayed in school and played football, but that didn't stop me from hustling and running the streets,” Philly said.
After getting arrested on a gun charge at 17, Philly started writing and rapping while serving his time. Although he never really wanted to rap, people encouraged him to, and to never go back in the system, which he never did. “I started working on practice mixtapes and passing them out which built more confidence in doing music,” Philly says. After hearing some wack dance music on a trip to South Carolina, he concentrated on music even more, doing an open mic his first Saturday back, and got his own management team. Read more about Philly Blocks and listen to some of his music after the jump!
