Genre:
Rap/Hip-Hop
Hometown: Quincy, IL
With an unstable upbringing to battle, William "Motion+" Sterns was introduced to Hip Hop in 1981, by a cousin who worked at a local college radio station. The record William heard was
Planet Rock. The rhythm stirred something within him and a B-Boy was born. This musical art-form gave him a way to release some of the pain over his Grandmother's death. He wrote his first song in honor of the woman who was the only constant in his life. Since that first song, he continued to write in response to the things he was going through. In his late teens William began to move around a lot. He lived in several cities and traveled through many others. St. Louis, Kansas City, San Diego, Tulsa, and NYC name just a few of the places he lived and visited. This traveling experience introduced him to a variety of styles in the music he loved, and expanded his creativity in the songs he wrote. Hip Hop has a reputation for glorifying the darker side of life, and like so many other kids he played into that scene for quite some time. He was in and out of gangs, running with dealers, and saw many friends go to jail or die. When William was arrested for a gun charge in 1995, he realized he needed to turn his life around or he wasn't going to survive. When he was at his lowest, facing three years in jail, he met a local pastor who taught him that there was a better way to manage his life. He realized that focusing on the good he could do was a better way to live. Now dedicated to making positive music, William as "Motion Plus" hopes to influence his listeners and the communities they represent by performing music with lyrics that will bring forth the good in people rather than glorifying the negative.