In December of 2000, a new singing sensation was about to be born from a chance meeting at a local Allentown, PA bar. During a Karaoke session, Joey Tee approached Mervin Maldonado with a cassette of “Fantasy Girl” by Johnny O. and asked if he would sing the song with him. Mervin agreed and the Freestyle duo of True Passion was born. Soon after, the duo began work on their first collaboration together as True Passion. The song was titled “Quit Playing Games”. Although the track was nothing more than a demo, they decided to test the turbulent waters of the Freestyle market and began selling the song as a single burned onto a CD-R. The song quickly circulated around the internet as an MP3, establishing True Passion as a bona fide New School Freestyle sensation. All though True Passion was unsigned, they managed to sell a few hundred copies of their single. Due to the overwhelming success of “Quit Playing Games”, Mervin & Joey Tee decided to open their own production company. M2M Productions opened their doors on September 15, 2001 - with the main goal of producing mostly Freestyle and R&B, but were always open to other types of music. Within one year, True Passion had recorded two albums: ‘Meaning Of Love’ and ‘Bringing Back The Passion’. Although the material on these albums were live demos, the quality of these productions were enough to generate a buzz and earn True Passion a very large fan base. As a result, True Passion began receiving invitations to perform at live Freestyle events in New York. Unfortunately the buzz was not enough to get the guys a record deal. Fueled by their overall disappointment with the Freestyle industry, True Passion parted ways early in 2003. They briefly reunited for a show at Backdrafts (Queens, NY) in September of 2003. The show was in honor of Anthony A’s and Rio Lopez’s birthdays. This was to be their final performance as True Passion. Moving ahead with their own projects, Joey & Merv kept in touch. Joey opened his own production company called Straight Forward Productions, focusing mainly on Freestyle and Hip-Hip and Mervin continued to operate M2M Productions, focusing on R&B, Hip-Hop and Salsa music. Mervin Maldonado recorded his own solo album, which he hopes to release very soon. Joey began working with a young, up and coming Freestyle singer named Image. Together, they began recording material under the name “Hidden Thoughts”. In May of 2004, Rhoq of Total Kaos Records approached Joey Tee with the idea of a True Passion reunion for a live performance at a show in Lancaster, PA. Mervin agreed to the idea and the return of True Passion officially became a reality on June 19, 2004. The evening of the show, True Passion and the Total Kaos Records were hanging out at the hotel, shooting pool and having a few drinks at the bar. The question “Where do we go from here?” was brought up. The answer was obvious: True Passion is back and it’s time to begin recording new Freestyle material. Total Kaos offered Joey Tee and Mervin Maldonado something that no other Record label had ever done during their entire 4 year history – offer them an opportunity. In July of 2004, True Passion and Total Kaos Records began working on their first project together. The song is titled “Forgive Me”. It takes True Passion in a new direction, while still sounding like a True Passion song. Composed and Produced by Rhoq, the music itself encompasses the best of the Old School and New School Freestyle sound. The lyrics and vocal arrangement, written by Mervin Maldonado and Joey Tee (a/k/a True Passion) are meaningful, emotional and ready for you to sing along with! In addition to the project with Total Kaos Records, True Passion have already recorded 12 new songs that they are planning to feature on their third album which is currently planned for a September 2004 release from M2M Productions. Look for an official True Passion album in 2005 on Total Kaos Records. Together Mervin & Joey Tee are trying to ignite the fire that was once put out by the “sharks” in the music business who gave up on the ‘Freestyle’. M2M Productions feels that there are too many fans out there that support the music with all their heart. These are the people who are going to make Freestyle bigger than ever. True Passion says: “We know that without the fans supporting us we wouldn’t be nothing. The fans are the most important things to us. They’re the air we breathe.” No matter what happens or how long it’ll take, these guys are going to keep bringing the music alive & kicking. Their goal is to keep pumping the new generation Freestyle as long as their fans want to listen. To all you Freestyle heads out there, you won’t have to worry about your music dying ever again.” You have to respect that, True Passion sure does.
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In December of 2000, a new singing sensation was about to be born from a chance meeting at a local Allentown, PA bar. During a Karaoke session, Joey Tee approached Mervin Maldonado with a cassette of “Fantasy Girl” by Johnny O. and asked if he would sing the song with him. Mervin agreed and the Freestyle duo of True Passion was born. Soon after, the duo began work on their first collaboration together as True Passion. The song was titled “Quit Playing Games”. Although the track was nothing more than a demo, they decided to test the turbulent waters of the Freestyle market and began selling the song as a single burned onto a CD-R. The song quickly circulated around the internet as an MP3, establishing True Passion as a bona fide New School Freestyle sensation. All though True Passion was unsigned, they managed to sell a few hundred copies of their single. Due to the overwhelming success of “Quit Playing Games”, Mervin & Joey Tee decided to open their own production company. M2M Productions opened their doors on September 15, 2001 - with the main goal of producing mostly Freestyle and R&B, but were always open to other types of music. Within one year, True Passion had recorded two albums: ‘Meaning Of Love’ and ‘Bringing Back The Passion’. Although the material on these albums were live demos, the quality of these productions were enough to generate a buzz and earn True Passion a very large fan base. As a result, True Passion began receiving invitations to perform at live Freestyle events in New York. Unfortunately the buzz was not enough to get the guys a record deal. Fueled by their overall disappointment with the Freestyle industry, True Passion parted ways early in 2003. They briefly reunited for a show at Backdrafts (Queens, NY) in September of 2003. The show was in honor of Anthony A’s and Rio Lopez’s birthdays. This was to be their final performance as True Passion. Moving ahead with their own projects, Joey & Merv kept in touch. Joey opened his own production company called Straight Forward Productions, focusing mainly on Freestyle and Hip-Hip and Mervin continued to operate M2M Productions, focusing on R&B, Hip-Hop and Salsa music. Mervin Maldonado recorded his own solo album, which he hopes to release very soon. Joey began working with a young, up and coming Freestyle singer named Image. Together, they began recording material under the name “Hidden Thoughts”. In May of 2004, Rhoq of Total Kaos Records approached Joey Tee with the idea of a True Passion reunion for a live performance at a show in Lancaster, PA. Mervin agreed to the idea and the return of True Passion officially became a reality on June 19, 2004. The evening of the show, True Passion and the Total Kaos Records were hanging out at the hotel, shooting pool and having a few drinks at the bar. The question “Where do we go from here?” was brought up. The answer was obvious: True Passion is back and it’s time to begin recording new Freestyle material. Total Kaos offered Joey Tee and Mervin Maldonado something that no other Record label had ever done during their entire 4 year history – offer them an opportunity. In July of 2004, True Passion and Total Kaos Records began working on their first project together. The song is titled “Forgive Me”. It takes True Passion in a new direction, while still sounding like a True Passion song. Composed and Produced by Rhoq, the music itself encompasses the best of the Old School and New School Freestyle sound. The lyrics and vocal arrangement, written by Mervin Maldonado and Joey Tee (a/k/a True Passion) are meaningful, emotional and ready for you to sing along with! In addition to the project with Total Kaos Records, True Passion have already recorded 12 new songs that they are planning to feature on their third album which is currently planned for a September 2004 release from M2M Productions. Look for an official True Passion album in 2005 on Total Kaos Records. Together Mervin & Joey Tee are trying to ignite the fire that was once put out by the “sharks” in the music business who gave up on the ‘Freestyle’. M2M Productions feels that there are too many fans out there that support the music with all their heart. These are the people who are going to make Freestyle bigger than ever. True Passion says: “We know that without the fans supporting us we wouldn’t be nothing. The fans are the most important things to us. They’re the air we breathe.” No matter what happens or how long it’ll take, these guys are going to keep bringing the music alive & kicking. Their goal is to keep pumping the new generation Freestyle as long as their fans want to listen. To all you Freestyle heads out there, you won’t have to worry about your music dying ever again.” You have to respect that, True Passion sure does.