User talk:Haj djan

R-mean (Armin Hariri) was born on May 29th 1980 in Los Angeles, California but was raised in the Netherlands, in a city not too far from Amsterdam, until the age of 18. Little did he expect that his life would turn in so many different directions. During his pre teen years he was an aspiring athlete out competing his peers in basketball. Always pushing himself to the limits, he paid no attention to the knee pain that was threatening to cripple him. His competitive spirit led him to participate in the Pre-Professional Dutch National Team at the age of 15. Due to chronic pain of undiagnosed origin he was forced to quit the game forever and to this day his knee braces remain to remind him of his dream cut short.

But to no avail, his spirit found a new direction of growth. It all started as a means for him to express his inner turmoil. He grew up with a mother still in love with her lost husband, and a heart broken home. As a widow, raising two children by herself was financially very difficult. At the age of 15, R-mean started working in his uncle's rug store to help pay the bills at home. He always felt that his mother experienced enough pain, so he tried to stay in school to at least bring her joy in that way. Being the quiet kid, which he was, his nature would not allow him to express his emotions so he turned to the pen.

As a hobby, he started flowing over famous instrumentals. When people heard him they were left amazed and he realized that this hobby was something that people were taking seriously. Shows were lined up for him in schools and hangouts. He left this second unrealized dream in Holland when after graduating from high school his family moved back to L.A.

While adjusting to his new environment, he started working full-time as a waiter at Johnny Rockets. Unaware of the workings of credit at the time, he jumped on the proposition when he was offered a $500 credit line at Circuit City. He got a stereo with a mic and started recording his own tapes. This lead to him meeting a struggling producer named BLIND. In 1992, Blind fell victim to a drive by shooting in Pasadena, CA. He got shot in his face causing him to completely lose his eyesight. Pieces of bullets still remain in his skull and also in his back from another shooting. Together they started the crew Pentagon. Though Pentagon is the family, R-mean's independence allows him to remain at heart a solo artist.

His resume includes the beginnings of all unsigned great artists. In 2000 he independently released "April 24th". In 2002 Pentagon released "Denial", and in 2003 "Pentagon mixtape volume 1". He has performed at countless high schools, colleges, clubs, and open mic nights in the Los Angeles area, including Martini Lounge, Sky Sushi, Studio 7, the Gig, Las Palmas, Key Club, UCLA, Cal State Northridge, Glendale Community College, Hoover High, Glendale High, and Burbank High, just to name a few. He controls the crowd like no other. Such performances, together with the countless street corner ciphers, and over a thousand CD's sold out of his car trunk, he has made a respectable name for himself in the local underground scene.