Before The Music : The Documentary

By Darrion Cleveland

This E-book is autobiography book based on my life as a musician. Personal topics about my upbringing in a poverty neighborhood & depressing environment. I overcame many obstacles in my life to be where I'm at now. I've experienced joy, hardships, heartbreak & emotional pain. My 1st book as an publishing author I hope you enjoy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9781312751033

Book preview

Chapter 1

Humble Beginnings

I was born on Monday March 7th 1994 .I wasn't born into a wealthy family or a religious family. Both my parents' family history is dysfunctional. My parents were born Frances Cleveland & Dwight Matthews. I barely knew anything about my father's side of his family , all I knew was that I had older cousins.

My father would mostly be incarcerated after I was born . He left me and my mom together when I was a toddler. Leading to bad choices and decisions my father would struggle with drugs . It didn't mean he was a bad person, he just didn't have the help he needed to overcome his life struggles that were caused during his teenage years. 

My mother gave him an ultimatum: would it be us as a family or would it be the drugs ?. Due to the circumstances he caused on his own he chose drugs. My mom understood his decision and moved on with her life with me & my two older other siblings my sister's kimberly and shareca.

My mom always told me that the family was happy that she gave birth to an only son.. something that she always wanted but couldn't have. She only had three kids. My mom was married to my sister Kimberly's father before I was born. He died in a car accident crashing into a long bed 18 wheeler truck on the freeway coming home from Los Angeles , California with three other people in the car. He was the only person to lose his life, the others were injured .

He was intoxicated while not wearing a seatbelt and his body went through the windshield. My mom and my dad were friends at the time she was grieving. She always says I was a miracle baby through God because I was born three years after her husband's death In March of 1991. She was 39 years of age when she conceived me. I was the last grandchild on both sides of my parent's last generations.

Even though me and my sister had different father's my mom raised us to be close with love . By that time on March 9th 1995 my oldest sister shareca gave birth to my nephew marquille . It was the same day as her father's birthday.

Me and my younger nephew had the same similar taste in clothes , toys ,food & tv shows. Everyone thought we were twins because our parents made sure we did everything together the same. We thought alike and we dressed alike, We cried when we would be separated from each other.

One night in 1997 my oldest sister shareca and my mom were arguing because she wanted to move in with her boyfriend. She was paying the bills in the house and buying the food since my mom barely had any income to pay the rent and make ends meet. She felt she wanted to be independent on her own so she called her boyfriend over and he started taking all her things out the room, disconnecting the cable and TV's . Me and my nephew cried because that was the end in our minds , I was three years old .

My mom ,my sister Kim & I were left in the dark without power , television & food. My mom had to sell all her bedroom furniture just for us to have food. We were in the dark but we had food to eat. After many yard sales we had enough money to get the power cut back on. It was us three for a long time until we eventually moved out of the apartment.

Meanwhile when this was going on my uncle randy got shot in the back in 1998. while he was walking home from gambling with a scratch off that he won .He was arguing with a few guys who wanted to rob him but he didn't give them anything. So they caused a scene in the casino. The security told them to