In the pantheon of urban musicians, few have had the something-something to merit single-name status. And you know who they are. For performers who can stand up to such billing, it’s about instant and unique identification. But there’s a new uni-monikered phenom to add to the mix. It's Berkeley’s finest, Symba.
At 20, the Hip Hop/R&B entertainer who’s real name is Demario Raynel Driver is poised to make his long-awaited solo debut with Now Or Never, a diverse coming-of-age project. Raised in Berkeley California, voted one of the most liberal cities in the United States sits on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California. Its neighbors to the south are Oakland who gave birth to Bobby Seale’s and Huey P. Newton’s Black Panther party of the 1960’s and Emeryville who birthed PIXAR Animation Studios and Jamba Juice. Demario also adds that “Apple, Google, Facebook, HP, Intel, Cisco, eBay, Adobe, Oracle, Yahoo, Netflix, and EA Sports made it happen from this spark on the West Coast so why not my brand, Symba.” Demario began an athletic career playing varsity basketball before he would shift his talent to entertaining. He attended Dear Valley High School in Antioch, California where he still holds the scoring record for scoring 47 points in a game and averaging 26 points. He was all tournament player for four consecutive years and invited to USC camp to work out with the Trojans players and coaches. “In the beginning I thought basketball was my first love but I cheated on it when I turned seventeen and found my soul-mate in music.” With his first effort this Berkeley based hip-hop/songwriter is ready to step on the gas and go. “The music I’m working on is timeless music, I want to make the type of music that people will still listen to in thirty years.” When asked about the album’s title, Now Or Never, Symba says “It is how I’ve always lived my life, I rate myself high amongst other artist because I have a heart that never says no and I’m not scared to tap into anything, I mean anything!” 
What Symba and his producers have done is create an album that is just about all his right down to the title. With soulful, smooth but powerful vocals, and gritty hip-hop flavor, it’s about an individual taking stock of his life at a very particular point, the transition time when Symba began to think about who he would be as a man. He was raised by a single mother but spent a large part of his life with his aunt Teresa. “Growing up without a father then being introduced to a step father who showed me the finer side of life was a drastic change. Then we had this glamorous life stripped from us because of illegal activities.” This made Symba appreciate life whether rich or poor for what it truly is, a gift. After meeting his producer Trent Farmer, aka Verb The Exclusive helped change my situation, “he taught me a lot about music and how to become a better artist but more importantly a better person that is what real friends do” says Symba.