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whodat: Somaya Reece
(Eugene Gologursky/Getty)
Although
Somaya Reece found solace in music at a young age, the Salvadorian singer's Los Angeles childhood was not easy. She grew up in a South Central garage with her immigrant family in what
she describes as a "violent and alcoholic and psychically abusive household."
As a teenager, Reece found a new family: a local gang. It's a move she now regrets: "I almost bled to death way too many times." At 14, she was severely beaten by her ex-boyfriend, suffering a fractured skull and losing 75 percent of the feeling on the right side of her face. "I share my story in order to help other women and men who suffer abuse in a relationship," Reece says.
The
Love and Hip-Hop reality star says her acting, modeling and musical careers are the result of her unrelenting sacrifice and determination.
"I have been an independent artist funding everything myself with three jobs, no sleep, no fancy stuff nothing but a hope and a dream. I have had many doors slammed in my face over and over. Yet, I never stopped believing in my dreams."
Reece's musical interestes were piqued early: she began playing the violin when she was nine and still plays. Reece became the number one Latina artist on Myspace and was later named the "Hottest Latina in Music" by Maxim en Español.
She's been described as the “female version of Pitbull" by Sha Money XL, vice president of Def Jam Records.
Reece released her first single, "Mira Mi Pum Pum" in 2010 and her second single, "Girls Night," reaching number one spots on MySpace. Her latest single,
Dale Mami and
Would You Still Love Me? feature DJ Spinking and XO and she's preparing her first album, "
Miss Opinionated," due out next year.
(Frederick M. Brown/Getty)
Reece is one of the lead characters trying to make it in the New York music industry on the hit VH1 reality series,
Love and Hip Hop. The series' second season began in November.
