Verse Simmonds

Maurice "Verse" Simmonds is a Virgin Islander singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. Based in Los Angeles and raised in the Virgin Islands, he moved to the United States after high school and formed the production duo the Jugganauts (with Shama "Sak Pase" Joseph) in the 1990s. The duo has since co-written and produced songs such as "Man Down" by Rihanna and "Who Gon Stop Me" by Kanye West and Jay-Z, both of which charted prominently on Billboard. Simmonds began recording as a lead artist in 2007, and signed with Def Jam to release his 2011 single "Boo Thang" (featuring Kelly Rowland), which peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. He has also released several full-length mixtapes, which contain guest appearances from Young Jeezy, Akon, Snoop Dogg, and Travis Porter. Under his birth name or as Verse Simmonds he has co-written several hit R&B songs, such as "Confident" by Justin Bieber and Chance the Rapper, and "New Flame" by Chris Brown, Usher and Rick Ross. The latter earned Simmonds his first Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Song in 2015.