One of the OPM scene's hottest singer/songwriters, Top started out in the industry in 1996 as lead vocalist/lead guitarist for the R&B band Freestyle. He wrote nearly all of the band's hits, including "Before I Let You Go," "So Slow," "Til I Found You," and "Once In A Lifetime" among others. In 2005, he left Freestyle because of personal issues. While other artists would've appeared on talkshows here and there to air their grievances, he fought to keep his privacy and kept out of the limelight.