Andre Levins, known professionally as A+, was born on August 29, 1982, in Hempstead, New York. He is an American rapper who began his music career at a young age. In 1995, at the age of 13, A+ won a national talent competition sponsored by Def Jam Records, which marked his breakthrough moment. Following this victory, he was signed to Kedar Entertainment, the record label founded by Kedar Massenburg. A+'s first album, The Latch-Key Kid, was released in August 1996 when he was just 14 years old. The album featured contributions from Prodigy and Q-Tip, and its lead single "All I See" peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, remaining there for 14 weeks. His second album, Hempstead High, was released in March 1999 and included guest appearances from DeBarge, the Lost Boyz, and Canibus. The single "Enjoy Yourself", which sampled Walter Murphy's 1976 song "A Fifth of Beethoven", reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart and number 63 on the US Hot 100, achieving commercial success in Germany and Japan as well.
