We are U4ria the band

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u4ria biographies

SEAN GRIFFIN

Sean is an incredibly talented guitarist that has had a love affair with music since he can remember. He was exposed to various types of music at a young age, thanks to his mother who loved all genres of music. He taught himself how to play many instruments, including his beloved guitar. His talent does not end there. He writes and produces his own music, and also writes and performs poetry that is set to original music. Sean has also produced music for numerous plays and commercial spots.

A man of many talents, Sean is also an excellent photographer and has worked with many nationally and locally known celebrities. He works in the petrochemical industry.

As the guitarist of U4ria, Sean adds flavor to the band’s sound with his harmonic strings. He also helps arrange the music for U4ria. Sean’s musical inclination is influenced by mostly 70s/80s music, jazz, R&B, rock, and blues.

summer hayes

Summer Hayes is a creator specializing in vocal and dance performance and music instruction. She began her singing journey at age three and took her first ballet class at age eight. She attended performing arts primary and secondary schools and later earned her Bachelor's Degree at Louisiana State University in Music Education with a vocal concentration.

At a young age, Summer found that Musical Theatre allowed her to use several of her gifts at the same time. She has explored Musical Theatre in grade school, university, and as a student of SpringboardNYC class of 2019. Ms. Hayes has developed the skill of playing multiple instruments throughout her musical journey as well.

Along with a passion for performance, she takes an interest in fashion, makeup, and content creation. Summer hopes to inspire people of all ages to act out of love, laugh every single day, break generational curses, and create an abundant life fulfilling their purpose.

Merrel Porche, Jr.

Merrel has always been a fan of music and grew up dreaming of playing the drums. His career as a percussionist began at the early age of seven; he started performing locally just three years later and has since continued performing with various bands. He developed his playing style with mentor and teacher, Troy Davis, a professional jazz drummer. Merrel has also studied drummers such as Stewart Copeland, Larry Blackman, Sheila E., John Blackwell, and Art Blakey.

Another passion of Merrel’s is an engineering, and he is a proud alumnus of Southern University and the University of Texas, where he earned a degree in Civil Engineering and a Master's in Engineering respectively. Today, Merrel is the founder and owner of the MAP DESIGN Group, Inc., an architecture and civil engineering design firm in Baton Rouge.

Merrel’s style is one of cool funk, jazz, and reggae, which fits well with U4ria’s wide range of music.

Rani "Tha Hip Hop Doc" Whitfield

Rani is a passionate board-certified Family Practice and Sports Medicine Physician who uses Hip Hop to communicate with the youth about health. He is involved in various local and national task forces and councils to tackle health and fitness issues and is also a regular contributor to All Hip Hop, Ebony/Jet.com, EUR Web, and other online and print media. His collaboration with Hip Hop Artist Dee-1 includes a record full of inspirational songs for today’s youth, entitled State of Emergency.

Rani’s passion for music drove him to teach himself the bass, with some instruction from friends Eric Johnson, Harry Anderson, and fellow band member, Sean Griffin. Not only does Rani hold down the band with his bass, but he also gives the crowd a taste of his singing and rapping. Rani has been on the music scene for many years and has played with bands such as Code Blue, Full Circle, and Black Ice.

Clifford Ray Wilbert

Ray has been exposed to music through family and linked to various musical instruments starting at a young age. He began with the drums in the fifth grade and followed with the saxophone in the sixth grade. It was in learning the sax that Ray discovered his passion for music. That passion followed him into high school, where he started to play the piano.

Ray majored in music at Southern University and continued his love affair with the piano. When asked why he chose the piano, he said the piano is so expressive; the harmonies that can be made can make you laugh and cry at the same time. It’s like the soul of the band!

When Ray is not playing music with U4ria, he is a rail coordinator at Exel Logistics and he also plays music for two churches, Mount Calvary Baptist and New Prospect Missionary Baptist.