Abran “Aronic” Maldonado, Born and raised in the Lower East Side, NYC and northern New Jersey, Abran has witnessed the evolution of urban music and the effect it has on socio-political issues in the urban community. Abe is currently the product manager for Trees Of Earth, an entertainment firm specializing in music, fashion and film.  He is also a 6th and 7th grade Language Arts teacher at the Mahatma Gandhi Elementary School in Jersey City, NJ.  In his younger years, he was a b-boy/break-dancer and has seen first hand the insurgence of Hip-Hop on popular culture.

Hip-Hop has been his livelihood and his catalyst through academia; Abran was honored by Bill Gates as a Gates Millennium Scholar, an award given to future leaders in the community, funding his education until the completion of his PhD.  He made the most of this opportunity and has since graduated from St. John’s University with a BS in Communication Arts and a Music minor.  Abran then proceeded to Teachers College of Columbia University and was approved to develop his own study based on adolescent culture in education and completed a Masters of the Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies in Education.

During his time at St. John’s he began to coordinate major concerts and parties, booking such artists as Mobb Deep, Common, Funk Master Flex, Tony Touch, DJ Enuff, Cipha Sounds, MuMs, Jin, Sharissa, Dead Prez and Talib Kweli. This gradually landed him at HOT 97 in Marketing and Promotions. he has always maintained a balance between his work in entertainment and the community.  In 2004 he was part of a labor discrimination study conducted by Princeton University and the NYC Commission for Human Rights.

Abran eventually landed himself at Missing Link Music Publishing where he served as A&R and Business Development Coordinator, signing producers and songwriters to publishing administration deals.  He was most recently the Product Manager for one of the elite management firms in music, Czar Entertainment, working along side CEO Jimmy Rosemond and Grammy Winning Producer Bryce Wilson, facilitating the careers of such clients as The Game, Mario Winans, Pretty Ricky and others including actor Michael Kenneth Williams from the Emmy Award winning hit HBO series, The Wire.  Abran, also known to some as Aronic, emerged as a recording artist and manager for the band Nine Leaves, a progressive Alternative/Hip-Hop band.  Their new single is currently airing on MTV, Fuse, Music Choice On Demand and over 30 countries around the world on stations including MTV International.  They are slated to tour Europe and the middle east this summer to promote the latest release Peace In Death.  He has provided guidance and mentorship to hundreds of unsigned artists and extends his knowledge and support through panel discussions, music seminars and workshops.

Through P.E.A.C.E., Abe Maldonado has created a forum for parents and those within academia, providing insight on the effectiveness of integrating youth culture into education and utilizing music to engage youth, ultimately cultivating a positive force in our community.

His most popular and transformative discussions are: