617 Hip-Hop

On June 28th, we did a live interview with LOC. discussing his music journey. Use the link below to watch! https://www.instagram.com/tv/CB_5fuInZHO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

As a young kid Jack Karowak would always write music, by the age of 10, he really started to fill up his notebook and started to think of rap names. By the time he was 14, he started to record. He mentioned “ I was really inspired by people like Biggie, Nas, Mos def, and Ye. I was huge on the New York boom bap sound and the cinematic soundscape quality that ye provided with projects like graduation. Also I was obsessed with the movie School of rock. Seeing a bunch of kids tear shit up like that had me like “fuck I wanna do that”. I used to have dreams about showing up to school the next day and it was all about rap.”  Jack has been able to release songs such as “Home” and “All My Life,” which combine for over 150,000 streams on SoundCloud. This has led Jack to receive some label offers and be able to sit in meetings with some of the people who helped push the sounds of his childhood. He also mentions “what I’d consider to be my biggest opportunities are the collaborati

Maye Star’s parents met when they were working at WILD 1090AM radio, which was one of the only black owned radio stations in Boston at the time they met. Maye Star’s dad was always heavily involved in the radio station, whether it was music or sports, Maye Star was always around the studio. His craft originally started with singing and poetry, as he was heavily involved with choirs as a kid. Music is what Maye Star knows best. He has been rapping for almost 10 years and recently he released a short film titled “Trauma.” In Maye Star’s short film “Trauma,” he is able to capture his emotions. When describing the process of creating the film, he said “there was a lot to write. I was really trying to capture those emotions and make sure to articulate how I’m feeling the correct way. It started getting out of hand on the media, but it’s been out of hand in these streets and my community. Now everything is getting crazy since the death of George Floyd, once that happened it was hard to

Once Justin Clancy listened to the album “Get Rich or Die Trying,” he knew he wanted to rap. At the age of 8, Justin started writing music. He mentioned, “as a kid, I used to have a little Yamaha keyboard with specs on it that would give me a metronome and a drum beat.” This keyboard helped Justin with his writing skills and has helped get him to the position he is at today. When Justin was 15, he would travel into Boston for ciphers where he would freestyle with other local artists.  This past October, Justin decided to move from Boston to LA. He mentioned that the transition was not the transition was not the easiest. He decided on LA as he realized “In Boston, outside of social media there is such a ceiling to hit, and once you hit that certain ceiling it's like it's time to go where you can go some more, in LA there is so much growth to be done.” He also mentioned that you also don’t have to leave the city to make it, Justin continues to say “don’t get me wrong with th

J Wavy didn’t grow up with a lot. He says, “My mom, my sister and I used to live in a shelter when I was like 7. We couldn’t always eat. I remember going to sleep hungry sometimes when my mom couldn’t provide. One time we had to use the oven as heat just so the crib could get warm whenever it was cold.” As a freshman in high school, J Wavy found music. Music was J Wavy’s escape. He would go to the studio regularly and quickly discovered his sound. Since then, he has released songs such as “Slide Thru,” “Company,” and “Thru It (Clueless) featuring Kingfrom98.”  As a kid, J Wavy never had anyone truly inspire him, but he had role models in music. He named artists such as Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Ne-Yo, Justin Bieber, and he would listen to a lot of Spanish music. The artist who had the most significant impact on J Wavy was A-Boogie. He said, “Soon as I got older around 13 or 14, I started fucking with a boogie wit da hoodie heavy. His sound is just different from ever

Meech is a part of Van Buren Records, one of the most known groups in the Boston area. However, Van Buren is more than just a rap group; they are a family. This past November, they were able to open for Cousin Stizz at the House of Blues. Meech describes the experience saying, “That shit was a moment that made me really believe in myself and my homies; this is what I’m meant to do. Really can’t wait to perform again, and travel the world putting on shows for supporters of our growing movement. It’s liberating.” When Meech first started rapping, he was in high school. He would write and freestyle. He recollects his older brother having “burnt CD’s of artists like Young Jeezy, 50 Cent, Jay Z. That really influenced me to start making music and study the craft, the greatest choice I’ve ever made.” He also mentions some artists who were inspired Meech and helped him get through tough times as a kid. Those artists are Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Kanye, Lil Wayne, Jeezy, and Big Sean. He als

Part of Boston Magazine's Power 100, a Boston Music Award Winner, Professor at Berklee, and slated to play Boston Calling 2020 is an impressive resume. That resume is exactly what Cliff Notez has, and you can add more to it. Cliff Notez was always singing in choirs as a young kid, but mentions "I got my first beat program when I was 9 or 10, and that's when I was also recording on like tape and banging on drums." Music was also a norm in Cliff Notez's family; he talked about how his family was very into basketball and their religion. He mentions, "A large part of my family is very heavily into basketball, but what was really interesting for me as I grew up, that part of the family was also pretty religious, and they are also all musicians as well, and that's coming from the church. So seeing my uncles who were really dope at basketball command entire crowds as artists made me realize, "oh I can do both of these things." After g

At only 18 years old, Seefour opened for artists such as Tyga, Clinton Sparks, Jay Rock, and Reason at one of Boston’s new music venues Big Night Live and the Middle East. Music has always been a part of Seefour’s life; he mentions, “I remember being 6/7 years old singing Ray Charles “Mess Around” in my mother’s work van.” Seefour started to make his music at the age of 12, and the next year he began to record it professionally. When it comes to inspiration, Seefour looks at his own life and his personality. Seefour says, “My cousin that passed did music as well, and that fuels me a lot. Wanting a better life for myself is another one I want to live my life through my dream and still say something before I go. Like a prophet. When it comes down to the artist, I listen to everything from Funk, Jazz, Hip Hop, Pop, Rock, so inspiration comes from everywhere on the musical side.” When it comes to his music, Seefour is known for his versatility and stage pre

As an artist, John Batista wants to be one that puts meaning into each of his songs. He is inspired by artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., Joey Bada$$, J. Cole, and A Tribe Called Quest. The Notorious B.I.G. most inspired him; he goes on to say, “The Notorious B.I.G. The way he was able to spit and put imagery so vividly in your head was mind blowing to me! Biggie made me want to story tell and make people feel with my music. He made me realize just how powerful music was. It’s a power I want to obtain.” John Batista started rapping in 2015 with a few close friends. They initially started by satire rapping, but soon realized they could take it seriously. Since then, John Batista has released songs such as “KING JOHN” and “NECESSITIES.”  When it comes to releasing his music, John Batista takes a quality over quantity approach. He mentions, “ I would rather spend a year on one song than putting out 200 mediocre tracks just for the sake of saying I have more s

Shortly after he graduated high school, Jake The Shooter decided to move to LA. He described the transition from Massachusetts to LA as “honestly pretty easy. Of course I miss my family and friends back home in Mass but I love living and being in LA for the people and opportunity it has brought me. I couldn’t see myself located anywhere else for the next few years.” He started making videos with his brother at the age of 14. They would make videos of each other long-boarding downhills and then post them on YouTube. By the time Jake The Shooter was 17, he knew he wanted to pursue a career in Videography. He said, “I was still in high school and didn’t know what path to take but I knew I had a strong passion for creating videos and people would tell me I was good at it.” Jake The Shooter has been able to work with some of the biggest names in the rap industry. They are A-Boogie, Kodak Black, Lil Tjay, Pnb Rock, Lil skies, Bia, Rapta, and Smooky MarGielaa. Jake has been able

With songs such as “On The Floor '' and “224 Love featuring Yung Sebby,” Young Trizzley has been able to get himself noticed by artists such as SIRKING and traedakidd. Young Trizzley has only been rapping since last summer and has a lot for his fans to be excited about. He has an EP titled “Dark Hour,” which is dropping very soon. On this EP, Young Trizzley will express himself and talk about past experiences from his life. When describing his music, Young Trizzley says, “I’m really versatile and have different flows.” Even with the few songs he has released, you can hear how his songs have a strong meaning behind them and show off his multifaceted talent. Young Trizzley has always kept the people around him very tight-knit. He credits his cousin Amanda, as well as his friend Sebastian for inspiring him to rap. He is also grateful to have his friend Winmard by his side, as he has helped him a lot since he started rapping. With the attention, Young Trizzley has already re

Before moving to Massachusetts, Big Finny used to live in Northern Virginia. At that time, he was 12 years old. He enrolled in a School of Rock program where “kids advance their abilities to sing or play an instrument through lessons that come with the program. Then the kids rehearse a themed setlist of already written songs, so in other words covers. After a number of times kids are given the opportunity to perform on stage at various venues.” Big Finny started as a singer but decided to move to the drums. It was at that time where he met a few aspiring rappers who were 25-26 years old. The day Big Finny chose to bring his basic studio over to the rapper's house, he started to fall in love with rap. He began to make covers, and his friends encouraged him to keep pursuing rap.  Since Big Finny has moved to Massachusetts, he has dropped out of school to pursue his dream full time. Because he dropped out of school, he has opened up so much more time to work on his craft. Big Fin

“Oooowwweeeee!” is a signature sound that you will hear in almost every OG Swaggerdick song. OG Swaggerdick started to record music towards the end of 2011, but mentioned: “it started off as a joke.” However, OG Swaggerdick decided to take music seriously and has released songs such as “Super Sonic” and “Fuck Donald Trump,” which have combined for over 900,000 streams on Spotify. In August 2019, OG Swaggerdick released “Views from the Dick” and was hosted by comedian Eric Andre and featured songs such as “London” and “Big Dip (Get the Guap)” An artist that made OG Swaggerdick realize he could say anything while rapping was Lil B, but Lil B wasn’t the only person who inspired him to rap. OG Swaggerdick credits Tyler the Creator, A$AP Mob, and his cousins. OG Swaggerdick described his first time writing music saying, “I was having fun freestyling, so when I was in the studio with my cousin’s I just started writing one day cause why not.”   When OG Swaggerdick described his music,

In light of the recent events happening across America, I wanted to send my condolences to the family of George Floyd. The actions by the police officers were disgusting and an abuse of power. Rest in peace George Floyd. Below is a link to help the Black Lives Matter movement: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

Lizzle4 is more than just an artist. He is a leader. He is a teacher, coach, and has a master’s degree in educational leadership. Lizzle4 wrote his first song in 5th grade. One of his teachers, who is also one of his mentors named Terry West, used to freestyle for his students. That inspired Lizzle4 to go home and “write some bars for him.” Lizzle4 says, “I rapped my bars, and everyone went crazy, and from that moment, I knew I wanted to continue to learn about music.” Outside of him rapping to his teacher and classmates, Lizzle4 is inspired by other artists such as Jay-Z, DMX, Meek Mill, Drake, and Lil Wayne. He also credits himself for starting to rap. Lizzle4 has believed in himself, which gave him the motivation to rap and continue to make music.   So far, in Lizzle4’s career, he has released one album as well as other hit songs. The album was titled “Ocean View” and has over 400,000 streams on SoundCloud. One of the songs that wasn’t on the album was “Here To Stay,

Inspired by 50 Cent, G-Unit, Eminem, and Shady Records, B.Day decided to start making music at the age of 18. Since then he has released songs such as “Tryna Do” featuring Nino Man and “Where You Been At.” These songs have accumulated over 20,000 listens on the streaming platforms they are available on.  When asked about his music, B.Day emphasized how he really likes to “rap the truth” and he is able to “say what I mean and what I want to say.” Throughout his career, B.Day has been able to work with Nino man which he says is his biggest opportunity in music so far. B.Day plans on expanding his audience in the near future as he says everyone should “expect bigger and better” from him. B.Day has been able to build a lot of connections through his time in the music industry. He is glad to have made one with Kaseek Ortiz as they look to each other to help better themselves as artists. B.Day is excited for what he has in store in the future and he hopes to continue to make more conn