SteveYoung

One of my earliest encounters with hip hop was, “N 2 Gether Now,” a song featuring Method Man on one of my older sister’s Limp Bizkit albums. From there I branched out to artists like Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, and Missy Elliot, who had me enthralled during my late 90’s adolescence. As I grew up I began to internalize concepts from lyrics by Lil’ Wayne, 50 Cent, and many others who inspired me to write braggadocios lyrics which illustrated my involvement with money, women, and drugs.
All of which were lies..

As a young teen, my parents forbid me from going to a 50 cent concert. But when I entered my first semester at Temple University I attended a show that completely altered my perspective on hip hop. It was a free concert during welcome week; and it was the first my ears had ever heard of the rapper, Common. His performance was electrifying, and his lyrics contained positive subject matter. Through his words and stories he would delve into current events and his own personal life, which is something that would eventually inspire the young MC within me.

That show is what first led me to dig and discover classic, old school hip hop artists. And then, I began exposing myself to contemporary hip hop artists who had updated styles while maintaining the same loyalty to the craft. Common quickly became my favorite artist and one of the most significantly influential figures on my own music. And as such, my stories began to reflect the realities of my personal life, and the experiences I was going through as a maturing, young adult.