FreeVibe shares a story on how he was inspired to become a rap artist

I couldn't have been more than 5 years old when I first started my love for music. My father used to play a lot of reggae and rap tunes from his radio set. Like most people, all I needed was to hear the right rhythm and I became obsessed with a song for months on end. When you're young you don't really focus on how complex a song is, but all you know is that there's something about music that just connects with a certain innermost part of you.

I became an avid listener when I was around 17 years old. Once I got my personal Walkman, I didn’t have to listen to my father’s radio set so much anymore. I would blast my favorite music at the house or in the car as we went to our high school football games. Most of the time I would crank "Only God Can Judge Me" by 2Pac to get me feel okay as I find people pointing fingers at me. Some months later, one of my friends started telling me about how he made beats, and he would play some for me as we hung out in the basement. I always thought it was so cool how it was one of my personal friends making music. I didn't have much background training in music myself, but I decided I'd give rapping a go. I knew how much I loved listening to music, I figured it would be that much more rewarding to try and make some myself.

Honestly, I don't even remember the first lines I wrote, but I knew I was hooked the minute I started. As soon as I came home from school I'd go straight to my basement and work on more tracks. I didn't even know what a key was when I started playing around with recording! But hey, we've all got to start somewhere right? I started going on Google to search for free beats for my rehearsals. Admittedly, my rapping wasn't the best at first, but I couldn't expect to be Jay-Z right out the gate, so I practiced more and more until my voice got quenched from me rehearsing so much.

Once I started getting better I decided to put my skills to the test. I setup my first page at a website called Tindeck so people could check out my music, and what do you know some people started messaging me where they could download my songs. Not only that, some people even asked if they could buy my tracks from me! I already loved making the music and now fans were willing to pay me for my work. I've never been into the fame and glory aspect of the music industry myself, but I really dug the fact that people liked my music and were willing to support me along the way. Fast forward almost a decade later and I still love it just as much today as I did when I started. I've spent countless hours trying to perfect my craft, worked several internships to hone in on my skills, and amassed a following of hundreds of listeners across the world.

But anyone can download a beat and start making music and call themselves a musician (I'm sure you've seen some). To really make professional music it takes WORK. The months spent researching, the years spent intensely writing music that touches the heart of every listener so in the millions of years to come it could still find its dwelling place in the heart of men, and the lifetime spent of perfecting a craft are all part of the process. It's the feeling of not going out on a Saturday night because I have a song I want to finish, or sitting in the studio for hours and playing back a record several times to make sure the fans will love it. I've worked with small time artists all the way up to music libraries like Audiosparx, and all of them have one thing in common, they like hearing good music. Music that can put them in any mood from joyful to relaxed to excited.

It's the listener I focus on whenever I make my music. I know all my hard work will be worthwhile when people like YOU hear my music and fall in love with something I've spent so much time trying to perfect.

So whether you're involved with music like I am or just like enjoying music through listening I thank you for being a part of my journey. Here's to YOU. I hope my music can positively impact your life and that it will continue to do so for many years. If you'd like to hear the latest piece of my journey, click below to listen to my most recent works, "Happy Birthday".

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Thank you for listening and enabling my dream to become a reality