DAVID GRAFT

It started with an embrace and a cut... I was 14 years old on that day in 2010. It was a typical February day...except for the part where I started writing songs. I had thought about wanting to be a rapper before then, but laughed it off each time. However, I looked outside of my house at my snow-covered yard and figured that I had nothing else better to do. So, I started writing. It wasn’t a dramatic event...I just started doing it to see what happened.

My initial verses were corny and pop-rap-sounding, and I became unsure of where this newfound hobby of mine was going. However, I got better, and I started to have increasing amounts of confidence in my developing skill. My conviction became so strong that in August of 2010, I began to save up money in order to buy a laptop, a condenser microphone, and miscellaneous recording equipment. In total, I spent close to $1000 on setting up a studio. I was 14 at the time; the money that I spent was money I had earned on my own. To say that I was motivated would be an understatement. I was a living fire; I was writing songs every day and recording whenever my parents were out of the house. I started producing beats around that time as well. My life became consumed by my desire to make music.

I started getting attention for my rapping about two years after that, catching the attention of a few people in my hometown of Northfield, Minnesota. I began to perform at the local hip-hop shows. At 17, I released my debut mixtape, ILLustrious. At 18, I released my debut album, The Lotus And The Overdrive, which was produced, mixed, and mastered all by myself (except for the 8th song; shout outs to C. Goody). Both projects are available for free here, and I always tell people to vibe to it. Whatever that means to you, I hope that my music means the same. May you find peace in the chaos.