Spreading the music past the Boulevard

It was during a particularly long, boring history class last year when juniors Jessi Douglas and Nick Warmington decided to produce a rap album together. The hour and a new block flew by as the two wrote their lyrics, matching them to beats and rapping them aloud.

In almost no time, their school desks turned into microphones in a recording studio and the two were laying down tracks under their rapper names, The Young Jay and HB The Lost Son.

While most Blazers are thinking about college and their futures, some Blazers, like Douglas and Warmington, are already buying the groundwork for futures in the music industry. It takes a whole lot of dedication and talent to produce music in such a competitive business, especially for under-age students, according to Ben Garlack, a representative of Roktapus Recording Studios in Silver Spring. Yet despite the obstacles of being students, Blazers are successfully exploring their hobbies and potential futures by selling their CD demos and getting a head start on spreading their musical talents.

Beats and audio files

After spending months writing their music and a couple of days at Roktapus Studios in Silver Spring recording it, Douglas and Warmington sold their prized CD entitled "First Impression."

Junior David Joseph often provides Douglas and Warmington with his own background beat composition. Joseph's talent lies in the instrumental aspect of music-making. "I don't rap; I make it all on my computer," he says, referring to the original beats he composes using electronic equipment.

Junior Brian Kesten also composes his own beats that become the canvas for his lyrics. Whenever he gets a melody inside his head that he can't translate to a keyboard, he sings it to junior Joe Lorenz, who can then play the notes on an electric piano. The keyboard is plugged into a computer, and a midi file converts the notes to mimic any synthesized instrument or sound that they desire.

Other types of computer software allow for more high tech effects using already produced music. Kesten sometimes uses his computer software to transform rock or classical music into hip hop music by speeding up the tempo and adding a background beat. "For example," Kesten explains, "we took 'Play That Funky Music White Boy,' sped it up, and changed the drums on it." Kesten says he will use any effect from mainstream songs to synthesized beats to give his compositions "that extra pizzazz."

To create his own feel in his music, Joseph sometimes merges pieces of old songs, melodies he plays on his organ and even music from a video game to make a new, unique composition.

Still there are other Blazers that take on the entire process of producing the beats and rapping over them, like Kesten. Kesten prefers to create his own beats and audio. "I don't like getting a beat from someone - it is like cutting and pasting. When the whole product is made by you, it is so fulfilling and complete when you're done and you're listening to it," he says.

Feeling the beat

For these Blazers, their final products require hours of dedication and motivation that was influenced by their friends, family and culture. Growing up, Douglas was surrounded by music within his family, especially his father's jazz music. Because music is "a key to his black culture," Douglas believes that it was inevitable for him to get involved with music.

For Joseph, the influence of his friends' involvement in music rubbed off on him. Joseph decided audio wasn't his strong point, and but he wanted to be involved in music. After his friends introduced him to the beat producing aspect of music, Joseph was making beats on anything he could.

It has been a year now since Joseph first started accumulating beats, and his passion for producing has gradually grown stronger. "I am expressing myself and letting out my personality whenever I make music," he says.

Music diffusion

Once a demo is produced either in a recording studio or on a computer, the next step is to release the music to the public. After selling twenty copies of their first CD to their friends and family, Douglas and Warmington are looking forward to the release of their upcoming solo albums and mix tapes. "We didn't know what we were doing before, but now we do, and we're going to make more of a profit this time around," says Warmington.

Joseph is also gaining experience with each beat he sells. Recently he sold a beat for $60 to a friend, which he says is relatively inexpensive. Still, he recognizes that it was an appropriate price for his current level of talent. "It was a good beat," Joseph says, "but it wasn't perfect."

There are many other obstacles that stand in the way of success in the music business, especially for a high school student. Being under both 18 and 21 limits the methods through which an artist can publicize their music. According to Garlack, those age restrictions prevent students from getting their music into clubs and other over-age events where new artists usually find their followings. In addition, audiences and professional record labels tend not to take students very seriously, says Garlack.

Douglas and Warmington agree with Garlack. "It is a disadvantage being younger - you have to earn your respect," Warmington says.

Still, Garlack believes that by getting music recorded and heard now, these Blazers are getting a head start over those who wait.

Making it past the Boulevard

Kesten believes that there is an advantage of releasing demos in high school first, especially in a large school like Blair, as there is a great wealth of people that are available audiences everyday. After graduation, however, the opportunity and ability to reach a wide variety of audiences opens up on a much greater scale, senior Lawrence Lyons explains. "With all of my school work, my music sometimes goes on the back burner," he says.

Being successful in the music industry takes dedicated hard work, says Garlack, while he encourages that it can be worth it. "There is no reason why students can't be as successful as anyone else if they really want to make it," Garlack insists.

Warmington hopes to explore the technical side of producing that and have a career in rapping. Joseph hopes to persevere with producing as a prospective occupation as long as he continues to have a receptive audience.

Still, whether these Blazers are exploring their music hobby or shooting for future careers in the music business, they all have a similar purpose. "Our passion is music," Kesten says. "We're just trying to get out a good product that we and other people can enjoy listening to."