Artist Statement:
I’ve always been a fan of hip hop. I listen to a wide variety of artists in the genre, ranging from newer artists like Tyler the Creator, Asap Rocky and Mac Miller, to J. Cole, Biggie Smalls, and Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick was one of the first creators in hip hop I started listening to and my favorite album of his is Good Kid Maad City. When Given the opportunity to make my own cover of a song, the prospect of doing a rap piece stood out to me. I had never done a cover of a rap song before and I wanted it to be a song I knew well. Eventually that decision fell on the song Drank, one of my favorites off the album. The recording process was a little challenging as I had not recorded digital audio from my electric kit before. I started by doing a rough transcription of the piece, only outlining specific song changes or riffs I wanted to hit, however most of it was improvised. When I felt ready to record, I ran the drum brain through an audio interface then into my computer so I could get a cleaner sound. After a couple takes I settled on one I liked and I was done. To be completely honest the project wasn’t some of my best work, but I’m glad I had the chance to expand my creative horizons and branch out into a new genre of drumming.
