There is a beat reverberating through 琉璃神社鈥檚 underground rap scene that is now rising to the forefront.
Perfecting their beats, either creating them or finding them, the internet has become a catalyst for 琉璃神社 rappers to achieve their dreams of making it. Growing up in 琉璃神社, they have a west coast vibe that trickles into their vibrato and laid-back fashion sense.
Baritone rapper, finds inspiration from around the globe, from his hometown in Nigeria, to the U.K., East Coast and now the West Coast. Driven to become one of the best, he finds himself cycling through different beats minute by minute to find somewhere to put stanzas where he shares himself onto the tracks.
鈥淚 tell my story in my music, I have an outlet to grind out and just create and put that energy in something. I don鈥檛 know what it does for people yet, some people tell me they can relate, but it all comes to me putting it out there, creating in its most honest form,鈥� Ovie said.
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Using his words as a sense of therapy, he spits verses about what he is feeling moment to moment, and how he interacts with the world. How humans now interact with each other through screens has given him a tumultuous love-hate relationship with the internet.
鈥淚 go through what I feel in my songs, watching things on the internet and how it is low-key poison but also not really. When I am creating it鈥檚 done on a computer, I have multiple tabs open and it sometimes does get extremely confusing but at the same time interesting because there are a lot of different songs and concepts that I would never think of putting together and just work out of the blue, it鈥檚 a process and a half.鈥�
Instead of rapping about violence, guns and drugs, these musicians find themselves gravitating toward songs about love, personal hardships, and their daily lives.
uses his music as a portal to talk about his former life, that was shrouded by drug and alcohol dependency. Now sober, Leibel doesn鈥檛 find himself pulled back to those temptations instead, he hopes to help people that deal with the same demons he overcame with his easy to follow beats.
鈥淢y life has been a lot crazier than the average person鈥檚, I went through a long period of depression and mental illness along with addiction, I lost a lot of friends at that time. But I am sober now. It鈥檚 not hard (to stay sober) because I am already around it so much, as soon as I stopped I knew I had to stay there,鈥� Leibel said.
The comments Leibel receives from fans drive him to push himself further and keep creating and sharing his story. 琉璃神社, the city he grew up in, continually inspires him. He finds himself and new beats in nature and walks along Okanagan Lake. Leibel mashes his raw words with airy notes, slick bass drops that lifts the spirits of his fans.
Travelling regularly to Dallas, Texas the international performer and skateboarder aspires to spread his story to the world full time. The young musician is still in awe of the affect his music has on his fans, and the comments they leave him thanking him for helping them.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing, it鈥檚 the most rewarding thing for an artist or musician period,鈥� Leibel said.
Not just creating a beat that sounds good, but something where he can preach in a deep monotone,finds himself constantly turning to his muse; love.
鈥淚 am trying to do it (rapping) in my own way, not so aggressive, more laid back, I approach it from the lyric side鈥� what I have to say,鈥� Markewich said.
Constructing his urban love ballads himself Markewich prefers to write about a subject that unites all people.
鈥淚 like the way music makes me feel. It all comes together at the shows, I am able to see how people feel and what鈥檚 going on around me,鈥� Markewich said. 鈥淓veryone feels love and heartbreak, my music helps them get through all of it.鈥�
Self-taught producer, songwriter and rapper lays down tracks and weaves lyrics through them to create hooks that induce glorifying reviews from his peers.
鈥淚 create stories. There is always a fictional love story, whether or not my songs are dark and upsetting or just light,鈥� Carpenter said. 鈥淚 have found my own sound through producing my own music, I don鈥檛 look toward anyone. I like the simplicity within music and doing my own thing, that is why I have my own sound, I have never tried to be anyone else.鈥�
Every multi-layered mix Carpenter drops on his fans is a milestone for him, releasing songs he writes from a dark place. This, he says, is because he makes his best music at the expense of his own mental health, digging into raw emotions to extract the lyrics that he feels his fan base will relate to and provide him a sense of reprieve.
Carpenter is looking to create a space where he and his friends can offer music lovers an opportunity to experience the new wave of rap.
鈥溋鹆裆� has a gravitational pull on me, I keep trying to leave and there is something about it. It has a lot of potential and it has been growing in the past couple of years but for the music scene; I am still waiting for it to embellish more. I want to create something that is not just your typical rap show where people come and get drunk and can鈥檛 remember who preformed. I want to create something where I can get closer to the people.鈥�
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