Marching to his own Beats

From his modest beginnings of writing poetry to his breakthrough in the rap music industry, David E Beats has always had a desire to be the best. Hailing from Washington, Beats made significant strides in the music industry when he released his first mixtape, David E Beats BLVD, a fusion of hip-hop, R&B and rock.

Having been in the underground rap scene for several years, the 21-year-old Beats has emerged as an artist with a variety of musical influences. Speaking about his musically diverse background, Beats noted, "You can say I have been inspired by everyone. I want to be like everyone I look up to."

And there are plenty of individuals from whom Beats draws his inspiration. Rattling off names such as Nirvana, Metallica, Swizz Beats and Fefe Dobson, David E Beats believes his eclectic taste in music has contributed to his early success.

With such numerous influences, Beats' initial projects and performances have combined grunge, classical and rock music, leading to a vibrant sound that familiar listeners may notice resembles the work of Kanye West. Clearly, Beats has emulated many of the characteristics of his idol's work by incorporating a unique combination of instrumentals into his music.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the newly released single "Over Here" from his upcoming album Exit, which utilizes both guitar and violin solos. For Beats, though, the lyrical quality of his music has as much importance as his unique sound does.

Strong lyrics, according to Beats, can capture the audience. For this reason, Beats has followed in the footsteps of his role models and meticulously crafted lyrics possessing a soulful power.

"When it comes to music, I'm playing guitar," Beats said. "I make things everybody likes. At the end of the day, my job is to entertain, to turn heads and invoke a certain type of mood. Usually, when I'm writing, I'm conscious about how people will feel."

For Beats, songwriting comes easily. As a child growing up in the northeast corridor of Washington, Beats spent his time writing poetry, painting and playing the flute. Having combined his childhood passion of writing poetry with his artistic flair, Beats feels his lyrics possess a sincerity that carries universal appeal.

"I used to do poetry and music separately," he said of his earlier years. "Now I have combined them both."

Surprisingly, Beats was not exposed to rap music until the age of 15.

"I grew up not even knowing what rap was," Beats said. "I grew up listening to Michael Jackson and Aretha Franklin. That's what my parents played around me. My first rap album was Jay-Z's The Blueprint, which I bought when I was in high school because all my friends were talking about it... From then on, I was hooked."

From there, Beats' artistic trajectory took a drastic turn as he aggressively pursued a career in the rap industry. Despite his young age, Beats has set high ambitions for himself not only as an artist but also as a producer. He has worked on rap albums with other artists but has also branched out by producing the projects of indie rock bands and guitarists.

"My long-term goal is to be the best — period," he said. "I want to be everything I ever wanted to be. I want to be ranked among the best musicians out there."

At the same time, though, the young rapper acknowledges the difficulty of achieving what he has.

"The industry can be very treacherous, but you really have to have passion for what you do in order to get as far as I've gotten."

sthaper@umd.edu