I have a plethora of favorite artists - mainly musicians. I stream music daily on Spotify, and have over 3700 liked songs. That being said, one of my favorites would be the late artist Malcolm McCormick, also known as Mac Miller. The reason why I choose Mac is because he never fails to inspire me, and when I feel down, his music lifts me up - his mixtape Faces, is my favorite from his, and I’m glad they finally released it on streaming services. A few honorable mentions include Immortal Technique, MF DOOM, Isaiah Rashad, Saba, Kendrick Lamar, Nirvana, and the rest of those artists who help keep me going daily.

I made this beat with GarageBand. It is definitely a really raw beat, I could definitely add more to it, but I believe it is a good starting example of what I am capable of (especially when I am limited by using my phone to produce). A bit of background for myself: I am enrolled in FSU for the Fall term, and am currently attempting to change my major to Commercial Music. To keep it short, I love music. I just had my first music class while enrolled in Broward College through early admission, and I enjoyed it. I would love to one day produce music for a living, and I realize I need to put in the work - and I am willing to.

My everything is music - especially rap. Ever since I moved to the United States in 2016, I have expanded my horizons musically and found new songs, as well as experimented with DAWs such as GarageBand, FL Studio, and learned how to play guitar last year with no formal training. I love rap because of the feelings and the messages that many songs evoke due to the wordplay and truth in the lyrics, and the melody showcased through the pristine, creative beats. I have a long list in my head of my favorite artists, and my favorite songs change constantly to keep my listening fresh, but some of the artists that I have in my rotation heavily include the Peruvian-American rapper Immortal Technique, the late MF DOOM, and the late Mac Miller. I have been listening to Immortal Technique lately because of the power of his lyrics, and because I have been watching his interviews and realized that I agree with a lot of his ideas - in addition, I find it cool that we are both Peruvian. As for MF DOOM and Mac, their passing has made me appreciate life more in a certain sense, and I believe that they will never die because their music will keep living on forever. I find DOOM's life inspirational, and his projects are on another level, with the cleanest production and sampling (such as Madvillainy). As for Mac, I completely relish his music. Every time I feel low I can listen to his music and find motivation and inspiration - my personal favorite is his last mixtape Faces, but I greatly enjoy his entire discography, I loved Circles, and Swimming (I also find it amazing the amount of music he self-produced, really amazing). Rest in power to both of them. I will be attaching a link with all my liked songs on Spotify, this is a playlist that has songs I have been listening to on Spotify since 2015 when I had a different account connected through Facebook. It currently has a total of 3,236 songs, 196 hours of playtime.

I am not American. I am a Peruvian boy from the city of Lima, born in December of 2002. I grew up with my two brothers and my parents until they divorced in 2012, leaving me with my mom and my brothers; and, four years later, in March 2016, we moved to Florida. I will not lie and say that I did not speak a whit of English, I could write almost perfectly thanks to my school (I went to a private school, like most middle-class Peruvians in Lima, due to the weak, failing public education system), and interestingly enough I excelled in my English class before I moved, but I was still average in most of my other classes. It was only after I moved to the United States that I improved in all of my classes, and I improved my accent - when I first interacted with other Americans I felt somewhat "inferior" because of my accent. This, along with leaving all my friends behind affected my self-esteem. Nevertheless, as time passed I learned something amazing that has helped me keep my head up, which is just what I am: Peruvian. Not being born here, having an accent, and not having English as my first language made me realize that I was special, that I was different when compared to others. It helped me connect with those who looked like me and not feel alone after abandoning my past life for a new one. Music has similarly helped me - I love and cherish music, I believe it is an important part of everyone's life. I enjoy all genres, but my favorite would be Hip Hop/Rap. My understanding of English has especially helped me understand, feel, and relate to what songs express directly or indirectly. Music has uplifted me through the tough times and inspired me to keep going and never give up on my dreams, and I would love to recreate the same feelings for other people by producing music of my own. Last year I learned to play the guitar with no formal training, off of YouTube and Google tutorials, and I learned to use GarageBand to make beats. I recently purchased FL Studio, as well. In order to follow my dreams, I have enrolled in the Fall term at Florida State University as an undergraduate Freshman, and I am doing my best to switch my major to Commercial Music, to hopefully learn more about the music industry and improve my guitar skills, and meet likeminded people. In the future, aside from producing music, I would love to help people economically, physically, and mentally, first in Peru, and then in the rest of the world. I believe that everyone should be born with the same opportunities. Many people around the world could be lawyers, doctors, or mathematicians, but their surroundings hinder them from reaching that level, forcing them to consume drugs or commit crimes. I believe that the world can be changed through music and politics.

When I was younger, my self-esteem was lower, and I could not find the motivation to do much. I would constantly conceal my feelings by spending hours on hours playing video games, and, even though it might have been fun at the time, looking back, I feel like I wasted my time. Lately, after isolating for over a year due to the pandemic, and having little social contact with the rest of the world, I have had time to think about many things, practice new skills, and determine what I want to do with my future. I have learned that to love others, you must love yourself first. Likewise, when you focus on yourself and what is good for your own future, you will realize that those who do not want the best for you will fade away, and you will be left with those who only want you to be the best you can be. Living inside your head for a while can feel claustrophobic, but you must first sink to learn how to swim. Life is not constant happiness, and, like a rollercoaster, you must endure the dips and the falls before you start rising, growing, and improving. Even though I still do not have all the answers to what I want to pursue in the near future, I have a much clearer idea than I had before. I would like to pursue music because I have realized that it is one of my inspirations for going forward. I have also learned how valuable my time and my life are, after seeing the hate and the lives lost during this pandemic. Similarly, I realized that to keep on moving forward, I have to depend more on myself because if I do not, nobody will.

If money was not an issue, I would make music, travel the world, and help people any way I can. I have always loved music, ever since I was little. I remember before I started using streaming platforms, I would watch music videos on YouTube and be intrigued and the music would connect to me and make me feel at peace while motivating me at the same time. Today, music is a big part of my life; I listen to music in my free time amounted to hours daily. These last few years of high school I have not been decided as to what to pursue in my life, but as time has gone by I have been leaning towards music, and I would like to produce music in the near future. I was not born in the United States, I was born in Peru. While I lived in Peru, I had a smaller view of the world: the food was good, I lived with my mom and my grandma so I did not have a need to leave my house, I felt comfortable. When I moved to the United States, that changed since I no longer feel at home. I would like to see what it would be like if I moved back to Lima, Peru, but I know that it would probably feel different to me since I have been absent for years, and my home has and is changing every day that passes. Therefore, I would love to travel the world and discover different cultures, foods, people, and see what can be done to help these people follow their dreams, just as I would if money were no issue. Even though I mentioned that I would love to do music, I know that I could do more, and if money were no issue, I would challenge myself to do more. Since I moved to the United States, I have put effort into school as well as my part-time job, and I know that I could learn and study about ways to help the needy around the world, as well as ways to preserve our environment and to save our planet from contamination. I would do three big things: donate money to foundations as well as those who need it in poor countries, build homes and donate food to the homeless, and work with experts to halt issues such as global warming and greenhouse emissions globally.