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Student rapper turns lyrics into power

Daniel Stallings is not your average junior at FGCU. While he is a determined and optimistic psychology major, he is also an incredible rap artist. Since the age of twelve years old, Stallings has been an avid poetry writer. Over the years, his passion for hip-hop inspired him to eventually morph his skillful poetry into lyrical genius. Through his earlier years of high school, rapping was more of a hobby to gain a unique reputation. As Stallings matured, it began to weigh significantly deeper than any normal hobby. “It became the focal point of my humanity and I felt like it was the only way I could truly speak to people” Stallings said.
He explained the difficulty of posing as a traditional rapper. “In the beginning, I was stuck following trends and putting on a persona that had nothing to do with who I was” Stallings stated. He found it was too much work to keep up the image and that it placed distance between him and the people he was sharing his music with. He found it easier to speak to his audience about his actual experiences and the experiences of others that he has observed. “My music is heavily focused on mental conflicts, joys of life, and social problems” Stallings shared.
During February of Spring semester this year, Stallings met Producer Terrell Williams who is a sophomore here at Florida Gulf Coast.
“He motivates me to work harder and now I’m at the point where I find myself trying to out work him” Williams expressed. As a producer, Williams focuses on creating beats and instrumentals that would best mesh with the specific artist.
“His sound is more old school in a way” Williams noted. This was evident in their first song release, “Bri’s Jam”, that had all of Stallings’ fans and friends in excitement for what is to come.
Now, the primary goal for Stallings is to continue writing music. He believes that consistency and quality are key to maintaining relevance. From now until December 2nd, Stallings intends on releasing a new single every Monday, which his Twitter followers recognize as #PowerMondays. Starting on his birthday, September 3rd, he will be delivering a five song EP, and hopefully soon after, a mixtape called “Paid My Tithes”.
“I’m focused on creating art that people are going to be waiting for on a weekly basis.” Stallings declared. Stallings wants to be involved with as many campus activities as possible, and looking to work with ANY musical campus talent. Before graduating from FGCU he hopes to be an opening act for Eaglepalooza and Nest Fest. “The spirit of hip-hop has always spoken to me and it just feels like something I was destined to do.”
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To keep up to date with Daniel Stallings and Terrell Willams, follow them on Twitter!
Stallings: @RapIsPower Williams: @Producer_TW
Keep up with Daniel Stallings’ work on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/rapispower

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