My name is Jordan Harris, a senior psychology major from Washington D.C/Prince George’s County, MD and I am a rapper.

Since I could speak I have always had a love for the art of rap. I remember looking up songs on AZ Lyrics before Rap Genius or Genius existed. I use to listen to 99 problems by Jay-Z on repeat for hours. Literally, just that one song over and over was enamoring. Soon my love for the art turned into me free-styling in the lunchroom of my elementary school. I got an even better feeling from seeing people react to lines than listening to the music.

I would be remiss to not mention the influence of battle rap on me. Watching Ultimate Rap League and King of the Dot growing up definitely molded my focus to lyrics, metaphors, and punchlines. What actually got me started taking rap as more than just a fun hobby was a diss track directed at Joey Bada$$. Among a few choice words his friend and Pro Era co-founder Capital STEEZ (who lost his life to suicide) was brought up. Hearing all of this made me go back and listen to STEEZ. I became a huge fan of his and got a new appreciation for rap.

In that moment, I decided to try to make the most of my talents and as well as focusing on the importance of mental health. Shortly after this, I bought a $20 mic off ebay and later that year, declared my major in psychology. Through trial and error and many SoundCloud posts, I have been working on my sound over the years. My inspiration from Capital STEEZ was purposely obvious in some of my first few posts and has slowly started to lessen.

Now, I see rap as a platform to speak on important topics like mental health especially in the Black community. Realistically, in 5 years I see myself as an independent artist touring in Europe because for some reason underground acts are very well received over there. By then, I’ll still be spreading a message through the platform — speaking on issues and bringing up important topics of discussion.

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SoundCloud Link | https://soundcloud.com/hoodie47/show-n-prove

Instagram | @iamhoodie

Twitter | @iamHOODlE