Justin Drayton hopes to find himself at the forefront of rappers from the Boston area in the years to come.
“Not too many artists have made it big out of Boston, but within the next couple of years, I feel like all that’s going to change,” said Drayton, a senior.
With four mix-tapes under his belt already and a burgeoning relationship with the independent Boston based label ‘Crazze House Productions,’ Drayton has certainly found his niche.
He began writing lyrics in fourth grade, recording for the first time under the name Justin Sketch when he was just 9 years old.
“From there, I knew what I wanted to be when I got older. I was greatly influenced at the beginning stages of my music life by 50 Cent and the child superstars Lil’ Romeo and Lil’ Bow Wow,” said Drayton. “I really looked up to them because they weren’t much older than I was and they had everything they wanted whenever they wanted it.”
As Drayton matured, he was attracted to more in the rap industry than just money and fame.
“As I started rapping more and more, I began to understand that it wasn’t only about the rewards in the end,” said Drayton.
Drayton found that the drafting and preparation of lyrics and songs, a laborious and perfectionist process, “is actually the most fun thing for me to do. And I love it.”
He also knows his strengths.
“My strongest musical talent is free-styling,” he said. “That means improvising and not knowing what to say next. Basically just flowing with it and using things around me to help me keep flowing.”
Undoubtedly a talented verbal improviser, Drayton looks to be more than a brilliantly fast rhythmic speaker.
“There is a common theme with my lyrics. I try to be as meaningful and tight as possible,” said Drayton. “Matching up every word in every line so that it rhymes perfectly with the line used before. I also like to include a lot of punch lines and metaphors to keep the attention of my listeners.”
Drayton manages to rap with uniquely clear-cut pronunciation without sounding verbose and choppy. Though proud of his accomplishments, Drayton remains reclusive about performing live.
“I have performed a few times this year with some small gatherings, but I’m not looking to do any major performances until I feel that I’m 100 percent ready, developed and have a name that a good number of people know about,” he said. “That way when the time does come for me to start performing, people will already know that I’m legit.”
Drayton has collaborated with seniors Gabe “DJ Burn” Byrne, Ben “Ben Jamin” Notelovitz, Duncan “Dunk” Johnson, Jon Mande and Alex Kamb, along with junior Corbin Eichner on various projects, ranging from song collaborations and remixes to a music video of J-Sketch rap battling his clone on a couch.
“There’s way too many to list, but I’d like to thank anyone and everyone that has been a part of my music development for the past year and I look forward to continue working with all of you.”
Ben Berke can be contacted at [email protected]
