The studio was dark, only lit with colorful Christmas lights. It was hot and muggy from the amount of focus that was happening within his mind. The music produced was playing in the back, not loud but definitely not quiet. He pounded his fist against the desk as he continued to try to read the lyrics correctly, exactly on the beat and with the rhythm.

This year, senior Nick Acosta was producing his new song for all to hear. The studio was where he had produced the last 5 songs he had written, and it was a place he really enjoyed spending time in.

“When it comes to the studio it’s all me; it’s a one man job… You learn this is how you make a beat, this is how the microphones work, this is how monitors work- very basic stuff. But when it comes to the software for making beats, it’s a very long process… it’s not an easy process and it takes a lot of time to think of a really good beat to make,” Nick Acosta explained.

Music has been a way for Acosta to express his feelings on certain topics, including overdoses on a drug called Xanax in his latest song, Xanny World, and let out feelings. His music has become well known, receiving more than 15k views on SoundCloud, which is one of the many places he posts his music to the public. He is encouraged and looked up to by many of his peers and friends, he would like to continue producing music in the future.

Inspiration

Acosta started becoming interested in rap when he was introduced to Jay-Z, a world-famous rapper. Jay-Z was an inspiration to Acosta specifically because he had produced a song with Justin Timberlake called Holy Grail. Holy Grail inspired him because it was similar to his style of rap and it told a story.

“He was telling himself what he really loves and hates at the same time… that’s what I’m really good at. Anybody is good at telling anybody what they’re good at, what they like and what they don’t… I’m really good at writing lyrics in a rap form,” Acosta explained.

Starting Out

Acosta started producing rap/hip-hop music in his freshman year. He started off making music to tell stories, which is something he enjoys doing. He spent his time during lunch in freshman year rapping with his friends.

“It all started in the cafeteria when my friends were just free styling and then all of the sudden they’re just like ‘Yo, Nick you gotta get into this freestyle’ and so I did an old 90’s flow… now I’ve kinda progressed from there to a professional rapper,” Acosta said.

Progress and Performing

Acosta had been working a long time to perform on a real stage in front of a real audience when he got the chance to. He was able to contact a company that helped him book a spot in Minneapolis and he performed for a crowd of about 200 people. Before he went on stage, he was nervous and almost doubtful of how he would do, but he pushed through and was successful during his performance.

“Last year in February I did a show at the Red Sea Bar… That was a really good experience, I was nervous, I couldn’t focus, I was shaking a little bit thinking ‘this is my first concert what are these people going to think of my music’ because this is not the type of music these people listen to…The energy of the crowd was pretty intense. They were really loving the music,” Acosta said.

Now

Acosta’s new single, Xanny World, came out on Dec 7th, and since then has received more than 15k views on SoundCloud, with his friends and his past backing him up. He wrote the song to tell about the horrible effects of Xanax on the human body. Xanax is known to be more addicting than one of the most addicting, heroin.

“Xanny World is my favorite song so far because it’s a very important topic to me… The chorus to it is really good… The song was inspired because of the rapper Lil Peep dying, and I had heard that an old friend of mine had just passed away about a month ago because of [Xanax], which was rough because I knew that kid in elementary school. I felt like I needed to address the issue,” Acosta explained.

Today, Nick is continuing to work to make his music better and to continue to write and produce music his audience will love. He has worked hard since his freshman year to deliver the best of the best to the people who want to hear his music, and has been successful. He hopes to be able to perform more in the future and he wants his music to impact the world. He wants his music to touch the hearts of everyone out there, in any way possible.

“I want to get to that level where I can inspire kids, or inspire people to do well… and I can talk about what I believe in as a Christian, and explain stories that I’ve been through so that people will know where ‘this kid comes from and he can do a lot of incredible things’”, Acosta said.