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by Nataša Kvesic |
At one point or another, many of us have dreamed of releasing a mixtape. We don’t think of the work that goes into it, though. It’s easy to look at Drake and how far he has come since he released his first mixtape and think, “Hey, if Drizzy made it from “The 6,” then I can make it Straight Outta Villa.”
In reality, there are a lot of things that go into making a mixtape: you need some kind of a creative flow, a decent producer, some good beats and a mission.
One student on campus has actually taken all of these elements and made his dream a reality.
Freshman business student Brian Yuss, known by his moniker “Prince Yuss,” decided to make his first mixtape this past summer. Yuss gained his inspiration right here on campus when he visited in the spring for Weekend on The Bluff.
“Honestly, when I started writing music was after I visited this school in April. I guess my creative side came out,” Yuss said. “I remember the first night I ever wrote [a song], I saw this sign in Portland, it said: ‘Happiness is contagious.’”
A California native, Yuss grew up surrounded by hip-hop from a wide range of artists. From the smooth sounds of Bay Area rapper G-Eazy to the emotional raps of Drake, Yuss finds his inspiration and drive to make music.
“I want to be like them but in my own way,” Yuss said. “You know, my own words and my own story.”
Yuss’ favorite rappers are known for giving shoutouts to their hometowns in their songs, or even dedicating an entire song to a city. Yuss decided to follow suit in a track titled “805,” which is the area code of his hometown, Ventura, California.
“805,” like most of his songs, was produced by his friend Will Cowgill, who goes by the rapper name “Geezel.” Cowgill has a studio at his home in California, which Yuss uses to record his music.
“I was glad to help him on his album. He is a very hardworking and determined person,” Cowgill said.
Now about that unique rapper name. Yuss knew he wanted to include his last name, but wanted to sound a bit cooler than just “Yuss.”
“I know Drake calls himself the ‘6 God’ but he actually earned that position,” Yuss said. “Calling yourself a king is too cocky so I figured to go down a notch.”
And thus, Prince Yuss was born.
Now in the process of writing his third mixtape, Yuss has a total of 37 songs under his belt. He has been writing as often as he can, started taking voice lessons and is looking for a place where he can record his music.
Yuss said that this entire process has come from his creative side, and that he takes inspiration from how people in his life treat him.
“There was this girl I met on campus and I talked to her for about an hour and a half, and I was pretty sure she like, rejected me, so I was like ‘Okay, I have to write a song about this,’” Yuss said. “A lot of things inspire my music. There are so many elements.”
You can listen to the first mixtape by Prince Yuss called “Welcome To My Throne” and his other songs right here.
Natasa Kvesic is a reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at kvesic19@up.edu.
