Eric LiBassi was 12 when he and his older brother Jake LiBassi recorded their first song together. They did a remix of “A Milli” by Lil Wayne.

“But it was definitely a joke,” Jake said.

At just 7 or 8 years old, Eric was already listening to the music his older brother was listening to, which he admits now may have been too aggressive for such a young kid. But he was introduced to artists like Lil Wayne and Kid Cudi, and from there developed his own taste and individual ear.

Now, LiBassi is pursing his personal musical interests. He recently played at Spark Contemporary Art Space, with other musicians including DJs, singers and students in the Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries.

LiBassi, a sophomore currently undergoing the application process to be a communication and rhetorical studies major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, classifies his music as old-school rap and hip-hop, but not in a Run D.M.C. type of way.

The Spark show was only LiBassi’s second performance ever. He said he was extremely happy with the feedback audience members gave him after the show.

Although LiBassi recognizes current-day rap, a style he has labeled “turn-up music,” can be fun to listen to at parties, he likes how rap music 10 years ago had more substance, and he wants to bring that back again.

“If I wasn’t here and I wasn’t going to parties, I just wouldn’t hear that music. It’s really corny, and I hope it’s not around in five years,” LiBassi said.

Instead, he’s more interested in the music that was made around 2008, and would compare his sound to that of Lupe Fiasco, Joey Badass and J. Cole. The rapper enjoys listening to whole projects as opposed to individual songs and that is what he currently working on: a project of 10-12 songs.

LiBassi finds a lot of his inspiration in his family and where he grew up, in the city of Boston. He said the area where he was raised isn’t the nicest area, so his mother put him in a private school, which was a very different experience for him. The project is going to also include interludes and skits, along with a voice-over of his mom yelling at him when he gets in trouble.

All throughout high school, LiBassi took drum lessons and began writing music around the same time. When he transitioned from a public middle school to private high school, he kept writing but didn’t share his music with anyone, thinking his new friends wouldn’t be able to relate.

When he started at Syracuse University, LiBassi became more persistent with making music. He started out using voice memos in his dorm room, and then that turned into recording random music just for fun. From just messing around, he cultivated a couple of song ideas, got a microphone and began recording songs in his room.

When he’s home in Boston, he records in his basement, which he and his brother have transformed into a small studio. His brother Jake, an SU alumnus, is learning how to be a music engineer and has been willingly helping his brother with his music, along with working on music of his own. They hope to release a collaborative project — Jake’s beats with Eric’s vocals — once Eric releases the project he’s working on.

“He’s my best friend. But music has definitely pulled us closer. There’s nothing that I love more than sharing/creating music with people are just as passionate about it as me,” Jake said. “And he sees music from a different perspective, which makes it a much more interesting experience.”

This year, Eric LiBassi’s fraternity brother, Jesse Segaul, has set up a recording studio in his house. Segaul, a junior television, radio and film major, lives below LiBassi and has been housing his recording equipment.

“I think I have a pretty good ear and I have an idea of what he is trying to do, so I help out with writing and ways he can make his sound unique,” Segaul said.

LiBaissi’s project will not be released until it can be recorded in a better studio. If he’s not in his basement, LiBassi likes to record at the Art Institute of Boston.

Even with only one song released, “Small Hearts,” LiBassi is getting on the radar. “Small Hearts” has over 14,000 plays on SoundCloud and besides his performance at Spark just last week, he played at the Great New York State Fair this year.

Published on October 25, 2016 at 7:42 pm

Contact: lmeyers@syr.edu