“Young, fresh, lifted, gifted, blessed, nigga laughin’ cuz criticism can’t conspire success.”

A line from 3rd Dimension’s new single “YFN”, which has reached nearly 30,000 views on YouTube, helps illustrate how five best friends from the University of Wisconsin have made it to where they are today by working hard and telling their stories through rhyme.

The group has fluctuated in size over the years, but now has five core members, in addition to their producer, Nick “Burn” Sampson.

Brooks Jackson (Emcee) is the founder of 3rd Dimension, and Armani Davis (Probs), James Golden (Spaz) and Lateef Cameron (Rico) joined the group as juniors in high school, having known each other since childhood. Jacques Wesley (Half Breed) joined the group when he met Davis upon the start of his freshman year at UW.

“We are raw, young people right now,” Cameron said. “As young writers, performers, artists, we just try to channel the energy of what we are going through and what we see around us and how we can make you relate to that.”

This tight group of guys is unique because they are not interested in having a distinct leader, but rather maintaining a group where all members are talented on their own and equally contribute to the group’s successes. This dedication involves practice.

“It’s definitely like a different extracurricular,” Davis said. “Some people have organizations that they’re a part of, and 3rd Dimension is like one of our organizations. So we feel like we have to set aside time for it, and we’re really dedicated to it.”

The perfect recipe for a rap contains high-quality lyrics and beats, but what reaches 3rd Dimension listeners on a more personal level is the message the group sends through its members’ words.

“Our music is pretty much inspired by our lives and what we’ve gone through and what’s going on around us,” Davis said. “I feel like people that are close to us in age can really relate to it because we paint such a good picture.” Wesley piped in with, “Whatever you can think of, we probably rap about it.”

In addition to their own lives, the group is inspired by many infamous hip-hop superstars, including Tupac, Jay-Z, Biggie, Ludacris and Kanye West.

“It wouldn’t be a complete picture to say that there are just a couple artists that we are inspired by,” Wesley said. “Can you even think about all of the artists that you’ve known, where you might have liked their song? I think you take a little something from each one of them.”

Although all of 3rd Dimension’s members are rappers, they find ways to contribute to different aspects of production to make things sound their best. Sometimes this means hearing what one of their group members has been working on and dishing out a little constructive criticism until everyone agrees on a final sound.

“Some of us like to mix the vocals after we record a session,” Cameron said. “We’ll go back and tweak the verses and add and delete stuff and then some of us like to direct the videos that we do. We also have a photographer and a producer that make the beats. So we got a whole team going.”

The group’s first live shows were at birthday parties and they initially sold their CDs at school, but the rappers are starting to get out and perform at bigger venues and gain popularity online. Thus far they have performed at UW-Whitewater, UW-La Crosse and other acts around the Madison area. Their next big show will be a performance at this summer’s Brat Fest. While their success is just beginning to find its voice, they have had a taste of what it feels like to perform in front of a crowd.

“I just love when I’m putting so much energy and effort into [rapping]. I can just look out into the crowd and see that they’re loving it just as much as I’m trying to make them love it,” Davis said.

The group’s last project was titled “Enough Isn’t Enough” and the mix tape they are working on now is called “University Ave.” They have produced more than 100 songs in the past two years alone and are keeping busy. When asking what was next for the group, two things were blurted out: “progress” and “big things.”

“I really believe in us,” Cameron said. “I feel like with the talent that we have and the music that we make, we are gonna do something. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s gonna be something big.”

Stay tuned into 3rd Dimension’s progress by following them on Twitter (@3rddimension) or liking them on Facebook (Facebook.com/3dMusix).