There may be studios more glamorous than a dorm room in Sellery Hall, but for the aptly named Dorm Room Studios, this space serves them just fine.
“It’s an enclosed room so it’s actually kind of convenient,” Emik Vayts, producer and University of Wisconsin computer engineering freshman, said.
Vayts joins Zion Richardson, UW freshman in industrial engineering, and Lamont Wallace, a UW freshman in pre-pharmacy, to form the trio.
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While all three create raps for their tracks, Vayts produces the beats, drawing on inspirations ranging from old school hip-hop to Miles Davis and Pink Floyd. Of course, the UW environment allows for some unexpected inspirations as well.
“We were freestyling and all of a sudden it was quiet hours and the RA knocked on the door and asked us to keep our music down. We ended up sampling it on the track,” Wallace said when discussing the story behind his favorite track, “Quiet Hours.”
“Quiet Hours” is one of the five tracks currently released on the group’s SoundCloud since last semester. Each track has garnered more than one thousand listens, a testament to the act’s growing popularity.
The group, however, shines in its debut music video, “That Ass Was Fat,” which was released last month. Featuring ample shots of the Bucky statue in Alumni Park, rides on the 80 and an amusing story about twins named Sally and Ally, the video is a certified campus-centric bop. Each rapper has a verse on the track, all of which end with the phrase “that ass was fat,” creating a perfect segway into a repetitive but hyped chorus.
“When Lamont and I used to freestyle back home, whenever we didn’t have something to say, we used to say ‘that ass was fat.’ We used it at a party at the Palisades and there was a really rocking vibe in the energy that we got so we thought we might as well make it a song,” Richardson said.
This energy is evident throughout the video, as crowds gathered at The Hub and on the ice at Lake Mendota while nodding their heads along to the good vibes found in the song.
Even as the group finds more success following the release of their video, they know that creating music is not at the top of their priorities. They’re students first and foremost, but they still find music as a useful complement to their studies.
“We didn’t come here to be rappers — we came here to get a degree. At the end of the day, the music actually helps with time management and productivity. I’ll tell myself ‘I’ll study for four hours and then dedicate the rest of my time toward music,’” Richardson said.
Once midterms are through, expect to see more tracks and surprise videos from the group. The group also hopes to have a concert in Madison prior to the end of semester and release merchandise. Next fall, look out for a video for their track “Gameday,” which is sure to pump up Badgers for football season.
