He puts on his headphones and presses play on the computer. As soon as the beat hits his ear, the words from his soul pour out and bounce off the microphone. No matter what the world around him does, all that matters is this line, this verse, this song. 

Senior Joshua Sneed records and produces music on Soundcloud in his free time. With plays reaching over 20 thousand views, Sneed uses this creative outlet, as well as dancing, to express himself.

“The fact that [music] is a super power is why I do music,” Sneed said. “People can create something and allow it to be expressed through other people. It’s kind of something I wanted to do my whole life.”

At a young age, he saw himself imitating what he saw on TV and what played on the radio, often looking up to many of the icons in the music industry.

“Chris Brown reminds me of me in some ways,” Sneed said. “Since I first saw him, I realized how much I liked music, and he produces good content, so I wanted to be like him growing up.”

This inspiration led him on a path to combine his love of dance and his passion for producing music in his approaching stage in life.

“In the future, I plan on entertaining the world,” Sneed said. “I plan on everyone knowing about me globally, and I will probably venture into both music production and dancing because they both involve music. People need music to dance and producers create the sounds within the music, so I think I’ll do a mixture of both honestly.”

Often, the life of someone in the production and entertainment industry is corrupted and individuals try to live off of others success. 

“I try and surround myself with people that I will be around in the future,” Sneed said. “I try to be around smart and intelligent people. Mostly I spend time around those who have good spirit because the company you keep defines you as a person.”

 With the transcendency of music and the lyrics in songs, these sounds unite people all over the world with their messages and underlying meanings.

“Music is one of the main reasons I wake up,” Sneed said. “It has a lot of influence, and I feel that I can use my songs to establish my impact, good or bad.”