Hello my name is Alessandro and today I will be talking about a very important time in my life. I was a junior in high school, around sixteen years of age. It was sort of a crossroads for me; I was very lazy and underachieving in high school, I had recently quit the track and field team where I had shown promise, I had gone to camps and had personal coaches and gave up when I faced adversity. It was around this time that I really started to contemplate what I really enjoyed in life and what I wanted to be as far as a career. The one thing I consistently loved and enjoyed from the time I was little was music. From a young age I was obsessed with music and everything that goes into making a record. I realized that music was the one thing I had an undying passion for. I began to research producers, songwriters, and engineers, the people who work tirelessly with musicians to craft and perfect a recording. One producer who stuck out to me was Kanye West, I had been a fan of West’s for years but It was not until this time that I really started to look into his early work, and I discovered a gem and a true source of inspiration; West’s first studio album, “College Dropout”. The production on the album was fantastic with tremendous attention to detail on every instrument of every track but it was the storytelling of the album that really inspiring. The album depicts West’s struggles as an up-and-coming musician. Known for his production prowess, West was largely ignored as a rapper. West was persistent, he never gave up on his dreams, and he continued to shop demos of his raps until Def Jam as a full-fledged recording artist, not just a producer, finally signed him. I listened to this album very heavily throughout my junior high school year, and the message of the album really began to resonate with me.  Hearing West’s struggle and his ability to overcome was truly inspiring, his passion for music is what drove him, many people along the way doubted him and he proved them wrong. West knew in his heart he would be a success and he did not let anyone or anything get in his way. The album taught me that if you put your mind to it, you could be anything you want. I began to realize that a career in music was possible. I looked into acquiring music software to begin producing music. At first I was not very good at it, but through the Internet I was album to teach myself basic music theory and began to really pick it up. This ultimately led to my decision to attend Full Sail to hone my production skills and open more career paths for myself. “College Dropout” was such a major inspiration and influence that I may have never considered a career in music. Thank you for listening to this recording, I appreciate you taking the time to listen to my story.


References:

West, K. (2004). The College Dropout [CD]. Los Angeles, California: Def Jam Records

Alessandro Mitchell