Since his freshman year, senior Javi Diaz-Granados has practiced freestyle rapping every day. 

“My friend and I would always mess around with his karaoke machine and one day we got the idea to start rapping over the beats. And that’s what started it all,” Diaz-Granados said.

He’s always had a love for rap music, and being able to make music brings him closer to the genre. 

He is inspired by some of his favorite rappers such as Babytron, Playboi Carti and Kendrick Lamar.

“It brings me closer to my friends as well,” Diaz-Granados said. 

After beginning to freestyle, he started introducing the activity to his friends.

“I love freestyling with my friends because it’s just a creative space where we can come up all these new ideas and find new words and phrases that sound good and rhyme,” he said.

Over time, Diaz-Granados and his friends actively made music, helping each other improve as artists.

“Looking back at when I first started compared to now is crazy to me. I’ve gotten a lot better,” Diaz- Granados said. 

Diaz-Granados said freestyle rapping is a more challenging style of rapping, as it requires constant attention.

“I think it’s a skill not everybody can do,” Diaz-Granados said. “I’m not writing anything down, I just have to think quickly about what I want to say next and exactly how I want to phrase it.” 

His end goal is to become a professional rapper and to surpass his idols on the top of the charts.