Shelby S. Brown
MC301/Staff
Rapper J. Cole once said, “College isn’t in everyone’s hearts. I am living proof though that school doesn’t mess up your plans. It gives you more experiences to write about.”
Three amazing Jackson State University students are learning just that, going to school and pursuing their dreams in the areas of arts and entertainment.
Tyler Harden, a junior marketing major from Hattiesburg, Miss., is a poet. She has been featured on Jackson State’s Instagram page and has shared some of her poems with the viewers.
Tyler began writing poetry when she was a young girl.
“Growing up, I used to write on the walls when I was two and three and my mom would make me write essays about how I would not write on the walls anymore. That was my form of punishment. Essays were really long and boring, so I transitioned into writing poems and songs,” said Harden.
Harden also stated that her mom encouraged her to continue to write poetry. She developed a gift for writing and now has plans to use her marketing degree to market herself as a writer.
“I want to be able to market myself as a person and market my creative works. I want to go into my own spoken word business and be my own boss of what I do. So, I felt marketing would be a better major for me than English, at the time,” said Harden.
Charity Hicks, a rapper from Gautier, Miss., and English major at JSU, is another student who is pursuing her dreams.
Hicks became interested in rap music when she was in high school. She remembers first listening to secular music, which was not permitted in her home, as a teenager. She soon began to write her own raps. Teaching will be her second option if she does not reach her goal of becoming a famous rapper.
“In a perfect world, I wouldn’t actually have to teach, but I wanted to be able to do something else if I had to put the music on hold. I wanted to have an impact on kids because they are our tomorrow,” said Hicks.
Hicks was inspired by a former teacher to pursue education.
“Her name was Ms. Blackwell and she was one of the most phenomenal teachers that I have ever had. I saw the way she took time with students and molded what potential she saw (in them),” said Hicks.
Hicks is not the only JSU rapper that has a backup plan. Devin Cousin, a junior mass communication major from Jackson, Miss., whose stage name is Dev Maccc, also plans to use his education to become successful.
His rap interest started at a very young age.
“I really just started to want to rap because of because of Bow Wow,” said Cousin.
Cousin was influenced to rap by the young rap mogul and also admires by how Bow Wow has evolved
“I thought, if I’m going to rap, I want to make sure I never let my fans think that I care about materialistic things and that I will always connect with them,” said Cousin.
Cousin explained why he chose to major in mass communication.
“I love communicating with people and getting information out of people…just in case if I had to have a backup plan, I could do the radio,” said Cousin.
All three Jackson State students feel that whether or not they garner success in their chosen entertainments fields, education will always be important in their lives.
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