What started off as writing poems for a girl has morphed into a hopeful rap career for local musician Andrew “MC” Lowe.
He’s recently taken to posting his songs online, in order to get his name out there.
Explicit and sometimes humorous lyrics dot the 17-year-old Lake Cowichan Secondary School student’s songs, but it’s all about being honest, he said.
“When you get behind a microphone you express yourself. It’s expression. It’s an art, and that’s how I express myself,” he said.
There’s a unique honesty in his songs, which seem as much therapeutic as they are a means of expression.
“It’s mostly all of the angry things, to get them off my chest,” he said, of his songs. “Most of them are calling people out.”
Although there aren’t many – if there are any other – rappers in Lake Cowichan, the area has helped inspire a number of songs.
The songs “Lake Cowichan” and “How We Do in LC” are obviously locally-inspired, but the town he’s grown up in has infiltrated all of his songs in one way or another.
With the small town has come “stupid drama,” such as fast-spreading rumours and other such things people that live here can relate to.
“I know this town. It’s kind of an insider thing. People around here will know what I’m talking about,” he said.
The young musician – whose idol is rapper Tupac Shakur – is full of ambition.
He wants his name out there, and he wants people to hear his message.
“No matter who you are, where you are, you can still make it big,” he said.
This, he hopes to prove with his debut record, Lowe Life, which he plans on completing by the end of the year.
To hear some of Lowe’s songs, search “MC Lowe” on the website www.youtube.com, or on www.facebook.com.