Matthew Rapp - Creativity Unleashed
About The Artist
Raised in the suburbs of Las Vegas, Matthew Rapp is no stranger to the entertainment industry. At age 14 he picked up the guitar and tried his hand at song-writing. Many of his friends at the time were musicians, but school and basketball quickly took over his free time. The thing about artistry, though, is that it can't be stifled for long. Creativity lives deep inside the mind, waiting for its chance to escape. In May of 2014, one month after graduating High School, Matthew Rapp finally let his buried creative instinct dig its way out.
Listen EP
Two years of hard work has culminated in a 5 song blend of Pop and Emo known as "Listen." The EP is inspired by a wide range of artists, both mainstream and indie: Nick Jonas, Maroon 5, Coldplay, Lydia, Paris, and Copeland (to name a few).
On the surface, the making of 5 songs doesn't sound like a huge accomplishment, but many people don't understand how many hours actually go into crafting 17 minutes of music. I won't do the math, but the numbers are high. Needless to say, Matthew spent many restless nights and early mornings writing, demoing, pre-producing, recording, revising, re-recording, and more or less obsessing over his music to make sure each song had its "own unique sound" that would help to showcase who he is as an artist. When asked what the most difficult part of the creative process was, Matthew admitted to experiencing a bout of low confidence:
"Probably all the constant fights within my own self, trying to keep my confidence up. It was extremely difficult for me, honestly. The music will always be challenging, which is part of the reason why I love to do it, but during the whole writing/recording process, I went through a lot of struggles with my own self worth, self-esteem, confidence, just all of the above. I won't go into it too much, but it was hard... I'll never forget."
I stand by the notion that nothing worth doing is ever easy. Living in the moment has helped Matthew Rapp to stay focused and motivated in all his creative pursuits.
Cover Videos
Although Matthew plans to release more original music in the not-too-distant future, his focus lately has been on posting cover videos, often duets and mashups with female singers. After the first video, an "I Hate You, I Love You" mashup performed with Juliah Zager, quickly racked up nearly 50,000 views on Facebook, Matthew decided that cover videos were a good niche for him.
"Throughout this musical journey, I've noticed that people really seem to like songs they already know. Not very many people really enjoy discovering new music. One day I saw a video of 2 singers doing a really cool cover video on Facebook, and really felt like I could put something like that together."
Matthew's latest video is a collaboration with Denise Borquez. Their "We Don't Talk Anymore" mashup has reached nearly 75,000 views on Facebook.
The Future
The sky is the limit for Matthew Rapp. Now undaunted by anxieties about failure, his work ethic is hopeful and sharply focused. Now that it's out, there's no way his creativity is getting shoved back into a dark corner of his mind.
Follow Matthew's journey below: