Retrospective: USN rappers march to the beat of their own drum (machines)

by Erin Joyce ’25 and Bronson Schmidt ’25

Since the dawn of time, or at least the late 2000’s, USN has bred musical creatives of all varieties. In recent history, one breed of artists has risen to the forefront of USN history: teenage rappers. 

USN’s relationship with student rap is about as nuanced and complex as the music itself, spanning generations of alumni since 2009. Be it one-off musical jokes, intricate albums, or Soundcloud freestyles, these artists’ releases were defined by their characteristic personalities and strong impact on USN’s community.

Diving into their work is like taking a peek into the rich past of USN’s culture from a perspective that is vastly undiscussed. Understanding the rappers themselves and their relation to the school is paramount to seeing just how integral they are to USN’s culture.

The early aughts saw the birth of the first group of notoriety: Dose Ca$hville Men. Dose Ca$hville Men released ironic Rachel Ray diss tracks and a host of other bizarrely-titled songs to their self-titled CD, sold at their 2008 and 2009 performances at Zeitgeist. Their prominence in the USN sphere earned them a spot on the concert’s last.fm, an online setlist forumfuture groups, they didn’t release their music on any online platforms, leaving behind only the CD and whispers of greatness. 

After DCM came Chanse Flash, the artist moniker of Chanse Jones. A member of the class of 2013, Jones was a rapper who has continued his career into the present day, collaborating with artists like Swae Lee and garnering over 120,000 streams on his top song. His releases were limited while in school, but he was essential in the continuation of the USN rap bloodline.

Another USN rap artist was Brian McKissack ‘16. McKissack released two mixtapes, titled “You’re Welcome” and “#richiecares.”Unfortunately, a lot of McKissack’s releases and online presence have been deleted or lost to time, so the scope and sound of his music is relatively unknown.

However, McKissack’s rap made an impact with student rappers such as Brian L. Davis ‘17, who was a year below McKissack.

“[McKissack] was doing music at the time. We didn’t make music together often, but I know he was making music and performing as well,” Davis said. Although McKissack’s music has been lost to time, it’s clear that his influence in the school helped inspire younger artists who were soon to come after him— the most prominent, of course, being Davis himself.

Davis was one of the most active rap artists in USN history, and perhaps the best way to sum up his creatively fearless personality was through his senior quote: “the L in my middle name is the only one I’ll ever take.” 

Davis started making beats and lyrics in middle school, drawing from a wide variety of musical influences.

“I listened to a lot of different people. Roberta Flack, Drake, J. Cole, Kendrick, growing up [it was] 50 cent. Alicia Keys [is] my favorite R&B singer. I think when you do music, you should have a wide depth of people that you listened to,” Davis said. 

Davis’s wide depth of artistic influences translated to his music and projects at USN. Davis would go on to release a 10-song EP, about half a dozen singles, and songs exclusive to live performances. He wanted to make sure his music came out on his own terms.

“​​I didn’t want to be a SoundCloud rapper. I didn’t want to just have my music there. I wanted my music on all platforms, so I didn’t release until I thought my music was good enough to be [on] YouTube, Spotify, [and]  Apple Music.”

Aside from his musical releases, Davis also spearheaded a club at USN called the “Battle of Musicians.” The club focused on platforming live battles between student musicians, primarily through freestyle rap. 

“We started after school; there was a circle of people, dance battles, rap-offs. I was like, ‘huh, let’s make this into a club.’ I had it hyped up for, you know, about a month or so and I got it approved. And it was just a different club, so people were intrigued by it,” Davis said.

Battle of Musicians became a point of interest in the student body and served as a hidden outlet for an otherwise underperformed activity at USN.

“It was very big, I mean, it packed out the auditorium, which was cool. I didn’t expect that—and I didn’t really care. I [just] wanted people who were involved in music and wanted to have a good time to come,” Davis said. 

That passion for generating excitement in his community is what makes Davis stand out from past USN rappers. By utilizing his community to build his music and impact at USN, Davis was able to push his musical endeavors forward.

“I had to put flyers up, I had to have a Twitter page, I had to make sure word of mouth was getting passed around. I was able to do different events like Zeitgeist and Baby Zeitgeist, which led to me being more comfortable performing outside of that community because it was similar,” Davis said, mentioning the student-led performances Zeitgeist club hosts each year.

Opportunities around the USN community allowed Davis to explore different methods of getting the word out about his music, and it translated well to his professional career. 

“From a performance standpoint, during my time in high school, I was able to do different events like Zeitgeist…which led to me being more comfortable performing outside of that community. I would say that was definitely a good foundational piece for me.”

The nature of USN’s environment also encouraged Davis to pay attention to detail in his music.

“I’m not quick to just put anything out…because [USN is] a tight knit community… So if you have friends there…they just want to support you. So you have to be mindful [and ask yourself], ‘Is this the best product I could possibly put out right now?” 

Davis’ musical ventures will soon take him to L.A., where he will meet with his former USN collaborator, Jaran Huggins ‘18, to work on a new group project. Davis’ desire to ensure that he is projecting his best to the world extends beyond music, and in parting, he left some advice.

“I would say just always be yourself. Be authentic… Don’t be afraid, you kind of have to be fearless and that goes hand in hand with being yourself. Those are two big takeaways,” Davis said. 

“And then third, respect everyone. I think if you come across as condescending or arrogant and not a respectful person, then it makes it harder to do what you want to do,” he added. “This goes for anything outside of music too. Always be respectful, and then it’ll come back to you tenfold.”

Delving into USN’s rap history would never be complete without perhaps the most prolific and current group in the school’s history: 37XXX. 37XXX was a group composed of three students who graduated in 2021: Stefan Pretorius, Niles Clancy, and Lucas Heckers. 

The three were nearing the end of their junior year when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools across the country, moving USN to remote learning and dramatically shifting schedules. These three students used their newfound free time to sculpt what would eventually become a multi-platform, multi-album project. 

The idea for 37XXX first kindled between Pretorius and Heckers, who had been close friends throughout high school. Pretorius had been steadily growing a repertoire of sampling skills paired with expertise in the digital audio software Ableton Live, which combined perfectly with Lucas Heckers’ quick wit and clever lyricism. Once the duo took on Clancy, a lyricist and music maker with a keen ear for catchy harmonies, “37XXX” was born.

 “Lucas…was the bar guy. He would just sit there and write the whole time, or he’d just be mumbling to himself…and crank it out. Niles, he’s a great vocalist…and his melodies are insane. He’d be like, telling me like, ‘Oh, we should change that note’ [or] ‘this sounds good.’ I produced all the songs,” said Pretorius on the process of the group’s writing sessions.

The group’s first full album release was eventually taken off of Spotify due to them “borrowing” beats without permissions. 

“Don’t ever do that. Because if someone did that to me now, I’d be [upset],” Pretorius said in retrospect, agreeing with the platform’s decision to protect artists’ intellectual property.

After that initial release, 37XXX finalized their self-titled album, which they had been developing since February of 2020. ” The album, boasting a cover photo taken right on USN’s front lawn, spans 12 songs over 36 minutes.

Its laid back opener “WOO” immediately sets the album’s tone of wittily–ironic lyricism. The variety in lyrics and sounds creates a flowstate of miscellaneous one-liners and audio easter eggs. The songs aren’t limited to one message—instead, they explore ideas with spontaneity, drastically shifting their focus from one lyric to the next. This theme continues throughout the album, with catchy choruses tying melting pots of ideas together. Some songs explore a more concrete idea, such as “Cake Day,” a birthday tribute to Lucas during a two week quarantine. The album’s closer, “First Class – Freestyle” is a perfect example of the paramount role humor plays in 37XXX’s music while giving homage to the extensive freestyling abilities of the trio. The album’s consistent quality–despite its variety in terms of content— makes it a more than enjoyable listen, especially when the listener gives the lyrics the attention they merit. 

“It’s probably my favorite just because it’s so near and dear to my heart,” Pretorius said. 

The self-titled album led to a notorious three-song performance on the front steps at Prom the same year of its release. 

“I think it was Bag in My Hand, Lavender, and WOO,” Pretorius remarked regarding the show’s setlist. “Hearing it on those speakers, that 808 was punching. It was raining that day, and they had put a tarp over the speaker, and anytime the 808 hit, the whole thing would shake. There was a mini mosh pit of 25 people or so on the lawn turning up. It was sick.” 

It was a high note for the members of 37XXX on which to end their USN careers; they graduated later that spring, but the group’s saga was not over.

That summer, Pretorius texted their group chat. 

“We’re sitting on a whole album’s worth of material at that point. I said we could drop it that Christmas. That was when we met for the last time, Christmas Break 2021-22. We had a bunch of stuff recorded by January, and I was ready to go, but Lucas [Heckers] said we should wait until the summer or at least spring break. I was going on a trip, so we agreed to meet in the summer of 2022.” 

Lucas Heckers tragically passed away that February. 

“Me and Niles were left with all this music. We were like, ‘well, do we drop it? How long do we wait?’ In the moment, the right thing to do felt like releasing it. I didn’t want to sit on it and let it gather dust. No one was going to hear it that way. We dropped it right before his funeral, and I think that was good.” 

Pretorius and Clancy released their last album as 37XXX, “The Hooligan,” as a memorial to Heckers following his passing. 

“Instead of just writing his name on the 2021 graduate wall, he wrote Lucas ‘The Hooligan’ Heckers,” Pretorius noted of the album name and cover, which was derived from a picture of the wall’s signature.

Its content is more sobering and prescient than its predecessor, opening with the slower electronic RnB track “After Dark.” With the refrain “open the door to my life,” it becomes clear that this album is a celebration of Heckers’ and the trio’s best, most recent work: it’s a smash.  Batman flies out of “After Dark’s” proverbial gate with upbeat 808s and sample flips that could compete with the likes of JPEGMAFIA and Dean Blunt. The third track, “Hennessy,” is stacked with clever word play– “Yeah you went to Saks Fifth, but —– who went to Saks first? That’s me.” Later on, “40 Bars” steps up to the plate as well with this expertly-crafted line: “pull up on you delicate, fold you like a napkin.” “Novella’s” melodic flow brings to mind some well-loved tracks produced by Pi’erre Bourne, one of Pretorius’ influences, with a dash of 37XXX’s signature sardonicism.

“The one song that we did not record while Lucas was here was Cake Day 2. We wanted to make something that was a sequel to Cake Day one [off the self-titled] to celebrate his birthday. It’s a happy, fun day,” Pretorius said. 

37XXX will go down in history as USN’s most influential and virtuous rap project to date. Pretorius, whose artist name is “fern_shy” on all streaming platforms, released a solo album on January 1, 2024.

The rap groups USN has harbored over the years have sustained USN by cultivating a unique and carefree culture for students to rally around when so much else in their school life is serious. To the untrained eye, USN might seem an unlikely place for homegrown rap groups to develop cult followings, but students and teachers alike can instantly recognize the part they play in the USN identity and the void they fill in all of us.