Typically, every kid has a dream. Whether they want to be a doctor or a teacher, a kid aspires to be something in their life. Bryson wanted to be an artist, but little did he know he wanted to pursue music.
Bryce Roberson, or his stage name Bryson Cole, is a sophomore at the University of North Texas and an aspiring digital record selling artist. When Cole was little he wanted to be an graphic artist because he always liked to draw and paint. He even made signs and sold them to his neighbors across his street, never thinking about becoming a recording artist.
He found out he wanted to do music through his poetry he wrote. Cole would present his poems in class and then his poems eventually turned into raps. “I wondered if I turned my poems into rap songs if people would appreciate them.” Cole said. “People appreciate me more than I thought they would.”
Cole’s original rap name was B.A.Kid, but he wanted to take his music career seriously. So by putting together his name ‘Bryson’ and his little brother’s name Cole, Bryson Cole was born.“I took what people called me and what I wanted to be called and mashed the two together thus Bryson Cole.” Cole said.
Cole has two albums out currently: Never About Us and New Wave. Never About Us was released in 2016 and was his first released project showcasing his skills as a new age rapper. Featuring singles such as ‘XXL’ and ‘Up to Something’, Cole wanted to take his writing more seriously and two things bothered him in Hip Hop today to help make this album: black people weren’t getting the notoriety that they should be receiving and newer artists that came out didn’t care about the lyrics. Police brutality was going on and nobody was addressing the issues, so Cole did. “I felt like it’s never about black people or the lyricist, so I wrote Never About Us.” Cole said.
New Wave was released earlier this year and Cole’s second project featuring singles Dedication and Favors. This album Cole wanted the whole thing to be completely different than Never About Us. New Wave started because of his single Favors. He had a cold the day he made the single and when he recorded it the song sounded raspy. He liked how it sounded and went with it. He was also in an aggressive state of mind while writing the piece, so there was a lot of emotion behind the album as well. With similarities to that of Chance the Rapper his sound and style leave a warm positive feeling when gracing your ears. Cole claimed he wanted to implement lyricism and messages over beats that would capture everyday listeners attention. “I wanted to be able to say something while making hard trap beats.” Cole said.
Behind the scenes, Cole has a vlog called ‘Up to Something’ where he gives us the inside scoop on his new music and videos and his daily life. Cole also produces a podcast with one of his friends Kyle Pearson called ‘The Common Truth.’ They talk about social issues, music, and pop culture.
Chloe Chanel feels listening to other rappers and entertainers versus Cole they are repetitive with their content. Cole on the other hand produces new and real content. “I feel he’s being himself.” Chanel said. “You definitely hear the real Bryce Roberson in his music.”
Cole is different from other new age rappers because he can adapt. A lot of rappers can put lyrics over a beat and call it a hip-hop song. But now a lot of rappers mumble and it’s not true hip hop. Cole on the other hand can use lyricism well with today’s new beats while still bringing it back to the real deal hip-hop and talk about real life situations that are going on in the world.
Also, his subject matters for example black lives matter, how stagnant black people are, and corporate america. His definition of hip-hop is a culture and a mixture of rhymes or rapping over beats that transcends to every other genre thus making it the number one listened to genre currently.
Chris Willis, sophomore journalism major, believes Cole is different from other artists. “This man said I’m going to try and eliminate any explicit content from his songs, which I don’t hear any other artist trying to do,” Willis said.
Sometimes when we think we know what we want do with our lives, life steers us into another direction. Cole wanted to show the world who he is and what he stands for in his music. His presence will be known and as his new projects start flowing in people will know the name Bryson Cole.
Make sure you go listen to Bryson Cole’s album ‘New Wave’ streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Google Play,Amazon, or buy the album on iTunes!