Name: Thomas Blake
Stage Name: T Blake
Year: Junior
Hometown: Lexington, NC
T Blake is an amazing rapper who currently attends UNCW. He’s becoming a well-known name around campus due to his growing popularity among UNCW students. Read on to find out why!
HC: What’s your favorite thing about being a student at UNCW?
I love the people here. Everyone here is very down to earth and chill and easy to get along with. Very accepting. Wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.
HC: What inspired you to pursue a career in rap?
My friend Logan when I was in 7th grade was really into rap music. I wasn’t at the time and he convinced me to make a song with him. He loved rap music and neither one of us had ever really thought about rapping. We recorded it on his computer mic and I’ve been rapping ever since.
HC: What’s the hardest part about rapping?
Being something new. Nobody wants to do what everybody before them has done in music, or at least I don’t. Trying to combine witty wordplay while telling a story is probably the hardest thing I try to do.
HC: Who’s your favorite rapper? Why?
Almost impossible to answer. Asher Roth was the reason I kept rapping when I was younger. A good white rapper to look up to but now I might have to go with Childish Gambino for sure. The Internet (his most recent album) is one of my favorite projects of all time.
HC: Any past times other than rapping?
I love playing soccer, reading comics and playing video games sometimes. Pretty nerdy stuff.
HC: If people wanted to listen to your tracks online, where should they look?
On soundcloud.com/therealtblake not much new is up because I’m recording a mixtape but more should be releasing soon. I also have an old video on Youtube called t-blake – violins. Not that great, but it’s a video.
HC: Are you performing at any shows soon?
I’m rapping at KaP at UNCG in early December for a party they are putting on.
HC: Any advice for other aspiring rappers?
I don’t know if I’m the one to really give advice because I haven’t even come close to “making it” yet but the things I tell myself are don’t stop. Be the exception. So many times people ask what I like to do and I say rap and get the weirdest faces and get responses like “no way” or “you’re probably garbage” or something like that. Then some of them hear me rap or my music and opinions change. Just don’t stop, work hard and keep being you.