You may have seen him hanging out at Zaza’s or strolling through campus and you might not recognize him, not just yet. Eric Bowman, an aspiring rap artist walks among us.
Known as “Bowdizz”, a nickname given to him by friends, the Prior Lake native says that he was first inspired to get into rapping through a high school friend. “A friend of mine would freestyle and I was afraid to do it and he forced me to try it once and I sucked at it at first.”
Balancing work, school, and finding time to produce his music has proven difficult. As a junior marketing major, Bowman has used his skills to market himself both to the rap scene and to the Winona area. He released his first mix tape last year and he began to get his music out through having conversations with people on campus and giving his CD to people who enjoy hip hop and rap.
“I walked around with my backpack filled with CDs and hand them out to people who like hip hop and rap.”
Although Bowman has not yet been able to perform, he has aspirations of performing in front of people who like his type of music. “Performing is one of my goals and that is the next step,” said Bowman. “Minnesota music is a great. I’d prefer performing in the Twin Cities but I would love to do a show here.”
Any aspiring artist has their idol, and Bowman says he looks up to Chris Webby most.
“I obviously look up to Eminem but under him, Chris Webby. I have the most in common with him,” said Bowman, “He’s a white kid who grew up in the cities with ADD and I can relate to him.”
Bowman has seen support for his music through his friends, mainly one friend who is spreading his music to Mankato State. Interestingly enough, Bowman’s parents are not aware of his dreams to become a rap artist.
“They’ve seen my production equipment so I think they have an idea, but they’ve never asked directly.”
Bowman just recently dropped his new single, “Raising Hell”, which can be heard and downloaded for free on Soundcloud.
After years of building his hip hop artist dreams, Bowdizz is coming up quick, and he’s one you should keep an eye out for. You may have been lucky enough to snag his first mix tape from him on campus, but the real treat is to hear him freestyle. For some of us, writing a poem, or even an email for that matter, can take all of our brain power. Bowdizz will blow you away when you hear how quickly he can rhyme.
This aspiring rap artist offers advice to any creative out there who may be intimidated to share their work with the world; “Don’t let one person’s judgment stop you. Don’t let that get to you. Stay persistent.”
Follow his music on:
Soundcloud
Facebook
Twitter
*All images and album artwork were created by WSU student, Steve Ayres.