Montell Frazier, of Beechview, takes on the role of student, rapper and producer with incredible passion. The 17-year-old City High Charter School student, who will be a senior in the fall, is currently working on a project titled “Somewhere in the Forest/Reading the Bible,” that he plans on releasing Aug. 2.
The concept behind the project, Frazier said, is that “it’s a storyline about me going into this school in the forest, and trying to find out who God is, who I am, and why am I here on this planet?”
Frazier has been making music for quite some time now. After witnessing his father making music at a young age, Frazier said it “kind of just grew on me.” He was about 13 years old when he started recording music. Around the age of 16, his music became more serious and he began gaining recognition around the city; it was then that it became very real to him.
In addition to writing and rapping, Frazier also makes beats. He is currently trying to gain the attention of music label Soulection with a new beat, in hopes of being signed. Frazier’s sound has been shaped by world events as well as religion. He is also a unique student.
City High English teacher Ted Zatezalo said, “Montell is an interesting character and a good student. Because of his eclectic interests, he is interested in learning about a broad spectrum of materials, so he always brings different ideas to discussions.”
When it comes to the evolution of his music, Frazier is very proud of what he has accomplished.
“I love all my work mainly because it shows growth. I also like to see how I sounded two years ago and sometimes I just sit and listen to my old music to see my progression in my production and in my rapping/writing,” he said about his musical history. “It’s all a process of growth and I love to see it. As far as my best work, I just put out an EP in February called King David and I would say that’s my best EP quality wise, in terms of cohesiveness and overall sound. I also produced the whole EP myself.”
Frazier’s new single, “Pink Love 2.0,” is currently available on SoundCloud. He also has other projects available on major multimedia sharing Web sites such as Bandcamp, YouTube and DatPiff. Frazier and his music are also mentioned and shared on various blogs, under the name Montell Fish and he also has a social media presence on Twitter at @MontellFish as well as Facebook.
Frazier also has aspirations to one day collaborate with artist like Lauryn Hill or Mac Miller, and other producers like Taku and Esta. He has already collaborated with other local rapper and friend Sovren, on a few songs.
“Hopefully I get to a place where I can support myself, and eventually I want to be able to film score music for movies and video games,” he said. “Music keeps me calm through this crazy world we live in, it definitely kept me from doing a lot of stuff with my friends. Kept me away from a lot of the people I shouldn’t hang with, and it’s had a positive impact by keeping me focused on something that I love; creating a drive in me to go after what I want, and forcing me to be dedicated to something.”
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