Ever since the rise of music streaming, it is now easier for people to upload music to SoundCloud. It takes less than 10 minutes to make an account, and who knows? Maybe the next stars will have a start by Internet rapping.

Senior Akash Vuyyuru, aka DWing (pronounced Dee-Wing), first started rapping when his friend Ram Kota, a Northwood alumni who graduated in 2019, asked to make a track with him. He found the one he liked and recorded his first song, titled “Don’t Bleed Blue.” The song has been uploaded on Spotify, amassing over 4,200 views.

Though many laugh at the idea of a high school rapper on SoundCloud, putting himself out there has brought attention to Vuyyuru. Rapper Black Jezuss, who is famous for his collaborations with Trippie Redd, has given DWing a shoutout on an Instagram story.

“It’s not hard to balance my school and music life,” Vuyyuru said, “I write lyrics in my free time and hit RK’s studio twice a week.” On SoundCloud, producer Kota’s username is R. Kbeatz.

Music is a big part of Vuyyuru’s life. He joined the Northwood choir program during freshman year and is still part of it.

“I make rap music for the most part, but I incorporate some singing into it,” Vuyyuru said. “I hope that in college, I can continue my music career and meet some new people that way.”

In “Don’t Bleed Blue” and “They Told Me,” DWing raps about his dreams of making it big. But be warned before you listen: the lyrics are wildly explicit.

On the flip side, senior Ekas Chawla, aka the Turbanat0r, is another SoundCloud rapper with a humorous approach to music. His number one song, “I Respect Women” was created one night at his friend’s house during a sleepover as a joke.

As the name entails, “I Respect Women” is a song about… respecting women. Located in the album “Harvard Reject” by Chris Chang, the song has only 581 listens. But for a song made at 11 p.m. in an hour for fun, who can complain about the results?

“I really enjoyed hearing from my friends at Northwood recognize the effort I put into this song,” Chawla said. “I have a lot of fun making my music, and I think that translates over to the hype of the song.”

Chawla is currently busy with college apps and schoolwork as a senior, but he plans to make more music next semester. For any aspiring musicians, the best advice is to make music with friends, because the real joy of music comes from your relationships