Tracy, California is approximately a five-hour drive away from Cal State University Long Beach; for Tracy native Mitchell Adams, The Beach is more than a new home.
Long Beach is the destination Adams chose to pursue his dream to become an entertainer and rapper called The Only Child.
Adams is a transfer student from Modesto Junior College, where he earned his AA in theater. This is his first year as a student at CSULB, and he is a journalism major and theater minor.
One of the biggest academic differences from Tracy and Long Beach is the motivation to learn, which he said is different compared to MJC.
When he isn’t spitting flow on his tracks, he is avidly watching sports. The self-proclaimed “cheesehead” loves the Green Bay Packers, Oakland A’s and the Sacramento Kings.
The Daily 49er sat down with Mitchell Adams to learn more about journey and the release of his first mixtape “The Beach.”
Q. When and how did you first get involved with rapping?
Mitchell Adams: My first time rapping was in the end of my senior year of high school. It was with my friends Martino and Phillip; their rap names are Tino and Philip the Human… I heard they were making a mix tape, and they were my best friends at this time, and I was like, let’s try it. I always had a passion for writing music and I [was] starting to like rap music a lot more. I wrote my verse called “born and raised” basically about Tracy, [California] and from there, my first time it was a success. It was little young Mitch on the track. That was my name at the time, because I didn’t have a rap name. I remember the adrenaline and rush. And that always stuck with me. Even now when I record something.
Q. Where exactly did you get the name The Only Child?
MA: My name was Stick Figure – at first, but I felt like as you hear in the thesis statement [of the mixtape] I portrayed that as a villain. I don’t mean an evil person necessarily, I mean I wasn’t being myself with that rap persona. My dad sat me down and actually … and said, ‘Son, your hero is Will Smith. Why don’t you rap like Will Smith,’ because Will Smith kept his raps clean and he stayed true to himself. I realized that’s what rap is about, and music in general. Also, I am an only child. I always said I suffered from ‘only child syndrome,’ that is my persona. Because I was raised an only child and I like the name. T – O – C , the only child, baby; that’s my hook.
Q. Can you tell me a little bit about the things you sample in this mixtape?
MA: Some of those beats were made by Jelani Brown, who I met through Modesto Junior College. I sat on those beats for a long time. For the Lionel Richie sample that was all him. For the “Staying Alive” sample [by The Bee Gees] I told him I wanted that. I told him what I was feeling like with each beat and that’s what came out, I pushed him… He made these incredible beats and it took me so long to write to them. Partly because the first attempt to writing them I was Stick Figure. When I became The Only Child it became much easier to write about. In the song, “Mind of the Champ” we sample Michael Jordan making the winning shot.
Q. Where did the name of the mixtape “The Beach” come from?
MA: There is so much about that title, “The Beach,” and that’s why I picked it. First off, I was leaving the town of Tracy to go to the beach – Long Beach. [Also] I was going from Modesto to The Beach – Cal State Long Beach. This last summer I went to Cabo, which the song “Presidential Suite” is what that song is about. I loved the beach ever since I was [younger], one of my favorite places to go was Pismo Beach. On the cover and back you can see a story.
Q. What are some of the themes you talk about in this mixtape?
MA: At least one song will relate to one person. I want my music to be seen as a positive factor to society. I don’t rap about what typical rappers rap about. Some rappers have lost their way in a sense by promoting alcoholism, smoking, underage sex and strip clubs; but that’s not my style. I can’t write about the streets; I’m not from the streets, and I can’t write about certain content because I haven’t been through the things like that… That’s where I was on the way with Stick Figure, but I needed to be true to myself. People seem to like me as a person, so there should be no reason they don’t like this. You get to hear who I am through every song. A little bit different of who I am.
Q. Besides Will Smith who are some of your biggest influences?
MA: Eminem is huge, I kind of based my persona on him, but the opposite of how he used to be. I thank him so much for that because people always say ‘so you want to be like Emeinem’ and no I don’t want to be like Eminem. Just because I’m a white doesn’t mean I want to be like Eminem. I want to succeed somewhat like Eminem, but I am taking a different path. He has had a big influence on the ideas. Drake is my favorite popular rapper right now, has influenced me so much. J. Cole and Childish Gambino, my style most resembles Childish Gambino.
Q. Is this your first mixtape?
MA: This is my first mixtape as The Only Child. I release another over two years ago but that’s when I was still Mitch … This is the first official mixtape for me. My motto is ‘making the unrealistic realistic.’ That’s is just kind of how I carry myself. That is why I came down here.
You can listen to Adams music for free at ww.theonlychildmitch.com, or students can get a hard copy if they see him walking around campus.
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