Ervin, who performs under the stage name Kody, has been busy recording and mixing a couple of singles at Metalworks Studio. Both tracks, The Lab and Have Faith, are already available for preview at www.myspace.com/kodyfromsgink.
He's using the songs to promote himself while he records his 14-track debut album for his label, Suburban-Ghetto Ink. Ervin hopes to release it this fall.
"I want to bring a brand new sound to the industry," said the Grade 10 student at Our Lady of Mount Carmel. "The Lab just came out and I think it shows my lyrical side. It's about a kid who spends all his time in the basement working on his music. What I like about (hip-hop) is that you can express yourself in a stylish manner."
Ervin has known he wanted to be a rapper since he was a youngster. He wrote and recorded his first single, Remember the Name, when he was just 13.
"I've always been really serious about music," he said. "I started freestyling and battling around school and then I was writing and recording more songs."
Like many young men, Ervin was enrolled in sports. However, he gave up athletic pursuits to focus on his music.
"Basically, I didn't have the drive for sports like I did for music," said Ervin, 15. "It feels amazing to be doing this and I feel like I'm getting somewhere. I get home from school and I'm in the studio. My whole summer (last year) was straight music. School and music was basically my life."
Lyrically, Ervin sticks to what he knows.
"The music portrays me and I'm not trying to act like someone I'm not," said Ervin, citing Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West and Toronto's Point Blank as some of his influences.
"I'm not a thug or gangster, and I try to relate to everyone. It's exciting how far you can go and how creative you can get with the music."
cclay@mississauga.net
