Today’s news programs highlight the tensions and conflicts that engulf the world, but rarely emphasize the things that bring humanity together. One pass time, which a few Tritonians have experience with, that celebrates the bonds and similarities people share is music.

Triton has had a history of students who make and produce their own music. Big Ders (Andrew Almeida), Big L (Lewis Lehereux), and Andrew Pesatoro, are a few of the more popular musicians once well known by students at Triton. These rappers and singers found refuge for their music in places such as Soundcloud and Youtube, frequently releasing songs and tracks for their peers pleasure. As time went on and these familiar faces graduated, the passion for making music still stayed strong within the student body, which shows through the raw amount of musicians that Triton has to offer.

Ava Ford, one of Triton’s few female musicians, began songwriting when she was in seventh grade, but started taking things more seriously her sophomore year. Ford says she’s always been able to sing but started honing her abilities because she enjoyed it so much.

“I just really enjoyed writing music.” Ford stated.

Ford’s musics is similar to many current female hip hop artists. Though none of it has been released, Ava’s friends get VIP access and critique her music. It’s been described as slower than other hip hop music, but still exciting.

“It’s [Ford’s music] wonderful and I want her to come out with her album soon.” said Junior Sophia Agrella.”

“I think she’s really talented.” said Junior Kaelyn Scalley.

The young singer has support from both her friends and family, but not completely. When Ford considers a future as a musician, she says her mother “puts it off”. Ava’s friends similarly get overwhelmed by her big ambitions.

“I kinda show them my music a lot and sometimes they’re like, ‘We get it you make music.’” says Ford.

When making music, Ava’s first step is to find a beat. She’ll look for R&B beats, taking her time while selecting. After that, she writes her lyrics and heads straight to her basement to produce. Ford uses only her phone as equipment for her music, recording and editing everything with it.

Comparing herself to other Triton Musicians, Ford says “I wouldn’t say that I’m better than anyone, but I think I hold up pretty well.”

Looking ahead to the future, the young musician is considering a music career. She will continue writing, saying her favorite part is, “Just kind of expressing myself through my songs.”

Baby Bear, better known as Josiah Ciampa, starting rapping 8 years ago when he was only 8 himself. Starting as just something to pass time, Ciampa frequently listened to beats and thought of rhymes off the top of his head. As he became older, Baby Bear began writing his lyrics down and tried to perfect his rhythm and flow.

The more the young rapper rapped, the more he enjoyed it.

“Playing around with different flows and playing around with different words… you get to listen what you make and I like it.” said Ciampa.

Baby Bear’s music is party music. It’s unpredictable rhythms and strong bass leads listeners to excitement and pumping adrenaline. Similar to the popular group Migos, Ciampas use of slang and pop culture references gets people even more interested.

“He’s actually really good.” Says Junior Andrew Maiuri “He spits bars.”

As Ciampa continued to rap, he got better, and eventually made his journey to Soundcloud. Baby Bear, the rappers account on Soundcloud, is where Ciampa releases his music. Ciampa currently has 3 songs released on Soundcloud and in 2017, he released his most popular song, Sprite, which now has over 60,000 plays.

Josiah says that his friends and family support him and that his mom frequently listens to his music. He gives large credit to his friends for boosting his popularity on SoundCloud, as many students advertised his music on social media.

Sometimes Ciampa branches off and works with his friend Duncan Macdonald, a former Triton student who goes by the rapper name ZonaBoy. Ciampa wishes to work with other students but has doubts in their capabilities.

“I wanna make music with other artists, but like honestly when I look around me [At Triton] I don’t really see anybody that’s on par.”

When making his music, Baby Bear records and edits everything on his laptop using the software audacity. Ciampa says he writes all of his lyrics and finds his beats off of popular producers on youtube. Ciampa’s next song will be released soon on Soundcloud, which the rapper claims will be great.