Tyler Loyal. Photo courtesy of Tyler Loyal.
Tyler Loyal, a local musician, is currently a senior at the Malden High School. He writes raps that are starting to become successful. Loyal is only seventeen years old.
Loyal grew up between Malden and Medford and he has been rapping since he was eight years old. Like many kids, Loyal did not always want to become a rapper. Before his passion for music, he wanted to be a professional basketball player, and play in the NBA. Loyal said “[he] then realized [he] had a lot more talent in the music area.” He discovered his passion for rapping about a year ago when he tore his hip during a basketball game. During that time he was not able to do anything physical, so he began writing music, saying “[he] had a strong love for it.”
Aside from rapping, Loyal still enjoys playing basketball. However, being able to handle school work, basketball, and studio recordings is no easy task. Loyal explained that basketball season is the hardest for him because he has basketball practice from 3:00pm to 5:00pm and by the time he gets home he has 4-5 hours to handle everything everything he needs to do. He stated that it is “tough on [his] mom because [he] always arrives home around 10:00pm because [he] always has studio practice.”
One of the hardest parts of Loyal’s growing career is being able to know who he can really trust. Loyal says “some people can be fake and [it is] hard for [him] to be able to tell who is real and who is fake. [It is] hard to know who exactly [he] can trust.”
Though trust is really difficult, Loyal said “the hardest part about pursuing rapping as a business is having to sell merchandise.”
During his journey through high school, Loyal has changed in many different ways. Loyal explains that “[he has matured drastically and [he has] become more calm and wise.” He also mentioned that “comparing [himself] from freshman and sophomore year to [him] now, [he] thinks [it is] crazy to see how much [he] has matured.”
Loyal raps about a variety of things. He said he tries to base a lot of his songs on one topic. Once the topic is established, he tries to build the rest of his lyrics around it. Loyal raps a lot about girls because that is where a lot of his fan base comes from. He said “[he] tries to give motivation to [his] audience too.” He also says some of his favorite rappers are, Drake, J. Cole and Lil Wayne.
Loyal has performed in over five shows. His first performance was at the Lily Pad, which is a small venue in Cambridge. His most recent event was at the Brighton Music Hall in Allston, MA, which was was a sold out event. This event was set up by his father “Mighty Mystic” who is a reggae artist.
Lucas Lima is Loyal’s manager. He said that “[he] heard both [of Loyal’s] songs ‘BOAF’ and ‘Confetti’ and [he] had a gut feeling about [Loyal]. [He] saw that [Loyal] was very talented at a very young age.” Lima also mentioned that Loyal has been improving a lot. He added that “[He] has been able to see the progress in each show that [Loyal] has done.” He also said that “[Loyal]’s greatest attribute is being able to create amazing hooks.”
Loyal said he eventually wants to pursue rapping full time, but his mom still wants him to go to school next year. He said “[it is] going to be the same thing balancing out school and music.”
Loyal is working on his album right now and plans on releasing it during April vacation.
Lima also has big plans for the young artist saying “[he] definitely plans on moving to New York or Los Angeles to make more connections.”
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