Alumni
Alumni, whose birth name is Keathan Britton, chose the very social pseudonym Alumni because he is a storyteller of life through his music. And, his popular stage name is simply an adage to that which means, “Life After Graduation” ~The maturity of the next level of one’s life.
Keathan “Alumni” Britton was born April 22, 1988 in Dallas, Texas. His mother died when he was just eight years old, leaving his father to be his guide through life. Alumni became very depressed and quiet after the loss of his mother. He found that channeling his thoughts and feelings on paper helped him to cope and escape from reality. Those words turned into poetry. By the age of 16, Alumni knew what he was destined to become. Originally, he wanted to become a radio disc jockey or a music journalist. But, along the way his love for poetry and HIP HOP music turned into a hobby of writing and rhyming. He was very involved in the youth ministry at his church by creating and often sharing his ideas. His church is where he started as a gospel rap artist. At the age of 17, he hooked up with two friends and they formed a gospel rap group. They were later introduced to Charles Gibbs, the CEO of 5 Starr Entertainment. As time passed, they made several recordings but had no success with the songs. During this time, Alumni’s father became ill and died. His father was a preacher and strongly believed in education. He often encouraged Alumni by telling him, “No matter what you choose to do in life make sure you get an education.” Alumni, was enrolled in college, but he could not handle everything at once, so he dropped out of school. He had a lot of time to think about what direction he wanted to go in. He started looking at life differently and taking his career in the music industry more seriously. Alumni eventually went back into the studio at 5 Starr Entertainment to begin recording again and that is when the name Alumni was inspired.
Although many great artists have come before him, he has a lot to say and wants the HIP HOP style he has created to be classic and timeless. He is inspired by the late great rappers Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace and Tupac “2Pac” Shakur. He also gets his musical influences from Jay Z, The Fugees, and Outkast. He was attracted to the realness in their lyrics and their creativity. He plans to take what he has learned from those artists and take HIP HOP to the next level. He considers himself to be more than just a rapper, but a HIP HOP artist. He wants his audience to know that rap is only a piece of HIP HOP and that HIP HOP is art, it is a culture, a way of life and there are so many stories to be told. And those stories can be expressed lyrically through the music. Alumni’s sound is very eclectic. He has a love for music and does not want to limit himself. With that said, he has a band, which is an extension of Alumni called, Cum Laude. It is an awesome group of musicians. Alumni loves performing live with his band because they give the show that extra edge and energy. He also likes it because he can be spontaneous with the audience.
Alumni has been performing around Dallas, Texas. He has appeared at the Pearl at Commerce, House of Blues, The Prophet Bar, and the Absinthe Lounge just to name a few. He has produced several mixed tapes, Good Fortune October 2010, The Quantum Theory May 2011, and on November 9, 2011 he released Macadocious
Alumni’s outlook on life is very vivid and detailed and through his music he plans to tell the story of HIP HOP by blending different sounds and genres to bring those stories to life.
“My music can be fun, energetic, emotional, confident, and at times overly confident, but yet honest, and very creative. At the end of the day, I’m a Hip hop artist, and every song I make is made for a reason, whether its a fun song or not, there is always some type of message. But lyrics & melody are my most important factors.” ~ALUMNI
