The Mountaineer

Issue date: 11/20/06 Section: A & E

Media Credit: Jessica Herrera Spontaneous poses for the camera while in the recording studio. Spontaneous' new album "iPod Musik" is now in stores.

A community college has a lot to offer a student, and it does not only include an education and academic resources. There are students on campus who have talents unknown to the campus community. Musician and producer, Spontaneous, is one of those students.

Spontaneous knew from the beginning that his future career belonged to hip-hop, He began expressing his passion for hip-hop through break dancing and beat boxing in 1985. He continued on the hip hop path, and in 1993, signed a record deal with music producer Matt Lavella on the independent label Goodvibe Recordings.

The team of Lavella and Spontaneous came out with their first album titled, "Spur of the Moment Musik." The 22-track album offers a consistent flow of energy through its leading MC Spontaneous, but also through its extensive line-up of featured local artists such as Saukrates, Asthete and Kurtis Blow.

"A lot of local acts were in the mix and it kind of kept us working, we were just trying to better ourselves and be self-contained. That was the main goal: have everybody affiliated. So basically, [we were] a network of trust. There was no reason for us to really step on each other's feet because we were all trying to get to the same place," Spontaneous said.

Since the release of "Spur", Spontaneous has developed his name.

"I had a choice of getting all these jewels and cars and clothes and all this fancy stuff but I decided to really invest in me - in my equipment, in my company," Spontaneous said.

With a knowledge of the industry and the craft that he acquired through the years, Spontaneous now teaches production engineering to aspiring musicians and producers for a nonprofit organization. For the past three years, he has been able to see the development of young artists that contrasts with his experience producing for more experienced artists.

"I get the whole spectrum. It's two different conversations with two different time frames," says Spontaneous.

Even though Spontaneous has spent years teaching, there became a time when he realized that he needed to get in the classroom - this time as a student.

Continued...

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