One would think the path of gold need only to be walked by a Stanford graduate yet this is not the case. The manifestation of a sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence literally must have occurred within Epiphany to move in the opposite direction towards a rap career. Many would view this as either dumb or extremely courageous, either way those boots must drag heavy in the music business.

Trying to avoid the gimmicky pitfalls of ringtone circus freak shows, ‘Piph is on a quest to maintain superior music at its peak. This no doubt is a timeless mission that many have stumbled before him, yet he feels his plight makes his personal entertainment goals attainable. Epiphany has never underestimated the world’s capacity for doom, but maintains that the individual possesses the power to greatly impact the masses.

It would be easy to treat this guy like crab meat and lump him in with every notorious stereotype that Arkansas has become associated with. However upon a closer examination and open mind, you will discover that there is nothing gangsta or gang affiliated plaguing ‘Piph’s lyrical content. Whether performing solo, with his female vocalist counterpart (Gina Gee) or within his six-piece Hip Hop/Soul/Jazz/Rock band ensemble (One Night Stand), Epiphany holds to a standard of being anything but your typical emcee.

Defying Little Rock Odds: “It’s kind of a natural thing, everybody is use to the Little Rock [gang] phase. Otherwise, people think of us as being country and backwards, but mostly the stereotypes come from that. Arkansas is just like any other state or city with its vibe. You do have your hood areas that are kind of impoverished, but you also have the other side. All of my music is reflective of the people I’ve been around and the different situations that I’ve been in. I wasn’t into the whole Little Rock phase so I don’t try to inject that into my music.“

A Stanford Graduate With Rap Career Pursuits: “My major was as a Mechanical Engineer. As far as what made me pursue Rap, nowadays I’m thinking insanity. [Laughs] Honestly, it was one of those things were I started off Pre Med and switched to Engineering because I just liked the balance of the technical side and complex problem solving of it all, but it was never something that I wanted to pursue with the rest of my life. It was more so like let me just choose a major and also I know I could’ve gotten a decent job in it. I fell in love with music or the art of rapping in college so I see my goal of music as kind of an extension of that. I would rather wake up and be doing something that I love rather than something people felt I was suppose to be doing. This is what I was called to do.“

New Projects: “Right now I’ve got the Respect [click to download] series which is actually a four part mini series mixtape based on items that I feel should be respected. It’s a combination of songs and audio visuals that will be released before my debut project.”

Views On Artistic Integrity: “I have the model of staying humble and hungry while being able to see thing the way it really is. It’s about always remembering how you left on that first day whenever you first started liking Rap, the Hip Hop, the artistry, performing, and putting together a project. Things can get you side tracked in the industry. Everybody has some type of angle or agenda in this including yourself. You have to know what’s real and what’s not.“

The Road Traveled Thus Far: “It’s cool. It’s always like show and prove. As much as I like rapping, I’m really into entertaining and putting on a good show. I feel like a show should be a memorable experience so all I can do it try to impress them. I always get a good reception ’cause they’re surprised, it’s good music and a good performer who tries to connect with the crowd.“

Competitive Inspiration: “I look at it like if [other artists are] getting some type of spotlight they must be doing something right. Even if I don’t like the music they might be doing, I still study them to see how they got in the position that they did. I study everyone and try to break down how that got to where they are whether that’s something I would like to emulate or avoid. I just look at how to make myself better as an artist and entertainer. I look at others to strengthen the brand of Epiphany. It’s definitely competition but I’m using it to learn. If you’re doing what you do well, and I’m doing what I do well it’s not given that we must conflict.“