The first time alumnus Taleior Boykins took the microphone, thousands of UCLA students watched him perform in Pauley Pavilion.
That night, Boykins and his group took home the 2009 Spring Sing Las Donas Award for best band. Since his first performance, Boykins, who performs under the name Taleior Ashton, has kept in the rap game. He just released his debut EP with rapper N3V1LL3 (Neville Lee), “At That Age,” on Saturday.
Boykins, who graduated earlier this year with a degree in atmospheric and oceanic sciences, had an affinity for music since he began playing the trumpet in fourth grade. Immediately attracted to the improvisation and syncopation of jazz music, Boykins said these same themes are what drew him to his style of hip hop.
“One of the big things about jazz is having that embellishment of different rhythms, particularly improvisation,” Boykins said. “And improvisation kind of translates into the sense in hip-hop of free-styling, rapping. And also having jazz rhythms and swing patterns (that are) found a lot in hip-hop in the way that rappers deliver their verses.”
Boykins transitioned into writing hip-hop as a student at UCLA. In January, after having met N3V1LL3 and deciding to collaborate on an EP together, Boykins began crafting songs for his debut album. The nine-track extended play features a combination of tracks produced by Boykins and N3V1LL3.
“In the beginning … we said we were gonna do a track,” N3V1LL3 said. “We did this song (“D.M.C.”) about a girl and it came out good. And we moved onto another song, and we got the idea of doing the collective, like a project.”
As the album began to take shape, it encompassed ideas that Boykins sent to N3V1LL3 to collaborate on, and vice versa.
Boykins and N3V1LL3 said that even though they’ve only been working together for less than a year, the ability to trust the other’s judgement when it comes to writing and producing tracks is invaluable.
“A lot of ground can get covered in getting to know someone when you’re able to instill trust in them, and have them trust you in your craft,” Boykins said. “Being able to just be really real and honest with each other, I think that’s probably one of the things that allows our music to blend well, and our difference of styles to complement each other.”
Collaborating with each other, Boykins and N3V1LL3 developed the concept for “At That Age” as an album that explores the psyche of a young adult growing up and facing the real world for the first time.
The evolution of the album begins with the first few tracks, “Biness Time,” “D.M.C.” and “Please Come Back,” that document the immaturity of adolescence. As the album continues, the two move into writing the story behind the stereotypes of young black men and the transition into adulthood with songs such as “‘Q'” and “Prove ‘Em Wrong.”
“There are several ways you can dissect the album,” Boykins said. “You can break up the first part of it, talking about relationships and how you mature in that realm. And the second part is more so of self-reflection, and also thinking about things that you see in the world and the way that your views on the world change.”
The concept of the album as an exploration of these themes of maturation has already struck a chord with those close to Boykins who have heard the album develop .
“With this EP, they are really trying to express what people their age are going through,” said alumnus James Eagle, who heard all the songs grow from ideas to fully produced tracks. “I think the title says it all.”
Boykins’s rapping and vocal hooks, paired with N3V1LL3’s minimalistic and gritty rapping style, give “At That Age” a distinct, underground sound.
“When they come together it sounds so good because they have the same vision for what they want the song to be about,” said Thomas Williams, a friend of the group. “They don’t look at what each other wrote for a song, but … they are on topic of what the song is titled and I think that is very special.”
Whether or not the EP turns into a future album between the two, Boykins and N3V1LL3 credit their equal passion for the music and the message behind it as their driving force to keep making music.
“There are times when we butt heads, but at the same time, we know this is all for the music,” Boykins said. “This is all for the final product, for our passion.”
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