Jacksonville producer, Young Drew, pays homage to hip hop on its 47th anniversary with his production of a documentary showcasing Jacksonville local hip hop talents. 

Andrew Holness, aka Young Drew is a producer, engineer, videographer and CEO of Levitated Entertainment. Today, he is one of the spear headers of the hip hip scene in Jacksonville, Florida

Since 2018, hip hop has been labeled the most profitable and popular music genre. As you look around campus, you can see its influences in not just the music, but also the way some people talk, how some walk, and how some dress. It’s a culture that inspires a movement to capture the struggles of its originators in lyrics and fashion.

Andrew Holness believes that Jacksonville has much potential that has not been tapped into yet. Holness is originally from New York, but he has already made an impact with local talent. He is also the producer of Duval Documentary: The Making of The Album, which showcases local artists. When asked about the impact the hip hop has had on him, his answer was all too familiar.

“I wasn’t allowed to listen to rap as a child,” he said. “I would usually have to sneak around and listen to Dr. Dre and Eminem when my parents weren’t around. When I turned 13, I stared doing my own thing more and that kept me grounded.”

Young Drew is not the only person whose lives were changed because of hip hop. It’s because some people could lean on rap that they are able to because figures of success like Sean Carter, who goes by the name of Jay-Z. Sean Carter became Hip Hop’s first billionaire in 2019. He also owns a share of the Brooklyn Nets, donated money to legal fees of wrongfully incarcerated African Americans, assisted the NFL in talks of police brutality, and set up trust funds for the children of victims from police brutality.

Every fan of hip hop has one song that made them fall in love with the genre. When asked what is the song that made him fall in love with Hip Hop, his answer was 50 Cent’s “When it Rains it Pours.”

“Just the whole feel and energy was a different kind of color,” he said. “It was sad, but it was hitting hard, and it was still chilled and laid back. That’s when I realized hip hop had a whole different soul to it.”

That makes sense since hip hop was born as a form of rebellion against disco on August 11th, 1973 on 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, NY. The innovator of this genre is Clive Campbell, aka DJ Kool Herc. Kool Herc would play disco records but with a twist. His method was only playing the parts that would just be the instrumentation and none of the lyrics, that was called the break. Who would have thought that one simple house party in The Bronx would turn into something that people can love, enjoy, and create opportunities from the ashes of oppression?