This week I had the honor of sitting down and talking with one of Wofford’s freshman football players, Jonny Martin. The running back from San Diego, California is also a rap-per. So when he’s not avoiding tackles on the field, he is in the studio trying to make a few hits. He dropped his first official mix-tape, entitled “Music Is My Drug,” just this past summer on DatPiff.com. He recorded en-tirely on an USB microphone in his closet.
“Originally I called my self Pacman,” states Martin, who now goes by the name of The Franchize KiD. This stage iden-tity is a twist of a nickname given to him by his 8th grade lacrosse coach. The talented young Mar-tin became known as “the fran-chise” for his superb ability on the lacrosse field. He added “KiD” to the end of it to simply further express his chill and worry free personality. Several times throughout the interview, Martin exuded his “laid back-ness,” which he hopes to one day become a movement he calls “SD Layback.”
The Franchize KiD accredits artists such as Tupac, The Game and Kanye West for his source of inspiration. “The music I listen to is what inspires me most,” says the KiD “and this includes punk rock.” Oddly enough Jonny started out in a punk rock band before branch-ing out on his own to pursue rapping.
“Hopefully [college] will help me to blow up” says the KiD who plans on showcasing his talents at this week’s SCATE Night. The rapper, whose Face-book fan page topples 900 fol-lowers, is set to see a pretty de-cent size increase. Although Wofford is not known for pro-ducing many artists, we here at SCATE believe that the time is now. With Wofford’s small yet family like community, artists such as the Franchize KiD will be able to showcase themselves and further their dreams in hopes of being seen. Who knows, maybe next Spring Weekend we can experience a little “SD Layback.”
Find his music on Facebook, Soundcloud, or DatPiff.com.
-C. Kimber
