Found this today little read on our friend KILLA C lol
http://www.billingsgazette.com/entertainment/enjoy/article_85aa0f5c-bf5b-11de-b494-001cc4c002e0.html
Coul Hill hasn't been a saint. And he has the tattoos and criminal past to prove it.
He earned his baritone growl by smoking more than two packs of cigarettes a day for years. And the snarl he likes to wear belies the fact that he's only 27 years old.
Hill describes his past as "checkered'' and says he was lucky to survive it. He had four felony charges against him for drugs and weapons when he was still in high school. And he still mourns over the death of one of his best buddies, Terry Hunt, on Christmas Eve in 1999. Hill and Hunt were supposed to be in Vegas that night, but instead Hill was in jail and Hunt ended up crashing his motorcycle on North 27th Street and dying of head injuries. Hunt's family marks the spot of the accident near the Kum and Go station every year with candles.
That tragic accident changed the course of Hill's life. Just 17 at the time and recently graduated from Red Lodge High School a year ahead of his class, Hill dealt with his grief by rapping about it.
"You take an angry kid, mad at the world and put a microphone in his hand - that's how I dealt with Terry's death. I used to drive by this little place on First Avenue all the time, Del Rio Music, so one day I stopped in. I found a guy to buy some beats from, but I didn't even know how to count bars. I worked 70 hours a week to pay for the studio time and recorded my first song. It took well over 100 hours, but I made a song.''
Hill kept after it, writing and rapping. He studied under Supaman, a Christian rapper from Crow Agency, who taught him how to count measures and pair lyrics with music. Hill devoted himself to music and began following Insane Clown Posse as they toured the country. He recorded a CD and gave it away at shows to get noticed by fans. Eventually, it worked.
"People began to know me as the guy who gives his music away. By 2001, I was making money performing, and I started making a living at it in 2002.''
Hill has since opened shows for ICP and other major rap groups, including Tech N9ne. He tours with his band, Grave Plot, and as the solo act Killa C.
An incident when he was touring with ICP forced Hill to consider how music affects his fans. The topic of suicide has cropped up in his songs over the years. Hill said it's something he's struggled with, so he wrote about it. But when he met a 15-year-old girl in the Midwest who attempted suicide after listening to one of his songs, Hill began to rethink the message.
"I thought, 'Here's one person who tried suicide because of my music. She failed. How many other ones succeeded?' ''
His newest disc, "Bound in Chains," comes out Tuesday, and tonight Hill will celebrate with a party and performance at the Railyard Ale House.
The disc is part autobiographical, chronicling Hill's life from troublemaker to family man and college student. The final five tracks show a more reflective, humorous side to Hill. On some of the songs, Hill's young daughters, Rose and Abbi, can even sing along because there are no curse words, Hill said.
Hill is pursuing a double major in history and English at MSU Billings, and by Christmas, he'll be halfway through his four-year degree. He would like to become a high school teacher.
"Every May I'd see the Gazette's list of graduates, and I kept saying, 'That could have been me.' But I kept putting it off. Last September, before a 41-city tour, I called the school and decided to take two classes online. I thought, if I can do that and tour, I know I can handle school. I pat myself on the back. I'm getting A's and B's and I just love writing essays. If people want to call me a nerd, they can.''
http://www.billingsgazette.com/entertainment/enjoy/article_85aa0f5c-bf5b-11de-b494-001cc4c002e0.html
Coul Hill hasn't been a saint. And he has the tattoos and criminal past to prove it.
He earned his baritone growl by smoking more than two packs of cigarettes a day for years. And the snarl he likes to wear belies the fact that he's only 27 years old.
Hill describes his past as "checkered'' and says he was lucky to survive it. He had four felony charges against him for drugs and weapons when he was still in high school. And he still mourns over the death of one of his best buddies, Terry Hunt, on Christmas Eve in 1999. Hill and Hunt were supposed to be in Vegas that night, but instead Hill was in jail and Hunt ended up crashing his motorcycle on North 27th Street and dying of head injuries. Hunt's family marks the spot of the accident near the Kum and Go station every year with candles.
That tragic accident changed the course of Hill's life. Just 17 at the time and recently graduated from Red Lodge High School a year ahead of his class, Hill dealt with his grief by rapping about it.
"You take an angry kid, mad at the world and put a microphone in his hand - that's how I dealt with Terry's death. I used to drive by this little place on First Avenue all the time, Del Rio Music, so one day I stopped in. I found a guy to buy some beats from, but I didn't even know how to count bars. I worked 70 hours a week to pay for the studio time and recorded my first song. It took well over 100 hours, but I made a song.''
Hill kept after it, writing and rapping. He studied under Supaman, a Christian rapper from Crow Agency, who taught him how to count measures and pair lyrics with music. Hill devoted himself to music and began following Insane Clown Posse as they toured the country. He recorded a CD and gave it away at shows to get noticed by fans. Eventually, it worked.
"People began to know me as the guy who gives his music away. By 2001, I was making money performing, and I started making a living at it in 2002.''
Hill has since opened shows for ICP and other major rap groups, including Tech N9ne. He tours with his band, Grave Plot, and as the solo act Killa C.
An incident when he was touring with ICP forced Hill to consider how music affects his fans. The topic of suicide has cropped up in his songs over the years. Hill said it's something he's struggled with, so he wrote about it. But when he met a 15-year-old girl in the Midwest who attempted suicide after listening to one of his songs, Hill began to rethink the message.
"I thought, 'Here's one person who tried suicide because of my music. She failed. How many other ones succeeded?' ''
His newest disc, "Bound in Chains," comes out Tuesday, and tonight Hill will celebrate with a party and performance at the Railyard Ale House.
The disc is part autobiographical, chronicling Hill's life from troublemaker to family man and college student. The final five tracks show a more reflective, humorous side to Hill. On some of the songs, Hill's young daughters, Rose and Abbi, can even sing along because there are no curse words, Hill said.
Hill is pursuing a double major in history and English at MSU Billings, and by Christmas, he'll be halfway through his four-year degree. He would like to become a high school teacher.
"Every May I'd see the Gazette's list of graduates, and I kept saying, 'That could have been me.' But I kept putting it off. Last September, before a 41-city tour, I called the school and decided to take two classes online. I thought, if I can do that and tour, I know I can handle school. I pat myself on the back. I'm getting A's and B's and I just love writing essays. If people want to call me a nerd, they can.''
