R-JENERATION: Meadows senior expresses his passion for writing through rap

It starts with something to say. 

A word becomes a phrase, which evolves into a line. Suddenly an entire verse flows through his brain and out of his mouth. The words keep coming, matching the rhythm set by a pounding bass. The steadiness of the beat combines with his voice, which continues to deliver a stream of fiery words put together in clever metaphors and captivating arrangements.

It's a familiar sensation for 17-year-old Sterling Campbell, and it is one he lives for.

For Campbell, a senior at The Meadows School, rapping is more than a string of words set to a beat -- it's a creative outlet. 

"Rhyming is a great way to express my point of view on the world," Campbell says.

Campbell's favorite type of music is rap, but he was inspired to start rapping himself after watching videos of rap battles on a YouTube channel known as "Grind Time." Battles feature a form of rapping known as freestyling, in which raps are created using simple rhymes on the spot and usually focus on insulting an opponent and building up an ego.

Initially, Campbell, who goes by the stage name Werbles, created raps off the top of his head, and he began to battle against friends for practice or freestyle to instrumental beats that he found online. Soon, Campbell got tired of coming up with "the same self-motivating rhymes" that characterize freestyling, so he turned to more profound ideas and eventually began writing them down.

Though it is more time-consuming than freestyling, writing raps also has inspired Campbell to work with friends to create his own beats and record his material. Campbell, a self-proclaimed "musically inclined person," has been playing piano and guitar for years, and he incorporates those sounds into his beats. Campbell says his music adds an original flavor to each of his tracks.

Campbell's sister Chynna says music played a significant role in their childhood.

"We've both been playing (musical instruments) since we were little," she says. Chynna says she believes rap has allowed Campbell to combine his love of music and his talent for writing.

Campbell and his close friend and fellow Meadows senior Ajay Batra currently are working together to create a mixtape of several tracks to send out to friends and music industry representatives. Campbell and Batra each write rhymes and pull out the best ones to use in songs that are then recorded over a beat. Campbell also posts the tracks on his Werbles Facebook page. The two started collaborating when they realized they shared a talent for freestyling. 

"Sterling is good to work with because we bounce ideas off each other and come up with a product better than what we could make individually," Batra says.

Campbell has performed at parties and relatives' weddings, but never at a formal event or for money. More importantly, he says, rapping is about expression. Campbell pulls subject material from specific people he knows and significant experiences he's had. One of his main goals with his music is to teach others by sharing his life, even though he is still a teenager. 

"I still have a lot to learn," Campbell says, "but I've learned a lot so far."

Campbell, who says he was quieter before he started rapping, believes that getting involved in the art form has improved his vocabulary and his ability to speak confidently.

"When I rap, I can talk about anything," Campbell says.

In addition to raps, Campbell writes songs, short stories and other forms of creative works. At The Meadows, he is enrolled in every writing course offered, including Advanced Placement English, creative writing and journalism. 

Campbell says he thinks rap and hip-hop music have given new life to poetry because it appeals to a larger audience. 

"Rap is something you can bob your head to, or just sit and listen and let the message sink in," he says.

Campbell plans to pursue writing in college and as a career, calling it his "passion," but he doesn't rule out rap as part of his future. 

"The perception people have of rappers is not some teenage white kid," he says. "If rapping doesn't end up turning into anything, I still enjoy doing it no matter what. It's more for the artist than for the people."