Before Happy Birthday Calvin would have his song placed in the Netflix original film “Beats”
as a single for the soundtrack
Before the song would have over 4 million plays on Spotify and close to a million views
on YouTube
Before Happy Birthday Calvin would have one of the most Shazammed songs in the world
Before Happy Birthday Calvin would sign a deal with LA Reid’s Hitco Records
Now if you’re unfamiliar with Calvin, it’s cool but there are millions who heard his
song in the Netflix original series “Beats,” which helped him land a record deal with LA
Reid.
I actually spoke to Calvin over Skype about his full journey, which sounds weird to say
about a kid who hasn’t even turned 18 yet.
But he’s a great kid with a bright future, so if you want to know more about Happy Birthday
Calvin, then you clicked on the right video.
What’s going on good people in the comment section?
I hope you’re having one Hecht of a day, my name is Jeremy Hecht and I’ll be your
host today as I take you through the life and career of Happy Birthday Calvin prior
to fame.
Recently I’ve also covered Stunna 4 Vegas and I randomly found myself doing a house
tour with Kid Buu, which as you can imagine was a very strange experience.
So you can check those videos out after this one.
But without any more talking, let’s get into the interview.
Calvin Holmes was born on October 18, 2001 in Chicago.
He grew up with his mom and two younger brothers.
Music has always been a big part of his life.
His mom wrote poetry in high school.
Although Calvin’s dad wasn’t a huge influence in his life, I found out that he actually
used to be a rapper himself:
But it was his mom who bought him his first computer and took him to the studio for the
first time when he was only 10 years old.
And she even became his manager.
But before that,
The school was shut down in fifth grade…
Can’t say if the whoopings had anything to do with that or not…
But after the school was shut down, he attended Frazier preparatory academy.
Calvin had friends involved in some of the things he was talking about, but he always
managed to keep himself out of trouble.
For the most part…
Music was one of the major reasons he was able to remain focused.
Calvin has been making music since he was 10 years old.
He was influenced by Tyler The Creator, Frank, Lil Wayne, Travis Scott and of course Kanye:
So, he decided he had to make his own songs:
So, he was rapping under the name King… something.
And he was making music that was far beyond his age range
in terms of how it sounded.
He was also performing at local talent shows and he even went on a school tour when he
was in 5th grade:
Damn, that would be crazy to do a tour in the fifth grade.
I would probably let it get to my head.
I played guitar at my 6th grade graduation and I already think it made my ego way too
big.
Calvin kept making music throughout middle school and working on his song making abilities.
But everything changed when recruiters from local performing arts high school, ChiArts
came to his middle school.
While
at ChiArts, he was rapping and making music but it wasn’t until his junior year that
he created his current rap name:
Calvin
was posting songs on soundcloud and a couple of his songs had naturally grown to a few
thousand plays.
One of his songs actually had 50k!
But the first single he dropped under his new name was “New Friends.”
Which is crazy because that song now has over 4 million plays on Spotify as of today.
But Calvin’s blow up happened through a true friendship and perfect timing.
During his time at the performing arts high school, Calvin was able to meet people like
singers, guitar players, and even actors.
One of the people who he became close with was Khalil Everage, who ended up starring
in the Netflix original movie “Beats.”
After
he made those songs in the studio, things just
seemed to fall into place perfectly
But even bigger than a record deal, his song was used as the main theme for the entire
movie.
In the movie, Khalil’s character makes beats, but eventually they needed an actual beat
for the movie.
So, that’s when he hit up his friend Calvin to help out.
Basically the beat that Khalil works on throughout the entire movie, is actually Calvin’s song.
In terms of the future, he hopes to one-day win
Grammys, work with his idols, and having his family straight.
And right now, he’s working on his debut album.
Thank you guys for watching.
Shoutout to Calvin for the interview.
If nobody has told you yet today, I love you.