Meet Showrocka Pullen

We were lucky to catch up with Showrocka Pullen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Showrocka, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?

Many would think that an underground rapper would spend most his times on stages and in studios with familiar faces that look like them. Rappers have traditionally been stereotyped as having a certain background, demographic and even racial identity, but nothing could be further from the truth. In 2024, rappers and hip-hop artists are coming from all walks of life, and many are balancing professional careers alongside their God given ability to make music. My own journey has brought me from an urban environment and section 8 housing, to the hallowed halls of the Ivy League ,where oftentimes, I was the only black face in the room. This dichotomy has allowed me to excel in many situations both in the office and on stage, as I am able to relate to a large cross section of people, and be completely comfortable in my own skin.

It was 1997 when I first stepped onto campus with my guide, a young light-skinned African-American kid named Gerard. He seemed nice, and although it was good to see another face of color, it was evident to me that he came from affluence and did not share my story. We walked the hallways of the dorm, him a little uptight and seemingly adherent to some non-existent schedule, and me, curious and skeptical of this new environment…then I heard it…the new Notorious B.I.G album playing from a room. I promptly walked off mid-sentence, something that I’m realizing was extremely rude in hindsight, but Hip-hop was calling me. I hastily walked into the room and he followed, as I made friends with the young Puerto Rican fellow blasting Notorious B.I.G. This was my day at Choate Rosemary Hall, an elite New England Boarding School where this scholarship kid from New Haven became classmates with Ivanka Trump. A school which housed a black population of less that 10% (I was the only Black Male in my graduating class) and which was founded in 1890, only 25 years after slavery was abolished. I would be lying if I said that staying true to myself allowed me to simply survive the next four years as the only black student in the room; the truth is, leaning into what makes me uniquely me allowed me to thrive. Where many would have chosen to assimilate, going to Dave Matthews concerts and wearing boat shoes, I chose to show up as myself. I wore Timberland boots and Jordans, made the Dean’s List, and performed raps at school meetings, educating and reminding students and teachers alike that hip hop was merely a part of my culture, not the only thing that defines it. I carried this same mentality as I graduated and matriculated into the University of Pennsylvania, a predominantly white institution. I showed up as myself, a hard working, educated black man who happens to be a hell of a rapper. I was able to excel by simply being myself, but also being willing to learn and grown. Focusing on the unique traits that made me special, forced me to remember not only the unique struggle that led to being in such a place, but also the unique path that I would have to talk to forge my future

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

By day I am a Tax assessor for a municipality, buried in paperwork and reporting directly to the mayor; at night, early morning, and sometimes lunch breaks, however, I am an active and well-respected underground rapper who also happens to be a member of the Recording Academy (the committee responsible for Grammy award voting.) I have released 5 solo albums, and 6 collaborative albums since 2019 and participated in a multi city tours across the east coast, which eventually led to me touring overseas in the U.K. this past year. In addition to rapping and songwriting, I also teach lyricism at Pendulum Ink, the world’s first school for hip hop lyricism, where I was once a student, earning the high honor of Valedictorian in 2022. For me, this is very exciting as academia and hip hop have always been a part of my life. I have been writing raps since I was seven years old and have, by means of academic scholarship, attended prestigious schools such as Choate Rosemary Hall and The University of Pennsylvania. Teaching at Pendulum ink allows me to blend these two passions and share them with others. Creating dope raps is one thing, but the ability to break down the components, create new techniques and explain them in a common lexicon, is truly some next level emcee wizardry. Every Saturday afternoon you can catch me fully immersed in Hip hop, teaching alongside battle Rap Legend Chilla Jones, or reciting rhymes into a sure sm58 stage microphone. My most recent single “Resign” featuring Vallejo California’’s hottest independent artist Larussel, released last week and is already at 11,000 listens. I am currently preparing for the release of a full-length solo album, a Pendulum Ink group album (complete with many celebrity features) as well as an in-person Pendulum Ink graduation ceremony in February. Needless to say, I will be busy writing, rapping and selling my branded “Pay the Rappers” merchandise all year, and quite frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I think that in my own journey, the three skills that were most impactful were 1.) Being trustworthy and honest, 2.) Being able to control my own emotions and 3.) being an extremely hard worker. The quickest way to sour a relationship or make sure that a business deal falls apart is to not deliver what was promised, or to allow a temporary emotional response to cause permanent consequences. For folks who are just starting their professional journey, be it in business, music, or any other walk of life, I urge you to form these good habits early. Never promise more than you can comfortably deliver. Always listen to the entirety of someone’s statement and try to process it through the lens of logic, not just emotion. Listen to understand versus listening to respond. Last but not least, always remember that hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

The most important thing my parents did for me was sacrifice. While my dad was not really around for most of my early life, my mom always held me down, often to her own detriment. Having given birth at age 16 my mother basically sacrificed her childhood so that I would be raised correctly, and be raised by her…not the streets…and not some other family remember or relative. One particular sacrifice I will always remember is her allowing me to go to Europe for an entire summer with a friend whose dad worked for IBM and had been temporarily transferred there. She could not come along due to work and financial constraints, but she scraped together money for a plane ticket. With lodging being essentially free, I was able to see the world, with my mom sending me extra money each Friday when she got paid. Later on in life, I learned that although my dad was not a vital part of my adolescence, he had also sacrificed his lifelong dreams of being a State Trooper, opting to work for the Yale University Police force because they offered a significant monetary contribution towards the college tuition for employees. He was looking out for me, even though he was not in the picture.

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