By Morgan James
Making our dreams into a reality! Isn’t this what we all wish to do? Realizing our dreams takes a huge leap of faith, a great sacrifice, or the courage to face our worries and fears. I recently read a Facebook post from Jeffrey Schoonover aka “Scoonz” declaring that he is quitting his day job as a pharmacy technician to go to audio engineering school in Los Angeles. I was inspired by this, so I contacted Scoonz to find out the details of his new plan. As we sat down, Scoonz opened up to share why he began rapping, what motivates his lyrics, the truth behind his new album, and his plan to pursuit his dream.
When I asked Scoonz about quitting his day job and moving to Los Angeles, he replied “Well that is the plan.” Scoonz laughed with a far off look in his eyes and went on to explain that he has most recently been partnering with Raquel Love aka “Raqstar” and continuing to rap as a duo called “2Tecs.” By day, Raqstar is a surgical technician, and Scoonz is a pharmacy technician. Both plan to start looking soon for a place to live in Los Angeles. Scoonz advised that he will get a job which has flexible hours to support himself so that he may attend the L.A. Film School in Hollywood and receive an education to become an audio technician. “It is not that I necessarily want to be an audio technician,” he explained, “I want to learn to mix, master, and produce my own music because I have to pay someone else for it now. I won’t graduate and then get a job working for someone else in L.A. Instead, with this knowledge, I hope to build my own label to showcase my music, play shows, then one day maybe sign other artists.”
2Tecs has already been playing shows and showcasing their music out of town as a duo. In fact they just opened for Spice1 on April 29th at the Yost Theater in Santa Ana, CA. In town, Scoonz advised that his next gig will be a charity fundraiser on May 12th with The Epoch Momentous at Plan B Live Entertainment & Cocktails in Thousand Palms, CA.
Scoonz has an impressive rapping style. He spits out lyrics faster than most. I asked about his influences and if they have impressed upon him that style, or how it came about. “If it wasn’t for Tech N9ne I wouldn’t have the style that I have,” he replies. “There would be no Scoonz without Tech N9ne.” Scoonz also cites Twista and Eminem as influences of his music and lyrical style. He went on to say that when he began rapping five years ago he did not rap so quickly, but as time progressed so did his speed.
This was a big week for Scoonz as he not only opened up for Spice1, but released his album Socially Awkward. He explained that this album is five years in the making. “The first song that I wrote came to me in a dream,” he said. “I had never rapped before. I had no idea that I would be good at rapping. The only thing I wrote prior to that was a suicide note. I was in a state of depression. Discovering music is what brought me out of it and saved my life. When I wrote, I realized that I was good at it and it gave me something to look forward to doing.”
Scoonz continued to share his past and admit that “depression is an ongoing battle which I continue to treat with therapy and medication, but music makes me sane.” His album title Socially Awkward has rooted meaning in feeling like a loner in school as a child, never making friendships and having to learn social skills in his twenties, especially with girls. “Whether it is my depression or my detachment from others, anything that I go through in life, I can talk about and share through my music.”
Download a copy of Socially Awkward by Scoonz today on iTunes, Google, Amazon, or wherever you buy your music and see what all of the hype is about!
