LYNN — Locals Jeff Porter and David Ryan have combined their passion for hip-hop to create several songs together which will pay homage to the city that raised them, showcase their lyrical abilities, and aim to inspire their audience.
All of which was done during a global pandemic.
Porter and Ryan trace their love for the musical genre back to their days at Pickering Middle School, when both artists were first exposed to hip-hop.
Porter said his career started via a collaboration with his close friend from college, Fernando Gomez who is also known as T.O.I. He rapped with Gomez which inspired him to create his own music, he said.
However, Porter, 28, did not plan to release any of his material until he was praised for his freestyle rap and lyrics while visiting his cousin, Josh, and friends in Los Angeles before the pandemic.
“I took that with me when the pandemic hit and I had so much more free time,” Porter said. “It was kind of like an epiphany. I really could do this.”
Porter began working with Steve Dubois (aka Ranger Beats), a recording engineer who had also collaborated with Ryan, to release some of his own music. This led to his working relationship with Ryan, he said.
Ryan, 23, said he remembers getting up to sing and perform along with “American Idol” as a child while watching with his family.
While he didn’t think much of those moments, Ryan said his mother loved watching him and always said he should perform.
When Ryan was 12 years old, his mother died from cancer, a tragedy he said had a huge impact on his love for music.
“Music kind of took another meaning after that,” Ryan said. “It was a really tough time, but music kind of helped me get through it all.”
From there, Ryan took that passion to create his own brand, “108,” which originated as a clothing line/creative collective aimed to support and represent local artists. After a couple of years making sweatshirts, shirts and hats for other people, Ryan decided to use his brand to represent himself as a musician.
Ryan and Porter eventually bonded over music through social media and a podcast they hosted with some of their friends.
When both realized that they shared a common dream of creating their own songs, they decided to collaborate on their first extended play (EP) record last summer.
They named their first collaboration “Good Luck Farms” in honor of the former restaurant at the Lynnfield rotary they said has always been a symbol of home — one that brings back memories of dining with grandparents, parents and friends.
“It’s just an ode to where we grew up,” Ryan said. “You know you’re home when you’re pulling around that rotary and see the Good Luck Farms sign.”
Porter said the sign is iconic, and the “good luck” aspect fits in with their goal to inspire and motivate other artists to take a leap and create something of their own.
Porter and Ryan have rebranded themselves as “108 World,” and just a couple weeks ago released “108 WORLD 4 PACK,” a four-song EP full of different sounds and lyrical content.
Both musicians said they are looking to make music a full-time career.
After shooting their first music video last week in partnership with fellow Lynn native and director/screenwriter Jake Fay (B Team Inspired Cinema), as well as other creative work with Lynn freelance videographer Steve Foley (Steven Foley Video Productions), the pair hopes to collaborate with local artists on live stream performances, concerts, promotions and music releases.
“Everything we do, we try to do it in and around Lynn because that’s the place that made us,” Porter said. “It’s never too late to pursue your dream. As long as it makes you happy, go for it.”
Porter and Ryan hope their music can make other people smile, laugh, be entertained and reflect on what makes them happy. They said everyone should chase their dreams and ignore any judgment or negativity which may come along with such a journey.
“The feeling of getting together with one of my best friends, creating something of our own from scratch, and releasing it trumps any negative reaction to it,” Ryan said. “We’re not making this music so people will give us a bunch of praise. We’re doing it because it takes some stuff off of our chests that we can then release to the world, and hope it can resonate and help some people out, too.”
The hip-hop partners have amassed more than 55,000 streams on Spotify and currently have 20 to 30 unreleased songs in production.
“Creating this music was a leap of faith, but the overwhelming support and the positive feedback just makes us want to continue following our dreams,” Porter said.
108 World music can be found on all streaming platforms. Porter (@jeffporter_108) and Ryan (@davidryan108) are also active on social media.