Countslick - "Dante"

[boss]

My name Ryan Tharp, and I perform under the identity of Count Slick. I was born in Norfolk, VA and grew up in Stafford, VA. I was raised in a catholic, military family, so naturally I slowly evolved into the black sheep of the bunch. My constant drive to create and imagine led me to a deep passion for music. Music has been apart of my life for as long as I can remember, and it has molded me into the person I am today. 

I started playing drums and piano at the age of 7, and continued to play drums and multiple other instruments for the next 16 years. For 6 years I competed as a professional marching percussionist in some of the largest stadiums in the country in front of thousands of people. This instilled an insatiable hunger for performance in me, and when my drumming career came to end I knew I needed a new outlet to express myself and a new creative medium. 

Creative writing and poetry have always been a major foundation of my life, so that blended with my love of rhythm and musical composition and brought about a new found love of hip hop. Throughout grade school I listened to mostly metal, punk pop, and post core bands, so when I dove into the genre of hip hop it was with a fresh perspective, and a catalog of music ahead of me spanning two decades. I indulged myself with power artists and groups of the golden 90’s era, as well as modern lyricists and new wave rappers. When I began to write and produce my own music, I knew immediately I had found my calling. 

Count Slick is a manifestation of my darker side, my anxiety, my anger, my sadness, and my self-doubt. When I create music I truly can be the individual I could never be on my own. Count Slick’s music is made for people like myself, who find release in the intricacy of music and the substance behind it. I want to relate to listeners as much as I aim to teach and spread knowledge. The consciousness is a powerful entity, and my music is a tool to be used to open the door for inquisitive minds.