The melody surrounds him as he attempts to find the perfect beat. He feels the bass in his chest and begins to nod his head to the music. As he continues to listen to the beat, the words finally come to him. After letting events in his life build up, he writes and begins to tell a story along with the flow of the beat. After practicing over and over, he hops on his computer and starts to record.

This is the process that Suquando McMurray, 19, of Des Moines uses to make a song. He currently attends DMACC in Ames and aspires to be a big-time rapper.

“I want to tell where I came from and where I’m going. I just want to prove myself. A lot of the people I grew up with have either been shot or are in jail,” Suquando said. “I want to show that you don’t have to go down the wrong path. And that’s what I’m trying to tell in my music. All positive and inspirational vibes.”

Hip-hop came at an early age for Suquando. He began rapping at the age of four.

“I remember waking up and watching ‘106 & Park’ on BET,” Suquando said.

He tried to emulate what he saw on television, but he got into rapping because of his dad. Suquando’s dad also aspired to be a rapper. His father eventually did not make it in the music industry and that is something that pushes Suquando.

Growing up, his relationship with his father was very “long distant.” Suquando did not see his father for months on end.

Suquando also came from a low-income household, so money is another inspiration for him. Suquando claims that he made more money than his mother did while working at The Rose of East Des Moines, an assisted living home, before he attended college. He hopes to make money from rapping to support him and his family one day.

Suquando has put out three tracks thus far. His debut project was entitled, “Varsity,” which dropped in 2012. Since then, he has put out “Senior Year” and his latest effort called, “Remind Me To Forget.”

“[Remind Me To Forget] did okay. I wanted more downloads and more exposure with it,” Suquando said. “The difference between [Remind Me To Forget] and the other mixtapes, is the overall storyline.”

Along with the tracks, Suquando has performed live at a couple of shows in downtown Des Moines. The reaction from the crowd was quite different than he had hoped for.

“When I did shows, it was the wrong crowd for my type of music, so I didn’t get very good responses. They were into ‘trap rap’ and 2 Chainz-type-of-music. My music was a little over their heads,” Suquando said.

The young rapper is coming into the rap game at a time that he describes as the “new golden era of hip-hop.”

“Rappers want to be better. J Cole, Kanye, Jay-Z, Wale and Drake—they all put out great albums. And with the controversy surrounding Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Control’ verse, it’s a great time for hip-hop,” Suquando said.

He also compared 2013 to the 1990’s when The Notorious B.I.G. and 2pac were at the height of their fame and when rappers had to fight for the “number one spot.”

The Des Moines emcee also believes the rap industry is heading in the right direction. The record labels that dominate hip-hop include Rick Ross’ “Maybach Music Group”, Lil Wayne’s “Y.M.C.M.B.”, Kanye West’s “G.O.O.D. Music” and Jay-Z’s “Roc Nation”, among others. But despite all of the accolades these labels have, many independent rappers have had recent success. Suquando emphasized the importance of independence.

“Blowing up doesn’t require being on a label. You can be independent, you can make your own brand, and I think that’s great about the industry,” Squando said.

Suquando’s next project will be an EP entitled, “Make The Struggle Pretty.” He has one song for the project right now and he is currently taking his time to construct a well-organized piece of work. With “Make the Struggle Pretty,” Suquando wants to “blow up and construct a lane for himself.” There is no definitive release date for the EP yet. He hopes to have it ready by spring of 2014.

His next goal is to burn a mixtape called “Trilogy,” which is a compilation of the best music from his previous three mixtapes all on one CD, and pass it out in Ames to get a buzz circulating about him.

As for now, Suquando is focusing on his education while continuing to do what he loves.

“Rap is a passion. It’s not something I do for fun. Rap is a dream,” Squando said.