Meet Aberdeen’s coolest fresher

Is this the crown jewel in our crop of first years?

Meet Tyrell – he’s a rapper from London, and he’s already cooler than you.

Even his name is cooler than yours.

The 18-year-old is gracing Aberdeen to study maths, and bring his individual rapping style to the music scene.

Tyrell started rapping when he was only 13. He said: “I was there when my friends were rapping and at the time I felt that I could do better than them.

“Out of all the original friends there aren’t many still into it- it was more of a lunchtime thing at high school but I’ve carried it on.”

And even his parents are cooler than you. Tyrell grew up listening to rap: “My parents listened to old reggae and R’n’B, and my dad was into a lot of hip hop- we had a lot of Outkast playing in the house. Also, of course, Bob Marley.

“Generally it was all of your stereotypical black music.

“Now I listen to a lot of music by a rapper called “Black Thought”. He plays in a band called The Roots and is a huge inspiration to me.

“I also really look up to a rapping producer called “Black Milk”- I saw him live with my dad right before I moved up to Aberdeen. That night he played with a live band and it sounded amazing.”

But despite being whisked away from the capital, and ending up as one of the original homeless freshers, Tyrell is enjoying being here so far. He said: “I like that Aberdeen is a very diverse city- I was actually quite surprised at the mix of cultures and background. Coming up from London I didn’t expect it to be quite so mixed.

“I also love the Aberdeen Angus Scottish beef- you really cant’ beat it. I’m the self-proclaimed chef of the flat.”

But he’s struggling to tap into the music scene: “I haven’t found it yet – I’m still looking for it here.

“Any fellow rappers give me a shout. I love working with drummers-  so hit me up please.”

Now Tyrell’s trying to balance studying with his performing. He said: “I’d like to take rapping further after uni, but at the moment my studies are more important.

“I am writing lyrics all the time though and I like to keep my hand to it, I wouldn’t want to give it up. I write songs whenever my mind wanders, and then whenever it fails as a song I just keep it as a poem.

“If I find I like the sound of the beat I can start to imagine the flow I would say to it and I can go along to the sound.

Alternatively if I have certain feelings or emotions, or I make up a story, you go over the lyrics again and again until it fits in.”

And he even finds his studying comes in handy for his music. “I find maths within the music with sequences and rhythm.

Tyrell’s even had some of his work go viral on his Youtube channel “Treksartist”. He admitted: “One of my songs went quite big on Youtube. It was a cover of a Bashy song called “Black Boys” promoting a positive message for black people.”

But despite his success, Tyrell’s determined to focus on his studies. He said: “My ambition would be earning enough through my studies to support myself, and make music alongside it and grow from there.” Gutted.

And where many lads would try and play the rapper card to get girls, Tyrell’s a gent at heart. He said: “I don’t think it would work to be honest.

“I’m not mainstream enough.”