UW-Milwaukee Student and Rapper: Meet Will the Glide

Music can be a creative outlet that allows one to express their inner emotions and feelings in an artistic way. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee junior, William Johnson, otherwise creatively known as Will The Glide, has been a part of Milwaukee’s “low-key” rap scene for a short time now but has been working on building his artistic and lyrical skills since he was a teenager.

“I started rapping when I was like 15,” Johnson said. “I was recording with my cousin way back in the day, and he had a studio, and I was young, just free styling from school. I got pretty good at it and one day I rapped for him, and he helped me to start recording, and I just kept up with it.”

While Milwaukee’s rap and hip-hop scene is small or “underground,” Johnson says the rap and hip-hop community is growing.

“The city is really just getting started. People who have been working at this music stuff for years are actually starting to get the recognition that they deserve. The city is on the come up, people are making names for themselves.”

Johnson balances being a full-time student majoring in digital studio practices with working part-time as an administrative assistant in the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, all while chasing his rap career daily.

“Monday through Friday, I am on UWM’s campus with class and usually working,” he said. “After I get out of class, I’ll probably head home, do any homework I have to do, get to writing then go over to my producer, Austin, or Savryne’s crib, and we’ll get to working on some new music. We’ll probably finish a beat that night, and I’ll take it home if I haven’t written to it already then I would record over the weekend.”

Johnson partners with Austin Mahnke, creatively know as “Savryne”, who is a part of a Milwaukee group of artist and producers, known as Rebel Nxtion, to produce his beats.

“I have been producing for three years,” Mahnke said. “I started working with a buddy then decided to invest money into equipment and my own studio to take this serious and be professional. I like working with Will because he’s another emerging talent in Milwaukee who is creative, and we are always on the same page whenever he comes over and works on music.”

And making a name for himself is exactly what Johnson is doing while working on his current sound.

“With my music, it’s conscious but also enjoyable and it’s easy to listen to. A lot of the beats are either chill or turned up. It’s all just positive, up going energy. That’s what I’m all about with the music.”

Johnson often bases his lyrical content upon what he experiences and goes through.

“I’ll talk about my city and stuff I’ve seen happen. Events I’ve been through or relationships and all sorts of stuff,” he said.  “Just real experiences, when I rap and make my music, I really want to make a connection with the people, so I just always come from a real place and talk about what I’ve been through.”

With an increase of violence in Milwaukee recently, Johnson wrote a song, “It’s Just Water,” which is a poetic, inspiring rhyme that compels the youth to “do what you feel is right, and see with your mind” because “the world is yours and you got to take it in time.”

With a few songs and features under his belt, Johnson says his music can inspire others.

“I’ve seen what my music does. I’ve seen how people react to it and after performing live and seeing how people gravitate towards me, I feel like I have something.”

With the academic semester coming to an end and summer approaching, Johnson and Mahnke will have more time to focus on their creative, artistic abilities. Look out and keep your ears tuned to Will The Glide’s new music, produced by Savryne, shared on soundcloud.com and perhaps performing at a campus near you.