By Nick Gorrie

Students are always on the lookout for the next big thing to emerge in their lives or on campus. Rapper Jake Morrow, a sophomore at KU, is looking to be that next big thing by making it big in the music industry and helping to change peoples’ lives at the same time.

He believes every time he holds the microphone he has the power to influence people. “I have no excuse for not doing what I love to do because I have a good life and I hold myself to the standard of being a leader and making a difference because I have the capability to do so,” Morrow said.

To most people, Morrow, also known by his stage name, Jake Supreme, would not be viewed as the stereotypical rapper. Originally from Pittsburgh, he grew up in an upper middle class family, and though he was around a lot of diversity, it was far from living in “the ‘hood.”

His mother did not even let him listen to rap music at first because of how poorly it was viewed. Because of that, his first exposure to music was through church and even some rock music such as the Foo Fighters and Green Day.

He later moved to Harrisburg, got interested in rap music, and began making his own music at age 14. His first song came from talking to a friend in study hall and thinking it would be a good idea to maybe record a song. Soon after, they had a poor quality phone recording of a song over the instrumental of “Breathe” by Fabolous.

Once Morrow saw people really seemed to enjoy the song, he started to get serious about rapping. He started to write more and more original songs and by 2010, he put out his first official mix tape titled “Baby Steps.” That same year he also put his first music video of a Mac Miller remix on YouTube.

What he believes makes him different from other rappers is that he does not fit all of the stereotypes. He said he was not the kind of person to go out drinking and partying in high school. Instead, his main activities consisted of going to school, playing varsity ice hockey and lacrosse, and writing music.

When he sits down with a pen and paper to write songs, he said he wants to create something that inspires while telling a story from his perspective that people will be able to relate to. No matter what he writes about, he said, he always wants to send a positive message.

The passion he has for his music shows in his live performances as well. He has become a staple in on-campus shows, and is steadily moving his show to large off-campus parties as well.

“Supreme has great stage presence and you can tell he’s comfortable in front of a crowd. I’ve seen him perform a few times and I think the audience really connects to him and his music,” said KU junior Matt Cech. In addition to his own music, he also hopes to one day have his own production company to make music videos and produce music for others as well.

Braden Stone, who is Morrow’s DJ, has nothing but high praise for him and his endeavors.

“The drive is un-matched and the knowledge is unbelievable,” Stone said. “He’s put out three mix tapes already and he’s not even 21. The kid has it.”