He’s not the campus cutie. He’s not a campus celebrity. He’s a golfer.
Standing at 5’9, weighing a total of 165lbs soaking wet, complete in sweatpants, a hoodie, a dolphins hat and Nikes is Alec Barber.
“I’m really boring to be honest,” Barber claims.
From a distance Barber (or Barb for short), looks like an average St. Ambrose Marketing and Management student. You can usually find him with friends Nate Burgess, Danny Ormiston and Ricky DeBartolo, or hiding in his room playing video games. But realistically, there’s so much more to Barb than meets the eye.
Eight days ago Barb released the single “From the Soul”. Within a day of the release, the song had more than 800 plays and was shared amongst the majority of the SAU campus.
“I never thought it would get this many plays” – Barb
Like most millennials, Barb grew up listening to Lil’ Wayne and 50 Cent. Unlike most millennials, that music transformed from an interest to a passion. With a little convincing from DeBartolo, Barb teamed up with friend AJ Weston and put out a mixtape his freshman year at Ambrose: “The Dorm Room EP”.
From that moment on, Barb evolved into the rapper campus see’s today.
This past Halloween weekend, Barb teamed up with friend and rapper Tayvian Johnson (aka TAJ) for a concert at Augustana.
“I didn’t really know anyone, so I just tried to make them laugh. Everyone was like ‘what’s this little white boy doing on the stage’, but I eventually made them laugh.” – Barb.
With influences Logic and J. Cole Barb has put out two singles since then, “Way Back” and “Derek Jeter”, that he recorded at Skylark Recording just down the street from SAU. When he isn’t recording at Skylark, Barb spits hardy bars in the studio in Burgess’s attic. Barb has the majority of a new EP sitting in the notes seciton of his iPhone and is ready to start that process. Plans for a new single at the start of 2016 and a new EP entitled “In the Crowd” means no down time for Barb.
“People might think it makes me way cooler, I think its kind of funny. I thought I was cool before this.” – SAU’s own slim shady, Barb.