By using rap to overcome the pain in his past, one local artist has secured his future in entertainment.
“I am hip-hop, I am for the culture,” Kennesaw State student and rap artist John Goodman said.
Goodman, an integrated studies major, better known by his stage name Bobby Made, is a local rapper with two EP’s — “Watching Television” and “Verses For The Summer” — with several music videos under his belt.
The stage name Bobby Made is special to Goodman and is more than just a performance name to him.
“Made is an acronym,” Goodman said. “Made stands for ‘My Ambition Determines Everything.’ I said if I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it a thousand percent. I have to show the world who is Bobby Made because there is no one else in the world who has this name.”
Goodman began making music on and off roughly 12 years ago, and has since been building up his reputation in the Atlanta hip-hop scene.
“I stopped rapping due to self-doubt [and then] my mother died two-and-a-half years ago, and I stopped completely — I was completely done with rapping at that point,” Goodman said. “What got me back into it was listening to Jay-Z’s ‘4:44’ album and I was just inspired by his lyrics from ‘Marcy Me’ and how he came from such a small neighborhood but has become a global name.”
Hip-hop has always been a passion for Goodman and has been a part of his life since he was a kid.
“Hip hop was always an outlet — that and WWF wrestling,” Goodman said. “I didn’t really go out that much, but one day my brother and my cousins were downstairs, and the song ‘Method Man’ by the Wu-Tang-Clan popped up. I loved the way it brought flavor and that’s how I fell in love with hip-hop.”
Goodman said he faced adversity in school from teachers and administration, but despite that, he went on to become successful and hopes his lyrics inspire others.
“I was labeled as illiterate,” Goodman said. “When I write music and when I rap, I want people to be inspired by what I say and take it home. I hope it brightens up their day and their time and that they take away my message of pursuing your dreams.”
If there is one thing Goodman wants listeners to take away from his music, it is that he represents a genuine love and appreciation for hip-hop, which he said he sees as more than just music.
“Rap is a word — hip hop is a culture,” Goodman said. “Hip hop is represented by love, peace and unity, and those are the basics.”
Goodman has a show planned for March 22 at the Apache Café and another EP planned for the summer.
To find out more about Bobby Made’s music and future shows, visit his Instagram @bobbymadeemcee.
