By day, Ethan M. ’27 is a student, balancing essays, exams, and projects. By night, he’s spitting bars that have caught the attention of thousands online. Known as 7sevenseason, within the Lakeside community, Ethan has been making waves as the resident student rapper. Across the greater Seattle area, he’s been making himself known through collaborations and self-promotion as an up-and-coming artist.
For his whole life, Ethan has been creative. From his work in visual arts like painting and listening to musicians like Frank Ocean and Che whenever he could, Ethan got inspired to try his hand at making music. “Eventually I thought I’d give it a shot and the more and more I’ve done it, I’ve learned more about it and become more passionate,” he said.
But once Ethan was ready to start making music, he needed a name. “Seven” came naturally — it was his favorite number and continued to show up in his life — but something was missing. “It’s my season,” he said confidently. “This is the time I’m going to come through.” And just like that, 7sevenseason was born.
Ethan explained that his best songs, especially the ones on his newest EP, are made when he’s in a flow state: “Oftentimes it’s at 1AM in the morning, where I don’t feel tired and I’m just continuously working.”
Regarding the content of the songs themselves, each song starts with finding the right beat, which can take hours and listening to thousands of tracks. If the beat “speaks to [him]” and is something that he feels he’s able to work with, Ethan jumps right in. “From that beat I just freestyle and it evolves more and more,” he said, “[and] I’ll go back and work on it and polish it more and more over time.”
The time it takes to create and finish each song varies. Usually, Ethan said, each song is recorded in one 3-4 hour sitting, when he’s in a flow state. Then, over periods spanning multiple months, he learns more about mixing, dynamic equalization, and other nuances of music production. Ethan will revisit the song, reiterate the mix, improve the sound, and possibly switch up the bars.
Ethan’s newest release, #7sevenseason, is his first full-length EP featuring six genre-bending songs he’s made over the last year. While his full catalogue is still small, he’s made many songs and wanted to produce a cohesive highlight reel showing what he is capable of as an artist.
His work has paid off; “kill for ya,” the EP’s most popular song, has already recorded over 2,000 listens, a major achievement just one month after its debut.
One of the biggest challenges for Seattle underground rappers is finding collaborators. Ethan is working with Beckett S. ’27 as part of Lakeside’s Social Business and Entrepreneurship class to build an app called MusicMesh. So far, they only have a prototype, but the app will help connect musicians across the Seattle area — and perhaps beyond. Beckett elaborated, “[Finding collaborators is] a big problem for Ethan, it’s a big problem we see with a lot of people.” One day, artists will be able to create a profile including details like their age, style, and more. They’ll search the database, filtering for shared traits and passions, to find other artists with whom they might be able to work.
Ethan and Beckett have also started Music Production Club and are looking for anyone who is interested in making music that wants to come learn, have fun, and provide feedback as they navigate the worlds of art, business, and underground rap.
“Ultimately, if you make music it has to be for yourself,” Ethan said.
