Michael Smith, a freshman pre-business major, just released his first album on iTunes called “Two Fly” with his friend on Jan. 8. Their rap group, Crew of Two, started after Smith’s tennis injury caused him to pursue a new path that merged his love for rap and writing.

Q: What is the name of your new CD?

A: Two Fly…because we are Crew of Two.

Q: So that is the name of your group? Is it you and another person?

A: Yeah, me and my friend Charles. He actually didn’t go to my high school, but he just lived in the same city and we happened to meet…he goes to A&M and we can still do it over the Internet and send beats back and forth and keep making songs.

Q: What were you involved with in high school?

A: Um, lots of tennis. That is kind of how I got into this, it is a really weird story. I used to play three hours of tennis a day and that was all I did, basically. But then I got a stress fracture in my back so I was really bored…I’m basically not allowed to play again because it is like a permanent thing, it is hard to explain. So I was just bored, and I love rap music and I love writing so I just started writing lyrics. My friend Charles started making beats at the exact same time so we just combined.

Q: Was there anything specific that made you want to become a rapper?

A: It just happened. I just made one song and then it sounded good so then I kept doing it.

Q: From what do you draw inspiration for your songs?

A: Mainly my life; just like whatever happens that day.

Q: So far, what has been the most challenging aspect of the whole experience?

A: I would say just like the copyrighting process and all that is really tedious. I guess just finalizing each beat, like you can make it and record it, but then you have to do compression mastering, equalizing 8212; there are just a million things you have to do before it’s finished. I never realized music took that long to complete but there is a lot that goes into it.”

Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect?

A: Just seeing my friends laugh at it and stuff, because a lot of the lyrics are funny. The one I wrote about my ex-girlfriend, just seeing if she liked it.

Q: Do you have a favorite song that you have created? What is it about?

A: Probably “Who I Am’ and that’s on the CD. It is kind of [about] how I started this and how people tell me I have to be more unique and better to actually make it in this, but I am just seeing what happens. I am not trying too hard or anything, just doing it for fun.”

Q: Besides the fact that it is rap, would you say you have a specific style you like to follow?

A: I guess it’s just like real rap. I don’t try to be something I’m not. If I say something that I wouldn’t normally do then it’s usually sarcastic. A lot of it is really sarcastic.

Q: When you were creating the CD did you have to hire anybody to do anything or was it just you and your friend?

A: We had one guy sing with us…two kids did our album artwork. One kid drew it and another kid photoshopped the drawing into a different picture. My uncle has a record company that we could go through if we wanted to but we decided…to just make it on our own time to see if we get picked up by somebody else.”

Q: Do you have anything to say to your fans out there?

A: If they can, like us on Facebook and write a review on iTunes and that will help a lot.