What’s next for Penn State student rapper ‘Guccci Goggles?’
On this rainy February Friday, Khalil Dunham-Carson wanders into his crammed Pollock dorm room. It's around the same time his peers are starting to get ready for the party-filled night ahead of them.
Basketball jerseys and the latest line of Air Jordan sneakers overflow from his closet, but the Penn State junior, known by many as “Guccci Goggles,” doesn’t seem to mind.
He makes his way over to his twin size bed, plugs in his speakers and starts searching YouTube for a beat suited for his versatile rap style. Three notebooks are laid out over the top of his blanket — pages of class notes mixed with his latest lyrics.
This isn’t the Guccci Goggles many members of Penn State greek life are used to seeing at their parties or daylongs, performing his most popular song, “I Need A Jawn.” He said the song, which name-drops several sororities, pleads for a “beautiful female to give the world to.”
Dunham-Carson (junior-psychology) is a little more subdued when the bright strobe lights, red solo cups and $500 pair of Gucci goggles aren’t around.
“I’m old as dirt,” Dunham-Carson often says, referring to his ever-growing disconnect from Penn State's frat row.
Now, he’s at a crossroad.
“I Need A Jawn,” raked in 21,000 plays on SoundCloud, a popular platform used by many up-and-coming musicians. But when his lyrics drift away from the greek life scene, like “Hard To Please” and “Disrespectful,” his songs don’t do nearly as well.
“How the f*** can I get these loyal [fans],” Dunham-Carson asks himself aloud. “I understand it takes something big for them to really start believing, and then that’s when they’ll be loyal… I don’t know what the f*** is next, but I know I’m going to keep going. I got to keep going. I can’t stop here. Even if that move is a bad move, or negative, at least I kept going.”
