At Trinity, many students are interested in music, but some go the extra step and publish their music on social media for anyone to hear. Whether it be rap, pop or piano, students are putting themselves out there and unleashing their creativity.
Sophomore Jacob Hillier, also known as MILKBOY, writes his own music and has published it online for about two years. He’s in the chamber choir and enjoys being able to sing at school every day.
Thinking about his biggest inspiration, Hillier shared, “The Kid LAROI really has influenced me. His music has always resonated with me and I’ve supported him since he was a small artist.”
Hillier’s latest release is his mixtape titled TIME FOR A TAKEOVER, which he categorized as a hip-hop or R&B album. His most-listened song from this mixtape is, “WHAT YOU BEEN TOLD?,” which has over a thousand listens.
Hillier remarked, “Currently, I have around 250 monthly listeners on Spotify, but I peaked around 800 a while back.”
Recently, Hillier has been trying to produce new singles, with his song, “INTERVIEWS,” coming out December 20, 2024, on all streaming platforms, and has many more singles to come. In the future, Hillier wants to continue to grow his passion for music.
“Right now, I plan on majoring in something with politics, but I definitely want to minor in something with music,” expresses Hillier.
Along with Hillier, Junior Gracie Buckner has been creating and writing music since she was in elementary school, and she’s performed in Nashville, Los Angeles and local events in the Pittsburgh area.
Since she’s been creating music for so long, there’s been time for growth and change in her style. Most recently, she released a single titled “Am I Dreaming.”
Buckner reflects, stating,“I would say I’m mostly pop, but most of my music originated with just my piano and I.”
Although she isn’t in any of the music programs at Trinity, she’s enrolled in the music programs at Washington & Jefferson College.
“I do something with music every day, whether it’s attempting to write something or just practicing piano,” shares Buckner. She has been working on a few different pieces and is planning on releasing them soon.
In the future, Buckner would like to continue working on music and growing her audience.
“I would love to do music for the rest of my life, but my backup is a career in medicine,” shared Buckner.
Both Hillier and Buckner’s music can be found on streaming services such as YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music. By searching for either “MILKBOY” or “Grace Holland” on all of the services listed, their work can be listened to and enjoyed by music fans everywhere. For updates about new releases, they can be found on Instagram at the handles @milkboyauz and @gracehollandmusic.
