LIL CLIP

First there was Lil Bow Wow. And then there was Lil Romeo. Now, get ready for Lil Clip.

He may not be quite as famous as his lil contemporaries, but Lil Clip is starting to make an impact on the local music scene. The 14-year-old hip-hop artist's music is on iTunes and, on Saturday night, he performed at The Airliner in Downtown.

Oh, and I almost forgot -- he's an outfielder for the Simi Valley freshman baseball team who goes by his original alias of Tyler Freeman.

"He's the real deal," Simi Valley Coach Matt La Belle said. "He's a classically-trained rapper who writes his own songs."

La Belle found out about Freeman's off-field talents when he showed up for baseball tryouts last year. A couple Simi Valley players told La Belle who Freeman was, and the coach half-jokingly asked him if he could create a baseball song. A week later, Lil Clip handed La Belle a CD containing his first-ever baseball-themed composition. You can hear it on the home page of the Simi Valley baseball website.

"I was totally blown away," La Belle said. "It's great."

I'll say...it's the first baseball hip-hop song I've heard. And it's catchy, too. I caught myself singing, "here's another hit, and it's a home run" a couple times yesterday.

Check out Lil Clip's MySpace page for even more tunes.

April 8, 2008 - Los Angeles Times - Varsity Times Insider, Austin Knoblauch

A music producer, songwriter and musician who released his first single last summer, 14-year-old Tyler Freeman hopes to inspire others who dream of turning something they love into a professional career.

"It's amazing what you can do with your life if you just make your mind up to do it — especially when you enjoy what you are doing," said the Simi Valley High School freshman, who goes by the stage name Lil' Clip.

"I am still only 14 years old; I am only just beginning and learning so much about the world of music, so I imagine that my music will just get better and better."

The young artist — who changed schools 10 times over the past nine years because of his father's military career — released his first single, titled "Rollin," on iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody and other online music stores in the summer of 2007.

This month, his new songs "Bumpin" and "Summer Girl" will be added to his digital record collection.

"The really special thing about my music is that I am now producing my own music, which means that it is 100 percent me," said the ninth-grader, who also is working on an album. "The beats that I have produced reflect my personality and my interests as well as a view of the world around me."

'You can live your dream'

Tyler has a fun, yet creative, way of expressing himself through words, said his mom, Elisabeth Freeman. "Since he was really young, he's always enjoyed writing poems, and I see a lot of that in his songs," she said. "He's a 14-year-old who's created a whole new sound by taking what he knows about music and life and developing something he can share with the world."

The result of this is a unique, accessible hip-hop/pop sound, she added.

"His lyrics capture the interests of teenagers as well as young adults," she said. "He'll have a simple idea and turn it to a song, so what we all hear when we listen to his music is bits of his personality woven into the sound of the beat and the words in the song lyrics."

Tyler is a positive role model because he's sending a message that you can do something fun, without negative consequences, she added.

"Tyler's songs do not use profane language and do not promote outrageous behavior," she said. "Tyler's also shown many young people that you can live your dream no matter what it is. He's producing music at the age of 14, and he's working with and meeting incredibly talented people. He also plans to attend university after high school to continue studying music."

An inspiration to others

Tyler acknowledges his songs stand apart from most music in the hip-hop/rap genre because they are "clean." For instance, he was inspired to write "Rollin" from riding around in his family's Hummer.

"That song was just a fun song about having a cool car," he said. "My new song, "Bumpin," is probably more expressive because it really tells the world a bit more about my personality and my everyday life.

"I love music; it's a big part of my life," he said, "and I also like having fun."

Fifteen-year-old Chris Holt said Tyler is a positive role model to youths because he doesn't use profanity in his music.

"Tyler is one of the friendliest people I know," said Chris, who knows Tyler from school. "He is always really courteous, and he has inspired me to be friendly and courteous to other people."

Also, "he's a 14-year-old kid in high school who is making his own beats and producing his own music," Chris continued. "Whatever he puts his mind to he's always really good at."

Tyler's little sister, Kaela, said her brother's songs are unique because he writes them himself and comes up with the music on his own.

"Tyler's songs are fun and they are about everyday life," said the 12-year-old, adding that her brother's passion inspired her own appreciation for music.

"He was in concert strings at our middle school, and he was always so excited about performing for an audience and playing the violin or the piano," Kaela said. "That really helped me to want to learn how to play an instrument. I now play the cello and am having fun with it."

Fifteen-year-old Matt Ringgold said Tyler has changed his attitude toward hip-hop music.

"His music is really well-written, and the beats flow with his music; whenever he raps, he has a vibe that clicks," said Matt, who attends school with Tyler.

As a friend, "he's really encouraging. Whatever he sets his mind to he will achieve and whatever he wants to learn to do, he is always good at."

Young poet

Tyler was in the fourth grade when he first began to understand what it was like to play an instrument.

"Playing instruments, such as the piano, helped me appreciate how music works and made me love music more," he said.

He started writing lyrics — mostly as poems — before his ninth birthday, finished his first full original song by age 12 and was in the recording studio by age 13.

He said he believes his talent for writing came from listening to and studying the work of other artists, "especially some of the great artists like Ray Charles and also some of the newer ones like Kanye West," Tyler said. "I like to analyze what they do to make their songs sound catchy, and I started creating my own."

What he loves most about writing songs is the creative process.

"I enjoy making something that is my own and being able to express myself and know that tons of people will hear my music," Tyler said. "I create my music based on what I feel and I hope it connects with listeners." - Ventura County Star, Alicia Doyle

Tyler Freeman is a poet, a skater and a movie enthusiast. He's also a freshman at Simi Valley High School.

But when it comes to the 14year-old's career dreams, he's also "Lil' Clip"- a classically trained musician who's trying to add something unique to the face of hip-hop.

"I don't live in the ghetto or anything, so I don't try to pretend I'm something I'm not," he said. "I just write about what I know."

So far, some of Tyler's experiences of being a teenager in Simi Valley- like riding his skateboard around the city, meeting up at the coffee shop with his summer sweetheart and "bumpin'" his music really loud- have been the fuel to Lil' Clip's musical fire.

And when his first original album, "Novice of Perfection," is finished and released sometime in the late spring, those are the stories that are likely to stream through the speakers, backed by some poppy melodies and compelling hip-hop beats.

With five songs already recorded and professionally mastered by Los Angelesbased studio In Fidelity Recordings, Tyler said his goal with his first album is to try to perfect a new style of music that combines rap with pop music.

His training in violin since the fourth grade and the piano since 2006 has given him a solid foundation in crafting his own sound.

"Understanding music just made me like it a lot more," Tyler said. "And learning the piano actually helped me make the beats for my songs. Just knowing how music works makes me enjoy it a lot."

When it comes to writing lyrics, Tyler said he's always had a natural talent for wordplay.

In the sixth grade, one of his poems was published as part of a school anthology. Although he was surprised that his poem was chosen for the book, he said he's always been proud of the things he writes.

Elisabeth Freeman, Tyler's mother and manager, said she and her husband are happy to encourage his talents and that they didn't even think twice about supporting his dream.

"He just seemed to completely thrive when he was playing the piano," she said. "His teachers all said it was something that he took to really easily."

Freeman said she remembered the day her son wrote his first song. He called her while she was at work, then played and sang the song to her over the phone.

"And that was it for me," she said. "He was just so excited. The main challenge now has been trying to figure out how to balance being his parent and also (his manager). We're learning a lot about the process."

Lately, the two have been meeting up with different organizations, such as local radio stations Q104.7 and KIIS FM, to see if they can get Tyler's current single, "Bumpin'," into regular rotation. Both agencies have given them positive feedback, but they've yet to hear a final decision, Freeman said.

In the near future, the independent artist plans to make a music video of the single and continue shopping for a major record deal.

Tyler said a dream of his is to be able to collaborate in the studio with big-time artists like Kanye West, T-Pain or Lil Wayne.

He said he's already surprised about the positive public response his music has received on websites like MySpace and iTunes.

"The first time I saw that (I was on iTunes), I was amazed," Tyler said. "I go on there all the time and buy stuff from other people. But when I saw myself on there I was shocked. It was amazing- a priceless feeling."

The eclectic teenager, whose stage name was inspired by the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team, said he's been influenced by the whole spectrum of musical genres . . . "except country," he said with a smile.

Becoming a professional musician would be his ideal career, but in the meantime he plans on finishing high school and attending music programs at either USC or UCLA.

He's also been keeping himself busy by trying to balance everything on his plate.

"I don't know how I do it, but I do," he said. "I balance my school with my rapping and my friends. But I make sure that school is the number one priority. I try to make rapping second and my social life third."

He also tries to keep room in his schedule for some of his favorite pastimes, like skating, playing and watching basketball, and keeping up with the latest action and comedy movies. But despite all of his interests and responsibilities, music continues to be the driving force behind Tyler's daily routine.

"When he was just a few years old, he'd get in the shower and start belting out whatever song was on his mind," Freeman said. "He still does it today. Every morning he turns the music on really loud in the shower, and he'll just start singing whatever song is on.

"He's always had an inherent love for music." - Simi Valley Acorn, Darleen Principe