Jonathan Hogan Takes A Break From His Undergraduate Studies To Focus On Music
One year ago, he was a Rutgers student living on College Avenue preparing for his final year as an undergraduate. Now, 21-year-old Johnathan Hogan has chosen a new path, putting his degree in Cell Biology and Neuroscience on hold for a career in music.
“School for me was supposed to be a ticket to a higher place, like a stepping stone for greater accomplishments,” Hogan says. “But instead it’s where I started to see things for what they really were. A degree is not real, it doesn’t mean you know anything.”
There is a a lot of data on how society’s attitudes towards college have changed over time. Today, those who decide to attend college do so because of the belief that receiving a higher education provides opportunities for graduates which are not as accessible to those who do not. Hogan says that the time and energy people waste learning at college could be redirected to something they really love and enjoy.
“Everything I need to learn I learned from Google. I learned about microbiology, science, and how to make beats,” Hogan says.
Now Hogan is rapping, singing and making beats with his group The Voiceless Project.
“I’ve dedicated a lot more man hours to music than I have a lot more things,” Hogan says. “It’s been really crazy to hear how many people like our music and want us to put out a project.”
Hogan created the Voiceless Project with two Rutgers students, rapping under the names MADBLACK, Al-Sabir, and Strange Fruit Bu. Together, the group uses the software FL Studio — a digital audio workstation — to create their own unique and original beats. Everything is done in-house, and the group does not outsource for any products, beats or musicians.
This allows the Voiceless Project to function as its own independent rap group and label.
“Their sound is different. Usually when people make music or say listen to my music it’s like ‘alright chill,’” says Rutgers student Britney Correa. “But with this I see potential. it being a new kind of music that everyone would like.”
People who know Hogan call him an idealist or a Renaissance man because he is guided more by his ideals than by what society considers practical or acceptable. It is this mindset that helps Hogan not only focus on music and saving money, but moving into his own place in the winter. After taking a break from school back in the spring, Hogan’s lease ran out.
“I’ve just been couch-hopping for the past few months,” he says about his living situation. “That’s the reality of a college student, of the black struggle.”
Rutgers senior Jashanpreet Grewal offered Hogan his living room until he gets a place of his own.
“He needed a place to stay, and that’s my boy. I wasn’t going to let him be out here with nowhere to live,” Grewal says.
Looking towards the future, Hogan sees himself as an established artist making music and touring within the next five years. As far as when and if he would return to college, Hogan says it will happen.
“I would go back,” Hogan says. “I’ll have a degree.”
