Cal Scruby is only 25 and on his way to fame.
The 2008 Kings graduate attended Ohio State University for five years, where he majored in Communications (New Media and Communication Technology). But his dreams have taken him in a completely unexpected direction.
Scruby said that his junior year of college was when he started creating music. At the time, he was only 21. He said his inspiration was when his girlfriend of three years broke up with him.
Soon, Scruby’s talent began to get him noticed. At campus parties, his friends would make him rap.
To start creating his music, Scruby used school resources. He created his own mixtape in a soundproof room called the “Whisper Room”. It was located on the third floor of the Science and Engineering Library at OSU. Scruby said that at the time he was still an engineering student.
“I would reserve time by telling them it was for a school project,” he said.
A friend, Chris Mannochio, mixed the whole recording project in approximately 20 hours. Scruby already had it recorded and layered, but Mannochio tweaked the sound for him.
Out of college and into the real world, Scruby has moved from Lebanon, Ohio to Los Angeles, California, where the talent agency he signed with is located. The company is called Riveting Management and Scruby was its first and only client. Scruby said that moving to L.A. was the practical thing to do.
“It’s more convenient for me to be in California. Being close to my manager allows me to make the best use of my resources,” Scruby said.
Now, Scruby is recording music, shooting videos, and taking photos. He said most of that will help him down the road.
“I’m trying to create as much content as possible.”
Scruby said that his future right now is left open. He said that he doesn’t ever think he will be able to plan very far ahead in his life.
“I like to take everything a day at a time,” he said.
He has completed three projects but only counts one of them as an “album”. Scruby said that he revolves himself around “what is next”.
He writes everything himself and is proud of making music that is changing lives. He said that he strives to inspire others.
“I really just want to inspire people to be exactly who they are and become who they want to be,” Scruby said.
He says he wants people to give rap music a chance, because many people are quick to judge. Scruby refers to his rap music as an art.
“People should know that there’s more than what you hear the first time you listen to it. People judge rap music based on profanity or subject matter and that’s unfair. I had a fellow graduate question the purpose of my music. Their interpretation of the song was the opposite of my interpretation of the song; but that’s art. There is no right or wrong. It is what you want it to be.”
Growing up, Scruby said his parents were very supportive. They wanted him to make sure that rap was a viable career. He said that they see how much he’s developed as a rapper.
“Seeing my shows grow from my first year to now, they began to understand that I know what I’m doing,” Scruby said.
Janet Scruby, Cal’s mother and a South Lebanon Elementary teacher, credits J.F. Burns teacher Tracey Krepps for Cal’s early exposure to wordplay when she had her 4th-grade class participate in a poetry project. Janet said that Cal always had a gift for writing and that at an early age he enjoyed the wordplay.
“He just seemed to enjoy putting his thoughts together gracefully,” Janet said.
Scruby’s parents hope that he can pursue his passion and find a way to make a living while doing it. Janet said she is constantly amazed at her son’s determination.
“It’s a tall order, but I so admire him for having the courage to chase his dream. It really does come down to courage and he has way more than I do,” Janet said.
With 11.8 K followers on Twitter and hundreds of thousands of hits on his Soundcloud streams, Scruby has quite a fan base. He is popular with Kings High School students as well as Ohio State students, and seems on the way to fame. Scruby said his fans are too good to him and that he tries to be friends with as many of them as possible.
“After all, those who continue to support you and your dreams are your real friends.”