I usually test out my new music while I’m working out in the gym since it always the most downtime for me and my thought process seems to work the most. T-Ran released his latest project Outside The Box: Still Dreaming this past weekend and I could tell that determination, thought, and true emotion went into this project. For those of you who aren’t familiar with T-Ran as an artist he is an Oakland Bred rapper currently residing in Washington, D.C. where he is actively pursuing his career in music. He has recently opened for Big Sean at the New Parish in Oakland and set a high standard for upcoming artists that followed him. I have also had a chance to interview him in a previous post that you can check out here.  His drive and determination is what makes him stand out as an artist and I have become an instant fan upon meeting him.

I love how Outside The Box: Still Dreaming tells real-life stories, it’s like I’m taking a trip through his thoughts. “Heart & Soul”, “Ohh Baby” and “I Need You” seems to appeal to his female audience but it picks back up with his dreams and aspirations as an artist with “Still Dreaming” and “By Any Means”.

T-Ran describes his inspiration behind this mixtape in his own words as, “chasing my dreams really asking myself is it worth it…meaning music. I was in a place of feeling like I was doing this all in vain because of how much I was puting in and not feeling like I was getting through. I was feeling like I was fighting a battle that was set up for me to lose.  I’ve been rapping since I was 7, and as I continued to get better I was just feeling like I could lose my dream at anytime. But through it all I know that music is the only thing I could see me doing and thats where the “Still Dreaming” aspect came from. From me loving hip hop so much I could never give up on dream no matter what.”

So there you have it, regardless of your own circumstances we all have a dream and T-Ran truly shares his dream through this project. Take a listen.

Download Outside The Box: Still Dreaming here