An Ohio State student and spoken word artist is transforming his art in hopes of developing a devoted fan base and rising to the ranks of hip-hop elite.

Searius Addishin, a senior in African-American Studies, released a mixtape called “Lyrical Wisdom Vol. 1,” and has a spoken word double album set for release in January 2005.

As the winner of the MC Battle Championship at the Columbus Convention Center in November 2002 and the winner of the 2003 Poetry Slam at the OSU Heritage Festival, Addishin came to OSU from Toledo because he thought Columbus would offer a more diverse experience, he said.

“At the Ohio State University, where it is so big, you are encouraged to think big,” Addishin said. “I’m one of those people that want to stand out in a crowd. I want to stand out in a group of thousands of people.”

Addishin said his family’s love of music helped him develop interest in a wide variety of music, including Ray Charles and the Temptations.

“My family was really big into music, so before I listened to rap, I listened to a lot of jazz, oldies, R&B, blues and reggae,” he said. “The artists I listen to now include Wu-Tang Clan, Talib Kweli and Mos Def.”

Spoken word has been the primary approach to Addishin’s repertoire for quite some time. This past spring he decided to change his focus to rapping with the release of his CD.

“I performed my first rap when I was in sixth grade. I rapped through high school, and when I came to college I focused more on spoken word,” Addishin said. “(Rapping) was something I had in the back of my mind, and this spring I decided I would give it a crack and see how it goes. I decided it was time to see what I could do with it and basically stop procrastinating and putting a good step forward.”

Addishin said it is difficult to choose a favorite between spoken word and rapping. He said that each has advantages.

“They are both like children. I love both of them the same, and they have their own qualities,” Addishin said. “I like spoken word because it is more serious. I can put more of my soul into it without thinking about how it sounds. Rap is more fun. It’s kind of odd how I love them both just the same – it’s just that I attack both of the art forms differently.”

Being a new artist in an already huge rap game can be difficult for both promotion and self-expression in the music that is presented to the people for consumption, Addishin said.

“I had a pretty warm market for a brand new cat starting from zero,” he said. “It takes a lot of work doing your own promoting. I get a lot of support from the Hale Cultural Center. A lot of people at Ohio State didn’t even know that I rapped because I had done so much spoken word.”

One of the most important mentors for Addishin in his musical journey is Tyran Stallings. Stallings is an OSU alum and the chief executive officer of Quiet Noise Entertainment, a small record label that produced Addishin’s debut CD.

“We are an upstart, independent record label down here (Cincinnati),” Stallings said. “We have a recording studio and we are fully self-sufficient, as far as distribution, and having a recording facility and a marketing division. One of the hallmarks of our company is to make sure that we push out a unique product with everything we do.”

“Searius is definitely one of the up-and-coming artists, and we have put a lot of effort behind him. He is upbeat and is a very motivated person, as far as the effort he has put behind his projects and getting his records out, he is just focused on his career and totally behind everything he does.”

Addishin said that he is proud of the individuality in his work and that he looks forward to the future that lies ahead in his writing.

“I’m a real individual in the sense that my ability to write songs and convey most of my experiences in a way that a lot of people wouldn’t probably sets me apart from most people,” he said.

“Some things I talk about are personal experiences, like relationship issues, and some of it is satirical in the sense that I might poke fun at the concepts of things,” Addishin said. “My spoken word pieces those are more real life issues like perceptions and images.”