Eric White, 28, has been making music for most of his life. Like many successful artists, however, White’s life hasn’t been easy, and his road to success has been achieved through a decade’s worth of hard work, determination and growing confidence. His goal has always been to prove that anyone, including himself, is capable of great things, as long as they work for it.
“For as long as I can remember, we struggled as a family,” says White of his upbringing. “It wasn’t always financial. For anyone who knows my music, they already know my family has had a long and storied history with substance abuse.”
White’s father struggled with substance abuse throughout most of the rapper’s early life, greatly affecting White. He struggled with anxiety and depression as a child.
“It just wasn’t an environment conducive to raising children to be productive members of society, let alone sane human beings,” White said. “When my dad fell down that rabbit hole, there was no coming back. Once my mom lost her good job, we were another impoverished family lost in the system.”
According to White, who now performs under the pseudonym Gen3ric, his mother pushed forward by working three jobs to make sure her kids could play sports and participate in the same activities as other kids. White says his music sometimes features the “bad and the ugly” of his life, but he’s also able to look at his childhood in a positive way because of his mom’s dedication to her children.
Now, things are on the up-and-up for White, who’s experienced major success as a rap artist. He won Underground Artist of the Year at the Southern Coalition Movement awards in Memphis, TN. Even more, White was chosen to perform at the 2018 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, which took place in Manchester, Tenn. June 7-10. White performed along headliners such as Eminem, The Killers, Muse, Bassnectar, Paramore, Sheryl Crow, among numerous others.
“I looked at it as a great opportunity,” White said. “There were a few hundred people there…the atmosphere was awesome. Everyone was there to hear good music.”
White passed out every single business card he brought to the festival, which had an attendance of around 80,000 people that weekend.
Aside from his vocal talents as a rap artist, White is also the CEO and founder at Mostly Paper Productions, a music production company he started running out of Owensboro. He recently released his newest, self-titled album, Gen3ric, which is available to download via Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Music, Pandora and more.
Dylan Fulkerson — who performs under the pseudonym, Nova D — is an Owensboro native who’s collaborated with White for several songs and tracks. The two were in a rap group called State of Mind for over two years. He says White stands out because of his ability to create new sounds.
“He is constantly pushing himself to improve in his craft,” Fulkerson said. “He’s always trying to find ways to make music, creating a path no one else does. When it comes to making music, I always look to him to work with, if possible.”
Fulkerson also admires White for his ability to be a great father and husband among the many experiences, struggles and successes White has overcome.
White currently works full time and creates, promotes and produces music for other artists and himself in a totally separate realm beyond his work and family life. He’s hoping to catch his biggest break in the near future.
“I’ve met some major goals of mine and have done more than I ever imagined I’d do,” says White. “But I haven’t achieved the success that I believe, as of this interview, is mine for the taking.”
