Julien Collins is an upcoming musician here at Daytona State. At the age of twenty-two years old, Collins has released two albums already. He is about to complete his first year of the two-year sound engineering program, but his career as a hip-hop artist is just starting.
Collins’ love for music was always there, but he began to take music more seriously around the age of sixteen. With the help of his brother, Devante, he converted their garage into a studio, and they began making music together. They have made multiple songs together including “Everyday” which was released on Collins’ second album Weird Kid. Other features on the album include one of his good friends, Joey, as well as his Uncle Brad.
His first album, That Boy, was released on August 20th, 2020 and received great feedback from listeners online. The upcoming artist took any negativity and turned it into constructive criticism to help his next album be even better.
If being a musician doesn’t work out, Collins still plans on working in the music industry, as a producer or in the sound business. “Julien makes the most out of his potential,” his brother Devante expressed. “There’s not a more dedicated person in music right now.”
Devante is not the only one who helped Collins’ career though. A well-known music professor at DSC made a big impact on him. Scott Velazco, an audio recording technology professor, has seen how much Collins has grown in less than a year. “From the time he showed up he has been so hyper aware of the people around him and it’s all positive,” Velazco said. With ten years of teaching experience and a love for inspiring others, Professor Velazco has put his students in a position to succeed. All Velazco wants is “a capacity to improve the ease and quality of music production.”
Collins, also known as Jules, expressed his gratitude for Velazco. “He has influenced my career through his passion and what he teaches,” he said. “He showed me that putting in the work for something you care about can turn into something much bigger than yourself.”
Collins’ first and second albums are available on Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, and Apple Music. Keep an eye out for more music and live performances this year!