Mother's memory fuels music producer

When some teens were hanging out at the mall, 14-year-old Matthew Williams was tinkering with his beat machine.

• Photos

Chris Thelen/Staff

"The main thing I wanted to do was to help people with my music."
-- Matthew Williams, ASU graduate and future teacher who runs his own music studio

His mother, Melinda Williams, bought him the music-making contraption but was not sure what to make of his full-time hobby.

"She saw my passion, but she didn't think I was going anywhere with it," Mr. Williams said. "I would write and make beats because I couldn't afford to get into a studio."

Mr. Williams, now 25, started a studio, Jigabod Homestead, out of his home, fueled by his mother's belief in him and his love of music. His mother's death in 2005 influenced him to move forward with his dreams of producing music and rapping.

His mother's knack for dancing and rhythm influenced his love of making beats and writing lyrics.

"She was a majorette," he said. "She was always dancing around the house. She was a funky woman with a lot of spunk."

The shy teen lacked the outgoing nature of his mother, who taught history at Hephzibah High School for more than 20 years. At one point, he refused to share his music with other rappers. He stacked his poems and rhymes into a drawer.

While attending Hephzibah High, Mr. Williams decided to branch out.

He started a rap group, Juveniles United in Creative Endeavors (JUICE). He also started recording music at Jigabod Homestead. Rap acts such as Outkast and Goodie Mob influenced his lyricism.

"Their music helped me see how I could join activism and music," he said. "The main thing I wanted to do was to help people with my music."

Seeing his mother's dedication at Hephzibah High each day also inspired his other career aspiration -- teaching.

After graduating from high school, Mr. Williams chose to major in history at Oglethorpe University in 2001 but transferred to Augusta State University the next year.

In 2003, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Two years later, she died. Mr. Williams vowed to uphold her last wish.

"On her deathbed, her desire was to see me happy," he said. "Then, I felt like my life didn't really matter, but she gave me a new source of inspiration."

Mr. Williams began working two jobs to maintain his mother's home and continue college. He also opened his studio to local rap artists Rico Wingate, Tiga and Los Mann.

"He vented through his music," said his sister Sirena Williams. "It's like he wanted to work so much harder after she died."

He also began networking online with other producers in Canada, Texas, California and Holland.

After graduating from ASU earlier this month, Mr. Williams said his main focus is beginning his teaching career.

Teaching will be his day job, but his music will always be his first passion, Ms. Williams said.

"He talks about things that won't really give him airplay, because he speaks the truth," she said. "His flow is pretty mainstream, but he's going to impact the underground."

Reach Stephanie Toone at (706) 823-3215 or stephanie.toone@augustachronicle.com.