He’s known in the school halls as Clint Kelly, the name paying homage to his mother and grandfather. When he’s walking through the building, it’s easy to discover his whereabouts. His groovy rhymes permeate the ears of every person passing by. But who is the man behind the rap?

Freshman Caleb Licata ’27 has been acknowledged around South as “the freshman who raps in the hallways.” Everywhere he goes, he’s constantly spitting bars and gaining traction at the same time, which is his goal. But his “school tour” didn’t start at South. He said he had been rapping in school since the seventh grade.

“I kind of sucked, and then I started listening to Eminem every day, and he led me into a whole new rap journey,” Licata said

Eminem is the main source of inspiration for Licata as well as his artist of choice when it comes to the music he raps in school. John Forbes ’25 said he believes that Licata will continue on the path of rap in order to be just like his idol.

“I have to say, he’s become more passionate as he talks about it more,” Forbes said. “And I haven’t listened to any of his music, but I definitely hear him in the halls and he sounds like he’s doing somewhat better.”

Licata said his skills developed as he spent time trying to diversify his music.

“I’ve been growing, learning new music besides rap, because I think it makes it more interesting and entertaining to have more of a variety of music in your arsenal,” Licata said.

Licata has had a lot of time to improve, and Leah Sonnenberg ’27 can vouch for that. Being a locker-neighbor to Licata in middle school, Sonnenberg knew Licata’s rap well as he would rap next to her every morning.

“It got to the point where at the end of the year, he would perform in front of our class,” Sonnenberg said. “And then on the last day of school, he performed in the talent show for the entire school.”

Although that was Licata’s only concert, he said he sincerely hopes it won’t be his last. Currently, Licata said he is saving up money to go to a professional studio later this year and record his own album. The songs are based on the interactions Licata experiences in his personal life along with things he wants to get off of his shoulders.

“I love that I can connect to a lot of people through their music, and that’s what I like to do—hat’s what I try to do through mine too,” Licata said. “When I rap about my family, I like to try to make it so people can actually understand what I’m going through so they can really connect.”

Not everyone experiences that connection, however, and Licata is well aware of his “haters.” Instead of shying away from the comments, Licata said he uses them to inspire himself.

“I think it’s actually pretty cool to have people who doubt you and your raps,” Licata said. “Because of that doubt, it motivates you to get better and eventually have them on your side, and once you do reach that point, then you prove them wrong.”