He learned from his  brother. “I saw him make them,” Sells said.  “Now he just raps to my own beats that I make.”

He sits at his laptop and opens the program his brother introduced to him, Fruity Loops, a digital audio music system.

    “I like how easy it is for making beats,”  Sells said.

First, he chooses the right drums, instruments such as the piano, and sound effects. Then finally he “mixes it down,” where he makes everything sound equal. Sells said he mixes it down until it sounds the best. His favorite type of beat he likes to use is “Lex Luger.”

At a young age his biggest struggle was having confidence in the quality of his beat-making . He gave out beats to people for free, and posted them to YouTube and Facebook. As Sells started to be asked to make beats, he began actually making  money. As he began to  sell more and more of his  beats, his self-confidence was boosted.

“I started to feel proud of myself,” he said.

Two years ago, Sells was asked by J. Stalin, a famous rapper in the Bay Area to make a beat for him to rap to.

Not only did he feel proud of himself but so did his mother. Sells’ mother would spread the word and ask people if they wanted beats. He said she would play them all the time: in the car and at home.

“I’m proud of him,” said Lupe Zuniga, his mother. “ He learned all on his own. It came to him naturally.”

    His beats are made for rappers or people who want to sing to them, and can make beats from country to techno. However, he does not rap himself. The main people who rap to his beats are in  his group called Pilot Gang. Named such because “we’re fly.” His group helps him by giving him more ideas on how to make his beats.

From his group to his mom, he leaves different impressions every time someone listens to his beats.  

“They make me feel pumped and ready to go,” said sophomore Marco Galindo. “ They make me feel like a rapper.” Galindo also said that it makes him feel like Lil’ Wayne when (Sells’ beats) come on.

               In Sells’ beats he uses a tag. A tag is when one uses a partciular beat pattern or phrase in all of their beats. Sells’ tag is “June bug’s beats”.  

“My mom gave me that nickname and I just use it.”