Street Dreaming: The Story of PaperPaulk
“You start with a dream, you dream
about being a football player, a firefighter, a model. Then it’s up to you to
chase those dreams. Street Dreaming is the story of a million different
people I’m just the one telling their story.” - PaperPaulk
Growing up
in the poverty of Cleveland with a single mother (Schavonne Rice) and 3
siblings, a young Paper Paulk was consumed by the streets at an early age. A
juvenile, with the mindset to do anything necessary to get money found himself
in trouble more often than not. Before Paulk had made it to high school he’d
been expelled on 3 different occasions and had spent over 1 year in a detention
home,
“I was so angry at a man who didn’t
care that I couldn’t control it. I took my anger out on myself and everybody
who loved me.”
For the problem child who was angry
at the absence of his father, the future seemed far from bright.
Paulk
continued to live the life of a hustler and lacked ambition in his studies. After
years of living in the streets, the wicked lifestyle began to catch up to the
go getter. Paper decided to make a major change in the way he was living after
he was robbed at gunpoint for nearly everything he owned. He believes the
incident was an act of God, Paulk tells me at that moment he knew there was
more in store for him but he was unsure of where his path was taking him.
In fall of 2010 Paulk made a
decision to better himself and attended The University of Toledo, where he
averaged a 3.5 GPA. Even after attending college there was still feelings of
dissatisfaction. Paper traveled to Miami in June of 2011 to visit his cousin,
pro football player of the St.Louis Rams, Rodger Saffold. Paulk reflects on his
trip to the “Magic City,” he tells me how for the first time he was exposed to
the luxurious lifestyle of the rich and famous.
Paulk was acknowledged on his unique flow while free styling on the
beach during his trip. He explains that it was all for fun but everyone around
him was very impressed by his newfound talent. Even after returning to Toledo,
Saffold encouraged his cousin to focus on making music. Before he knew it
PaperPaulk found himself in the studio working with DjBooGooti and RoachBeats
and in December of 2011 he dropped out of college to start his musical journey.
2012 brought on a series of
fortunate events for Paulk, with the hunger to live a lavished way of life and
tell his story, the project “Street Dreaming Vol 1”
was put into effects immediately. The new lyricist traveled back and forth
between Cleveland and Toledo to work on his project and network. He reached out
to one of the best Dj’s in the Midwest, Cleveland’s own Radio Killa, Dj K-nyce,
who recognized the talented artist prematurely with his experienced ear for
great music. Working with some of the best and a team that supported his dream
it seemed that Paulk’s life was taking a turn toward an undeniable passage of
success. The fresh artist continued to progress and his single “Never Change”
was featured on Dj Steph Floss’s Hot in Cleveland 2. 
In just a year Paper Paulk has
created a major buzz, he has sparked the interest of eager hip hop listeners
with his resilient wordplay. His fans were left anticipating the release of his
first project titled “Street Dreaming Vol 1 hosted by DjKnyce
and Meel” that dropped February 28, 2013 and reached over 4,800
views in under 24hrs. Although this is just the beginning for Paper Paulk
Street Dreaming is unmistakably one of the best projects to come out of
Cleveland this year. With tracks like “Red Nova” which is filled
with emotion, and “Reflecting”
that will get any crowd going, it is apparent that he is chasing greatness and
will stop at nothing less.
PaperPaulk gives a special thanks to Rodger, Dj Knyce,
VarsitySquad, DjStephFloss, Meel, DjBooGotti and Roach.
Contact info
StreetDreamingVol1 available at
www.paperpaulk.com
@paperpaulk- twitter and Instagram
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