Jesse Latham is one of the most energetic people you will ever meet. Listen to him talk about everything he’s working on, and you’ll wonder how he doesn’t keel over from exhaustion. A self-described people-person, Latham is the guy who lights up the room when he walks in, and what makes him happy is meeting “awesome new people.” Latham made a name for himself as a pro-gamer under the alias Shook On3, and after a bad break-up took to writing and decided to conquer a different beast: music. Today Latham is still heavily involved in the gaming world, is being recognized as an OEAA Best Hip Hop/Rap nominee, and still finds time to do things like organize food drives and nurture the relationships he cares about. Get to know the emcee below, and make sure to check out his On the Rise EP.

Say Hey There: If you could sum up your Wikipedia bio in one minute, what would it say?

Latham: I’m the outcome of someone who took a shot and saw what sacrifices could provide and it worked out for me. I used to be a pro-gamer, and I got to travel the whole country for free because of it and be on national TV. And I carried on with music too. I learned at a young age that if you bust your ass and make sacrifices, there’s no way you can’t make it.

Say Hey There: What kind of sacrifices?

Latham: Oh man, I’ve lost so many friends, but I guess they weren’t really my friends in the first place. From when I was 19 to 22, I wasn’t going out on Friday nights. I was always practicing, so I was pretty much a hermit. If I don’t feel like I’m accomplished, it eats me alive. That’s why I burn midnight oil.

If I don’t feel like I’m accomplished, it eats me alive. That’s why I burn midnight oil.

Say Hey There: Tell us about how you got into making music.

Latham: When I did video games, I got really popular playing Halo because I was the only one that synchronized the game play to rap beats — everyone else used super screamo rock stuff. I did hip hop music and I synced it really well, and I put a lot of time into it. I didn’t put this together this until now, but that’s why I’m good at writing music. About three years ago, I had a fiancée and she broke up with me. That’s when I started writing, because I was so angry, you know? I just wrote about my life and things I went through, and it was a relief for me. I don’t write music for you, it’s cool if you enjoy it, but it’s my way of not going out and shooting somebody. It’s my sanctuary.

I don’t write music for you, it’s cool if you enjoy it, but it’s my way of not going out and shooting somebody. It’s my sanctuary.

After a few months, somebody posted my stuff on Galvanized-Tron‘s wall, and they got me into a show. I met him and Saint Mic my first night. They were the only two guys who didn’t look at me like oh you’re a new guy,

Say Hey There: How did you come up with your name?

Latham: It was my Halo name. I didn’t even know what a “shook one” was from Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones Pt. II.” It means you’re a scared punk or whatever. I took it for a different reasoning. You’ve seen 8 Mile. Eminem was my hero growing up for just spilling his guts and he kept real to himself and overcame adversity. When that came out, I was playing baseball and I’d watch that last battle scene the day before practice. That’s how I got the name Shook On3, because the very last beat he beats Papa Doc and overcomes everything in the movie, and that beat is “Shook Ones Pt. II.”

Say Hey There: Which producers do you work with?

Latham: From my album, I made a couple beats with my engineer. Besides my album, I’ve mixed down all my own stuff. I spent eighteen hours one day reading about frequencies. I met Jeff Finn, who has a studio in his basement, and record there. It’s a really good place. As far as beats, I’ll go to SoundClick and listen to 10,000 instrumentals over a weekend until I find ones I like that fit the mind state I’m in. One day I want to make an album where I made every single beat from scratch, but time is my greatest commodity and right now I can’t because of my lifestyle. It’s better for me to buy beats I like and just tweak them a little bit.

Say Hey There: What are you working on now?

Latham: My EP was released in January. I’ve been writing a lot. I got a project going on with Galvantized-Tron. We dropped a 14-track mixtape and started working on an album last March.

Say Hey There: Why do you love hip hop?

Latham: Because it’s what my body clings to. I can’t help but bounce when I hear beats or nod my head and just get completely engulfed in what’s going on just with the background sound, then you add the whole concept of lyrics and telling a story. It’s like someone playing a three-minute movie for you. There are so many different sounds in it, you can have jazz or rock or piano. The voice is the greatest instrument to me because it creates so many different visuals.