JMU alumnus makes his dream a reality
Rapper Thad Reid overcomes tragedy to fulfill a promise
By Kaitlin Tambuscio, contributing writer
Posted on December 4, 2006

When Thad Reid graduated from JMU in 2000, he had earned a degree in media arts and design with the intent of working in the sports broadcasting field. However, that was only if he was not able to make it in the music industry. Reid has faced some roadblocks along the way, but the bottom line is, you will not hear him broadcasting a Redskins game anytime soon.

He has put his sports broadcasting career on hold to pursue his true passion. Reid is a budding rap artist whose number one desire is to become a success in the music industry — and there’s no doubt that he’s already on his way.

Reid was born and raised in Lynchburg. He became interested in rap at a very early age at the influence of his older sister, and when Reid was 17 years old, he began free-styling and making mix tapes on a karaoke machine with one of his friends. According to Reid, it was during this time that he realized dabbling in music would become much more than a hobby. 

Immediately following his graduation from JMU, Reid faced a tragedy that would come to affect his everyday life and his music. While driving from a Memorial Day party in Washington, D.C., to his best friend Demetrick’s home in Harrisburg, Pa., Reid fell asleep at the wheel. He awoke and abruptly jerked the wheel. The car flipped and caught fire. Demetrick managed to push both Reid and his own cousin out of the car, but could not escape the car himself before it burst into flames. Demetrick died instantly and his cousin died three months later in a hospital. Reid escaped the burning vehicle safely.

“Ironically, the night that [Demetrick] died, we were walking down the street and I told him that I was going to make it [as a rap artist] and that I was going to take him with me,” Reid said. “Those were the last words I said to him. At this point, I’m doing this not only for myself, but for him too.”

Reid’s focus is to make it big in the music industry to fulfill the promise that he made to his best friend the night he died.

Reid’s first LP, Memorial Day, is a tribute to Demetrick. The title track, “Memorial Day,” is an emotionally charged song in which Reid chronicles his friendship with Demetrick, the day of the accident and how it has affected his day-to-day life.

“Memorial Day” begins with a preacher asking his congregation, “Have you ever had to walk through a fire?/ Is there anyone who’s gone through a refining process?/ But as you came out of the fire, God’s power was increased in you.”

Reid then sings, “I’d be a lie if I say I didn’t blame myself/ Change myself/ So I try to save myself/ From the long guilt normally consume my mind/ A time bomb waitin’ to explode at times.”

In addition to “Memorial Day,” the LP contains 14 other tracks that are diverse in both subject matter and sound. Each song portrays a different aspect of  the artist’s life.

“The album touches on what I’ve been through in my life as a whole,” Reid said. “The human being is complicated in that there are a lot of different sides to people. You aren’t always going to be hard, and you aren’t always going to be happy all the time.” Reid said his album translates all the emotions that a person may experience throughout his or her life into music.

Reid’s favorite song on the album is “They Don’t Like Me.” Reid said it is a song that is basically dedicated to people who are people he calls “haters.”

“When you’re doing something for yourself and when you achieve you goals, there are a lot of people out there who want to see you fail just because you are doing well,” Reid said. “[The song] is pretty much based on that.”

Recently, Reid released a free-for-download, 18-track mix tape that can be downloaded from his Web site, thadreid.com, or his MySpace Web site, myspace.com/thadreid. His album can also be purchased on his Web site. He is currently living outside of Washington, D.C., working to promote his music by performing and promoting Memorial Day. Sometime this summer, he is expecting to release the follow-up album to Memorial Day, which is still untitled.

Reid’s success can be attributed to an important piece of advice he received from his parents.

“My parents used to tell me that if you shoot for the moon, you will land amongst the stars,” Reid said. “There is nothing that you can’t achieve if you set a goal. You can strive for greatness and even if you don’t make it, you will land at the top of the game. You may not be the best, but you will be among the best. I’m just trying to be the best that I can be.”

As Reid explains, for him, the cards have fallen into place.

“Because of the accident, I’m not even supposed to be here, so I figured that God spared my life for a reason,” Reid said. “He wants me to serve as a testimony for the people that went what I went through in my life. He spared me so I could to do it through music, and that’s what I’m going to continue to do.”