Hickman L.A. is a Los Angeles born MC, influenced by the depths of Tupac's lyrics and the consciousness/imagery of Lupe Fiasco. After meeting Lupe in 9th grade and hearing Lupe (Keith's favorite rapper) tell him that he was going to be creating Hip Hop after Lupe retires was all the drive Hickman L.A. needed to take his craft seriously. He has stayed true to his insightful lyrics about his community, society and how he can use his words to heal the wounds of his people. At the same time, he uses the competitiveness, hunger, and fearlessness that he learned from Tupac to craft witty metaphors and bars (combined with a love for flow) that proves he can hold his own with the best of wordsmiths. At Tuskegee University, he built a following and released his first solo mixtape, Just A Start: Reconstruction, which received high praise from both peers and hip hop heads alike.