Joshua Ezeudu is a longtime fan of J. Cole and Lil Wayne. Growing up in Lawrenceville, Georgia, the North Carolina offensive lineman also came to appreciate nearby Atlanta rappers such as Migos and Lil Yachty. But he didn’t start really working on the skill his UNC teammates now laud him for — freestyle rapping — until last fall.
When Hurricane Florence hit the state in September 2018, cancelling classes and a home football game in Chapel Hill, Ezeudu had plenty of free time. So he downloaded Audacity, a free audio editor program, found some instrumental beats and recorded a few freestyles on his laptop — “just to see how it would sound,” he said.
A year later, the redshirt first-year has earned a reputation among players as someone who can “rap on a dime,” teammate Allen Cater said. Ezeudu also tries to work deeper meaning into his freestyles, dropping a reference or rhyme that clicks for listeners a few minutes later.
“I’m probably the whole team’s entertainer, I would say,” Ezeudu told the Daily Tar Heel with a laugh.
He’s not alone. Under Larry Fedora, players were always free to express themselves. But Cater said new head coach Mack Brown and his staff have further encouraged and emphasized their players’ off-field interests — a practice that lines up with Brown’s adage that committing to UNC is a 40-year decision, rather than a four-year decision.
“I think that’s a good thing to push,” Cater told the DTH. “It helps guys realize there’s life after football.”
Defensive end Jake Lawler runs through the smoke of the tunnel onto the field before Saturday's game against Virginia.
Jake Lawler is another prime example. The redshirt sophomore linebacker drew national attention and praise this summer when he published a candid, 2,300-word blog post detailing the depression and suicidal thoughts he’d battled, on his own, for the last eight years.
The aspiring screenwriter and director also co-hosts a movie podcast, “Inside the Film Room”; writes short stories, including “A Wicked Game,” which he published in January; and works with UNCUT, a video platform for UNC student-athletes inspired by LeBron James’ “The Shop.”
