Junior Elijah Gallagher, or “Lil Dot,” as most know him, might appear to be a regular kid, but his name is spreading around campus for his success as a rapper. He has been listening to the music genre for a while now but just recently decided to create his own.

“When I was on Soundcloud for the first time, I got hooked on music because I saw all of the underground artists blowing up. I thought to myself, maybe I could do this,” Gallagher said. He started by rapping with friends at lunch and although he found it fun, he didn’t predict it would lead anywhere.  

Most of the rappers he previously listened to in his free time are those he now utilizes for their “flow” in his own music.

“XXXTENTACION, Lil Uzi Vert, Trippie Redd, Kodak: They are all basically teenagers and XXXTENTACION, being from Broward County, makes it even more believable that you can do what you want,” Gallagher said.  

Gallagher said if he was really dedicated, he could make this a career but that he’s not interested in that. He said he just makes music “for fun.” He is only 16 years old and feels he has bigger opportunities ahead of him. He admits, however, that it’s difficult not getting caught up in music and wanting to pursue it further.

“I never thought I would be getting 2.7k plays and 1000+ people following me on Soundcloud. It definitely shows people support me,” Gallagher said.

With all of this newfound popularity comes the backlash or “the haters.”  Gallagher said he manages to block them out.

“I don’t really care about the haters because they are wasting time hating on someone who isn’t even taking this serious[ly]. Everyone can have an opinion, though, so it won’t ever faze me.”

As far as the future, Gallagher plans on linking up with other small artists to make music.

“If Anto [junior Anthony Iglesias] or Pastel [sophomore Conner Loperena] would like to work together, that would be cool, or anyone else, even if they don’t attend this school,” he said.

Students are aware of Gallagher’s music hobby but may never have listened to him.

“I knew Elijah rapped, but I never actually decided to give him a listen until one of my friends was playing his song in the car and I thought it was actually kind of good,” senior Mathew Carpen said.

Junior Josh Beaumont has followed Gallagher’s music career since he started.

“I have been listening since his first track. He has definitely improved over time and he honestly had like 5 views at first; now he has [3000 views] which is crazy because he just started last year,” Beaumont said.

Gallagher plans on focusing on school right now and continuing his hobby of music in his free time.