Meet Adam Martinez of Faimkills in Inland Empire

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Martinez.

Adam, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m a Chicano musician, poet and professor of English at an Inland Empire-based community college. I was born and raised San Bernardino, California, where I began rapping at 11 years old. A decade later, I played my first professional rap show as Faimkills in 2008 at the University of California, Riverside (where I earned my BA in English that same year). Throughout my academic career and into my professional life, I’ve placed focus on synthesizing Hip-Hop and other genres of songwriting and poetry with academia to artistically engage in themes of identity, trauma, mental health, love and more. As an educator, I’m in indebted and forever grateful to Hip-Hop and rap music—rocking hundreds of shows in my decade-long career prepared me for the stage that is the classroom.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I think it’s important to not look at yourself as a victim, but it’s equally important to recognize the obstacles that you’ve faced to get where you are going. With that said, I was raised in one of America’s poorest and dangerous cities—San Bernardino, CA. I saw relatives and classmates lose themselves to the various trappings of our low socioeconomic environment. Members of my family have been part of the prison system, and have suffered from alcoholism and mental health issues. In my childhood, my family faced financial hardships. 

As for my identity as a Chicano professor and music maker, I can feel the ways that my identity impacts perception and expectations in both arenas. I see the cultural mythologies that much of the academic community has about hip-hop culture and the opposing views that much of the rap community (in my experience and observation) has about higher education. Being a walking contradiction in purpose and intent (the fusion of these two cultures into one short, skinny, Chicano–an identity that appears to be a sometimes unwelcome guest in both cultures) can be an uphill battle for the hearts and minds of my audience, whether that be my students, those that listen to my music, and those that read my poems.

Faimkills – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Faimkills is the brand under which I release music. I specialize in making songs that combine my love for words with themes that might be relatable to people like me (identity, mental health, literature, pop culture, and love). I’ve been known for the unexpected—looking the way I look, most folx don’t expect the music, nor the live show to be what it is—raw and energetic.

As a professor, I take all I’ve learned in school and in the business of being an independent musician and apply it to teaching. This sets me apart because I believe in the power of hip hop and pop culture as a language through which college students can practice critical analysis.

What I’m currently most proud of is the fact that I’m still able to make music that people are excited to listen to while being a full-time college professor. I just released an album called IKOV (my 14th official release). I’m also proud to have helped create my college’s first-ever Hip-Hop Studies Summit, which will be an annual event unlike any the college has ever hosted. Lastly, I’m grateful to have my very first collection of poetry be accepted for book publication, Remyth: A Postmodernist Ritual.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
For me, success is a state of mind. It isn’t necessarily tangible. It doesn’t have to be a gain in any physical sense. It doesn’t have to be a gain in followers or engagement in social media, nor capital. Success is taking a moment after you’ve put in the work and being grateful for how it all played out. Success is self-reflection and reassessment of goals. Success is going to bed each night and knowing that you showed up and put your best self forward.

Contact Info:

• Website: faimkills.bandcamp.com
• Email: faimkills@gmail.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/faimkills
• Twitter: twitter.com/faimkills

Image Credit:
ProfesorADMFK, Faimkills PayDayLA shot by Duke Visions, ADMFK outdoors shot by AnicaMT

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