Holidae X
History
Holidae has had a history much like any other small town person. The biggest difference is when it came to motivation. Holidae’s motivation to life was growth and the ability to build the things around him that he needed in order to grow. In 2001, while serving in the Navy, Holidae grew anxious with being able to record music, so he built his first recording studio on a ship in the middle of an ocean. He would need to rebuild it every night since he needed to take it down before that space was used for the day.
In 2005, Holidae joined a recording label named Southin’ Comfort Records, LLC based in Charleston SC. Around the same time, Holidae started developing as a member of the Nation of Gods and Earths. While interacting a lot with college students from HBCUs, he learned a lot more about the history of African Americans than he ever knew growing up in a small town in the middle of South Carolina. His town was mentioned in the 1619 project, but he also remembers his school chorus having black kids singing anti-black songs with no one batting an eye. Holidae became enamored with all of the information he was learning about being pro black. He would hear whispers of how black was powerful growing up, but during this stage in his life, he was able to feel the empowerment. He also soon wanted to introduce the love he had for himself and his people to everyone else.
Holidae soon retired early from the Navy and enjoyed a stint of one of the top rappers in South Carolina. Watching his peers in Atlanta, however, the better working conditions were allowing decent rappers more spotlight and more financial gain than the best rappers in SC. Not knowing any other way to figure out the difference in these two areas, Holidae left SC and moved to Atlanta. While in Atlanta, he learned how platforming plays a role in the ability for a regional growth.
In 2013, armed with more knowledge and a few Cybersecurity degrees, Holidae moved back to SC with a different game plan. He wanted to build a platform for artists to be noticed. Holidae dissolved his record label and started working on building his new platform.
In 2015, Holidae became the designer of Encounter, the Magazine. Encounter was the spotlight for the Charleston Community and mainly discussed health and services from local persons to the community. The magazine shorted out after 2 years of production due to it not transferring over digitally.
In 2016, Holidae started an entertainment network named ‘Distraction Network’. The network houses podcasts and editorials in order to draw attention to South Carolina’s entertainment community. This network also allows Holidae to pursue his dream of discussing hidden history and bringing that history to the light, as well as detailing current history. Distraction has been slowly building since 2016 while Holidae has been in college completing his Master’s Degree in Software Engineering Management.
Present
In 2021, Holidae is in his final year of his Doctorate’s of Information Technology for Information Assurance in Cybersecurity. While working in cybersecurity he has been able to continue building his platform at Distraction Network, as well as open a recording studio named ‘Lynx Recording Studios’ in Summerville, SC. He started building his clothing line, (Make America… America!!), which has been used since 2016 to show unity across all nationalities in a way to build America as a safe place for all persons no matter what color or creed they follow. One of the patterns Holidae has learned is that winners write official history, but history isn’t always the truth. Black history should be educated, not hidden. Black entertainment should be art, not commercialized. Blackness should be celebrated, not condemned. Whether it is through podcasting, writing, or music, Holidae has worked to build platforms to be a safe place to create dialog in the culture.
Future
Holidae is currently working with entertainers in South Carolina to expand his platform by the end of 2024 to include Art as well as STEM education.
Holidae is also working to complete his doctoral studies.