Q&A with Travis Kruck

Hip Hop Rap Artist Finds His Voice

An interview with Travis Kruck

Q: What inspired you to become a rap artist?
A: I wasn't able to express myself any other way at the time and found joy and great satisfaction in doing something well, vocally. Performances are amazing! Being on stage, under the lights, doing my thing is probably the only time I feel like a free spirit where thoughts don't control me; my spirit and heart do.

Q: Is there any specific childhood memory that stands out regarding your speech?
A: One story that sticks in my head was auditioning for a school play. I had to walk up on stage, in front of a cafeteria full of classmates and first say my full name, followed by the song I was going to sing for the play. When my turn came up, of course I was nervous and undeniably expecting to stutter, but as I was waiting in line for my turn to speak I tried to focus and block those thoughts out. Sure enough as the pressure I was holding back came thundering in, I couldn't even say my first name, only the first letter of my name about a thousand times. And to make it worse, the instructor had thought the mic was turned off or not working properly, so he instructed me to say "mic check" and when I couldn't say that, I desperately resorted to tapping the mic head to show him the mic was in fact working. But I guess I wasn't supposed to do that, he yelled at me pretty bad for that move!

Q: What is your greatest obstacle, and how do you deal with it?
A: My greatest obstacle is to not focus on trying not to stutter, but speak freely and learn to control my speech as I go along. Lately I've been doing rather well on this, but when all eyes are on me I tend to be as choppy as the sea below the storm and my control goes out the window. I'm learning to block all distractions out though and just try to focus on the subject I'm speaking on.

Q: What is your biggest dream?
A: You always dream about that big break, that hit single, followed by your prize work of an album and just making a living doing what I love to do. If you would have asked me this a couple years ago, I probably would have said to speak fluently and not stutter. But I've realized I will never speak perfectly nor can anyone else.?ÿ I shouldn't take it so seriously, but just live and have faith in myself that I can do what I want to do and in turn say what I want to say.

Q: If you could give a simple message to teenagers who stutter, what would it be?
A: Running away is not the answer. Hiding from the problem and letting frustration and anger build up inside will only hurt you more. Building confidence the is key in learning to cope with your stutter. Find out what it is you like to do and makes you feel worth something more than your stutter.?ÿ Soon you'll have left your negative stuttering thoughts and judgments far behind, and you'll be on your way to a future of your own choosing.

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Lewis Carroll

The recent Disney version of Lewis Carroll’s classic, Alice in Wonderland, garnered a great deal of media hype. Even though the mainstream media has not made mention that Carroll was a person who stuttered, his family history gives credence to the discovery of the genetic link to stuttering. Carroll was born to parents who were first cousins; almost all of their eleven children, three girls and seven boys, struggled with stuttering past childhood.

Marilyn Monroe

From Edward S. Herrington's letter to Southcoasttoday.com

I am writing in response to "The importance of voice" (May 29), which mentioned that famous actor James Earl Jones struggled with stuttering. Another famous voice that you cited was the trademark breathy voice of Marilyn Monroe; however, you did not make mention of the fact that Marilyn Monroe also struggled with stuttering at various points in her life, sometimes very painfully.

Carly Simon

Carly Simon began stuttering severely when she was eight years old.

Ken Venturi

As much of the nation watches the U.S. Open Golf Championship, it is impossible not to think about our late friend Ken Venturi. Ken overcame many challenges to win the Open at Congressional in 1964 and go on to become the voice of golf for more than three decades.

However, Ken faced no bigger obstacle than stuttering. Ken Venturi was a champion to those who stutter, going out of his way to share his personal experience when consulted by a colleague, friend, or child who stutters.

Winston Churchill

Seeking to "remove Winston Churchill's stutter by second guessing the diagnosis" indicates neither a truthful retelling of history nor an informed opinion about a complex speech disorder, say experts in the field of speech-language pathology.

Recent news reports that quote Dr. John Mather, a Washington physician, as saying that Churchill's stutter "is a lie" brought adamant critical response from specialists in the field of stuttering and fluency disorders.