Penn State students have passions they pursue outside of the classroom. Penn State musician SlickkLando, his passion of being a musician has become more validated by the day.

Landon Shaw is a student rapper who opened for Lil Yachty’s State College stop on his ‘Field Trip’ tour. We sat down with the 21-year-old junior to discuss his performance, his career, and how he balances being a full-time student while chasing his dreams of being a full-time artist.

Onward State: Tell us a little about yourself.

SlickkLando: My name is Landon Shaw and I’m from Willingboro, New Jersey, but I moved to Maryland when I was in seventh grade. I’m a junior with a business major and I just turned 21 years old.

OS: When did you start making music?

SL: I was in my school choir when I was younger and played many instruments like the piano, drums, and all that type of stuff. I didn’t really start recording my own music until high school. I did it with my friends and just started recording music, going to the studio, and then I got the passion for it.

OS: How did the opportunity come about for you to open up for Lil Yachty when he came to State College?

SL: PentGroup reached out. I was named MC/Artist and that’s how I got on with my DJ, DJ Ja. He gave me this opportunity and then we just went ahead and killed it. We’re actually doing business with PentGroup and are heading out tomorrow to go to Lil Yachty’s next tour date in Buffalo, New York.

OS: What’s your friendship like between you and DJ Ja?

SL: He’s like my older brother. I probably met him almost two years ago or whenever I first came out here. We have this connection where he tells me a lot of information and puts me on the game when it comes to music. We have a genuine friendship more than anything business.

OS: Do you find it tough to balance being friends and business partners or does being friends make it better?

SL: It makes it easier for sure. With us having more of a friendship, we always try to have something that we both agree with. It makes sense because ultimately when you try to invest all your time in a business, you spend a lot of time with that person. So it’s better for you to be friends with somebody you’re spending so much time with.

OS: How do you balance being a student and a music artist at the same time?

SL: I choose my days to get all of my work done. Wednesdays and Sundays are typically the days I choose since those are the days when everything is due. I just really make sure those two days, I do all of my responses, homework, and discussion forums.

OS: Who’s a dream artist you’d like to perform with?

SL: Probably somebody like Drake or A Boogie. With Lil Yachty, I had to adjust because we don’t necessarily make the same type of music. A lot of the music I make is like radio music but Yachty makes more performance tracks that are super hype. So it’s actually been helping me get more uptempo, upbeat songs.

OS: How do you think you’ve changed from when you first started making music to now?

SL: When I first started, I didn’t even know about the money side or anything. There’s a whole infrastructure of being an artist like having a team, managers, tour management, drivers, photographers, and people who are eating off you in general. It’s a whole bunch of different positions that now have to get filled, especially when you’re starting to move around as a successful artist.

OS: As an artist, what do you think has been key to getting people to know who you are?

SL: This is one thing I can definitely say, there is no best way. With every artist, you’ve got to analyze your branding and what you have to offer. At first, I didn’t know how I was going to do it, but through my marketing and promotion, I’ve been able to find different things that fit into my niche.

OS: What’s your message to other student artists who are trying to be successful in their art as well?

SL: There’s no rush! Focus on being a student first, for sure, because you always have time to be an artist. You have to evaluate your time as a student and really use it to the best of your ability. You can’t fall behind being a student, trying to be an artist. A lot of times even in my head, I’m like, “I can go and do something really big right now and I don’t even need to finish school,” but that’s not the right mindset.