Lynn musicians Jeff Porter and David Ryan, previously featured in the Item in 2021, have diligently pursued their musical endeavors. Since the peak of the pandemic, this duo has consistently released original tracks and accompanying videos, balancing their collaborative work with individual solo explorations. Their music, a mix of personal narratives and developing sounds, has garnered a wider audience both locally and online. Continuing their activity in the music scene since their last Item interview, Porter and Ryan have expanded their reach, gained further recognition and connected with new listeners.
David Ryan, a Lynn native, spent his childhood as an active, sports-loving, baseball enthusiast. He attended Pickering Middle School and St. Mary’s, and his early exposure to artists like Stevie Wonder and Luther Vandross cultivated a love for music. Ryan also cites other artists such as Billy Joel, Elton John, James Taylor, Travis Scott, Young Thung, Frank Ocean, The Weeknd and Ye.
After graduating high school, Ryan discontinued his formal education and instead established the 108 brand. Ryan chose the name 108 for his brand because it’s a number frequently seen in his family. After his mother’s passing in 2009 from cancer, he noticed it even more and interpreted its appearance as a sign of her presence.
“I went and got a tattoo of my moms birthday and 108 in roman numerals. We realized her birthday is 12/9… 12 times 9 is 108,” Ryan said. “Everything just came together.”
Initially, the brand offered apparel including shirts and hats. Then expanded to doing artwork and marketing for artists like Mickey Spades and C Wells. Ryan’s experience assisting other artists inspired him to pursue his own artistic endeavors. During the pandemic’s onset, Ryan collaborated with recording engineer Steve DuBois. While DuBois recognized Ryan’s potential, he offered constructive criticism, suggesting further development was needed, but still he wanted to create together. Ryan would go to a studio to record some songs with genres ranging from rock, country-esque, two hip-hop songs and some pop.
“I said. ‘I have the soul in me; everybody has the music in them,’ and it’s all about reaching down and trying to find it,” Ryan said. “I made the jump… I was doing all this artwork, these clothes, all this back-end stuff, and I wanted to be that person that I’m doing that for.”
Jeff Porter, a fellow Pickering student, was significantly influenced by hip-hop during his time at the school. He was inspired by the clothing and style, such as the jerseys and Nike Air Forces, referencing the song “Air Force Ones” by Nelly.
Recalling his transition from Shoemaker to Pickering, that is when he used to watch TRL on MTV. The first music video that Porter was struck by is Nas’ “One Mic,” a video he was enthralled by. His older sisters would have a bunch of CDs, and he recalls being intrigued by the studio album “The Marshall Mathers LP” released by Eminem, and also recalling the album “The Blueprint” by Jay Z as something he was hooked to as well.
Porter also would frequently visit blogs such as 2DopeBoyz and HotNewHipHop as his appreciation for hip-hop grew. Once graduating from Lynn English, Porter would pursue his education at Union College in Schenectady, New York. He would meet Fernando Gomez, also known as T.O.I., who is from the Bronx: the mecca of hip-hop. After becoming good friends with the New Yorker, they started to create together, putting mixes out on SoundCloud and showing them around to classmates on campus. They became known as the two guys who rapped.
After graduating college and entering the corporate world, Porter sought a creative outlet. Several years later, reconnecting with Ryan prompted him to start a hip-hop blog. This blog served as a space for Porter to explore emerging artists, new music releases, industry conflicts and other relevant topics.
On his personal blog, Porter had written an article about Royce da 5′9″ who had reposted the story on his Instagram story. Feeling validated by this, it made Porter want to contribute to 108 and merge with what Ryan had been building up and was also inspired by Ryan’s work with 108. Porter, who felt a connection to the brand, began contributing stories to the website. This eventually led to a podcast collaboration between Porter and Ryan.
Ryan encouraged Porter to release more music, which Porter initially resisted. However, with increased free time and working remotely due to the pandemic, Porter eventually began releasing more music. Since he had Adobe Creative Cloud, Porter would hop onto Adobe Audition, which he self-taught himself to use, and recorded his first EP “The Appetizer, Pt.1” release in 2020 which features five tracks. After releasing “Back in the Days,” a collaboration with Ryan, they observed increased audience engagement. This led them to commit fully to their venture.
We’re doing it to show other people that they can do it, too. If you see the signs, go for it. It’s about connecting. It’s about everyone coming together as one.
David Ryan
Since partnering, Porter and Ryan have released several singles together, including “RACING,” “SEE NO EVIL,” “OUT THE WAY” and “Write My Wrongs.” Porter’s solo work includes songs like “Marvelous” and “Saturday Mornings.” His recent EP, “SOMETHIN’ TO FEEL,” features tracks such as “LIGHTER FLUID,” “PRAISE TO US,” “STAY STRONG,” “ALL MY TIME” and the title track “SOMETHIN’ TO FEEL,” which includes a feature from Ryan. Ryan’s EP, “Vicious Cycle,” is a deeply personal project focusing on themes of grief and its cyclical nature. He intends to follow this release with another project that will conceptually build upon the EP.
Porter also mentioned Teathetruth, the duos engineer and frequent collaborator, stating that he is a big part of making their sound what it is.
The duo began performing during the pandemic, accumulating over 60 shows after starting with no prior gigs. Their performances include: opening for The Stand Up Stick Up comedy show in December 2023, appearances at venues like Jacobs Corner in Beverly and Koto Salem, events for Bars over Bars, most recently performed at Club Madison in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, and opened for the Extreme Verbal Art Show last summer.
The Extreme Verbal Art Show was presented by 1000WORD$ and Ricky Grey, featured artists such as Estee Nack, Mickey Diamond, Pro Dillinger & $NOTTY, Shaykh Hanif (and Feed the Family), Emilio Craig, Def Soulja, SA Money and the Mellos.
“These are guys that I actually listen to,” Porter said, referring to the Extreme Verbal Art Show. “Now I’m kind of on their level, on the same stage as them… It was pretty cool. It was a good time, and the parking lot was just packed with people. The energy was palpable. It was awesome.”
In 2021, Porter and Ryan first appeared on the Say That! Podcast and recently returned for its 100th episode. Subsequently, they were invited to perform at the Say That! Cypher Vol. 1 at AOA studios in Beverly, an event that was under development since 2020 which features the duo and other artists including Cam Iandolo, Zaafir, Julian Mendoza and I$aac Groove. The aim of this and future cyphers is to provide more opportunities for rappers who have been previously featured on the podcast to develop and showcase their talents.
Porter and Ryan show no signs of slowing down, as they have collaborated with Bars over Bars for a free, 21+ event at Jacob’s Corner located at 278 Rantoul St. in Beverly on June 13. The duo will be performing at the show alongside artists such as $ITO2MUCH, Shinnozuke, MaxxedOut, Chelley Marie, Tiggy and Zaay with vendor MVHCO present for the Hiphop Showcase. The event will be held from 9 p.m. to midnight.
“When we perform, most times, we play to each other’s strong suits, and we compliment each other well,” Porter said. “David is more of a singer-songwriter vocalist which is probably his strong suit. So when he kills the hook, and I’m on the verses… I have a deeper tone, and he has a lighter tone… and people really like when we come together.”
