Baltimore-born artist Speed on the Beat has possibly seen it all. From mental illness, familial situations, death, the streets, nerdish tendencies and so on. This gamut of experiences allows Speed to approach everything with brutal honesty and defiant lyricism. SOTB got his start over twenty years ago, working as a child singer and a teenaged writer. As time went on, and Speed became wiser to the way the world worked, he decided to create his own success. That’s where and when Speed’s brand of no-fi and lo-fi hip-hop came to be. Using many influences, Speed presents his life story in a way few can: honest, emotionally jarring, a bit self-depreciating & highly imperfect—all while preaching self-improvement. Speed’s “no-fi” approach leaves imperfections in his verses, giving the listener a more-intimate (and less glitzy) view into who Speed is as a person and an artist. Speed also reviews music on his site, speedonthebeat.com, which will celebrate its twelfth anniversary in May 2024.