Adrian Lopez, better known as Adrian Jacob, was born in Manhattan, New York and raised in Piscataway, New Jersey. Adrian, unlike many others, had a difficult childhood and early teenage years in the sense of not recognizing himself. He felt lost, trapped. He often believed there was something wrong with him and how he was feeling, it wasn’t until the age of fourteen that Adrian learned what it meant to be a transgender individual. Shortly after learning more about it, Adrian was quick to come out to his friends and family about the way he felt and he was luckily greeted with open arms. Unfortunately, though he had the support of his family and friends, there were a good amount of people not fond of him or the LGBTQ community entirely. Adrian had faced an immense amount of bullying and harassment throughout his high school career, and also faced the same treatment at times outside of school, in-person and online. Since he was little, Adrian dealt with some mental health disorders, but the increase of mistreatment as he got older made them intensify, and things became rather overwhelming. He would often shut down and not say a word, but when he did speak it was through music. Music is the one thing that got Adrian past every obstacle that came up in his life. He would just sing along to his favorite songs, letting the lyrics flow and resonate with every emotion he had. At fifteen, Adrian took it upon himself to pick up a guitar and learn how to play. He used Youtube videos to guide himself through some of his favorite songs and expanded his techniques the more he played by himself in the safe space of his room. Adrian loved to sing ever since he was a kid, and his dream was to be able to sing as he played guitar and have a crowd singing back to him. He took part of his school’s top choir ensembles, and also bought himself a ukulele and taught himself to play that as well. August 13, 2019, Adrian was blessed with the opportunity to have his name legally changed to Adrian Jacob Lopez and also began taking testosterone to further his transition. He has taken the time over the years to learn new things everyday about his voice as it continues to change, all while having his songbook with him at all times where he took note of every melodic or lyrical idea that came to his head. Adrian is set on capturing the stories, emotions and mental health struggles he had throughout his life and still does, and he aims to have his voice resonate in other people’s hearts, like his idols did for him. Adrian believes music is one of the most powerful things in the world, and everyone has something to bring to the table. Being transgender doesn’t make you anything less than a human, and you deserve to have your voice be heard. Adrian’s hand will always be out for those who need one.