Dino Suljanovic (9), also known as Lil ZigZag, creates SoundCloud rap music in his free time for fun.

“I just really liked, you know, listening to music,” Suljanovic said. “I enjoy rap and stuff like that.”

Suljanovic now goes by Lil ZigZag in the rapping community,

“It was sixth grade, Miss Chan’s first-hour science class. It was my friends and me, we did a self-portrait assignment and my dude had zigzag hair, so we said it was a SoundCloud rapper and we gave him the name Lil ZigZag,” Suljanovic said. 

Since starting, Suljanovic has changed the amount of time he spends on his music, putting more effort into his songs.

“It really depends. At first, it took like five minutes because I didn’t really care too much, so I did it as a joke. Now I’d say maybe like 15, 20, 30 minutes,” Suljanovic said. 

With his music, Suljanovic has dealt with obstacles but finds ways to cope.

“Most of the school supports my SoundCloud career, I’d say…” Suljanovic said. “I don’t really get hate, but when I do, I don’t really care because Zigzag stays winning.”

As he continues, Suljanovic is trying to put more effort into his music and make it big.

“I want to get better, higher quality songs and hopefully have a song that does well and blows up. I’m probably going to start promoting my songs on like TikTok ’cause that’s worked out for a lot of artists in the past,” Suljanovic said.

Suljanovic loves music but wants to keep doing school if he makes it big.

“I’d just keep working hard. I’d still probably focus on school, you know. I want to at least still go to college even if I have a music career,” Suljanovic said.

Suljanovic enjoys the music he makes and has plans on making much more music in the future, which is a path many students might be interested in.

“If you enjoy music and think you’re good at making music and you want to give it a shot, then go for it,” Suljanovic said. “Also, even if you’re not very good at singing, you can make your own beats and produce and stuff for other people.”