Eric Dewayne July (born April 17, 1990) is an American musician,

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

writer, and

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

political commentator. He is the founder, chief executive officer, and lead writer of Rippaverse Comics, an independent comic book publishing company established in 2022. The company was launched with the objective of promoting creative independence and

decentralization Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and gi ...

within the entertainment industry. July has advocated for Rippaverse as an alternative to mainstream publishers, emphasizing creator ownership and consumer-driven storytelling. In addition to his work in publishing, July is the lead vocalist for the

rap metal Rap metal is a fusion genre that combines hip hop music, hip hop with heavy metal music, heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, Rapping, rapped vocals and sometimes turntablism, turntables. History O ...

band BackWordz, whose music is characterized by heavy instrumentals and lyrics that reflect libertarian themes, including

individual freedom Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and ad ...

and

limited government In political philosophy, limited government is the concept of a government limited in power. It is a key concept in the history of liberalism.Amy Gutmann, "How Limited Is Liberal Government" in Liberalism Without Illusions: Essays on Liberal ...

. He is also a contributor to Blaze Media and a YouTube commentator, where he discusses topics such as cultural trends, economic issues, and media criticism, often from a libertarian perspective. Earlier in his career, July was the frontman for the band Fire from the Gods before transitioning to his current pursuits in entrepreneurship, music, and media.

Early life

Eric July was born in Dallas, Texas, and grew up in

Oak Cliff Oak Cliff is an area of Dallas, Texas, United States that was formerly a separate town in Dallas County; established in 1887 and annexed by Dallas in 1903, Oak Cliff has retained a distinct neighborhood identity as one of Dallas' older establ ...

. His parents separated when he was a young child, and he lost contact with his father. After getting involved in gang activity as a teen, he was sent to

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

to live with his grandmother. Later he moved back to Dallas, where he was shot in the knee at one point and kicked out of multiple high schools despite being a talented track athlete. A narrow escape from a drive-by shooting and the death of a close friend caused July to reconsider his lifestyle. He attended the

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

on a track and field scholarship. Later, he went to

Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi (Texas A&M–Corpus Christi, TAMU–CC, A&M–Corpus Christi, or A&M–CC) is a Public university, public research university on Ward Island (Texas), Ward Island in Corpus Christi, Texas, United States. It i ...

, where he majored in communications. July says he changed his political views from

far left Far or FAR may refer to: Government * Federal Acquisition Regulation, US * Federal Aviation Regulations, US * Florida Administrative Register, US Military and paramilitary * Rebel Armed Forces (Spanish: '), a defunct guerilla organization ...

at this time when reading black economists such as

Thomas Sowell Thomas Sowell ( ; born June 30, 1930) is an American economist, economic historian, and social and political commentator. He is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. With widely published commentary and books—and as a guest on T ...

and Walter Williams. He moved back to Dallas in March 2015.

Music career

July first performed under the name YG Ripple in Corpus Christi, and became involved in the hardcore metal scene there and in San Antonio. He played keyboards early on, then switched to vocals in the band Fire from the Gods. He formed the band BackWordz, in which he also performs vocals, in late 2014. In 2016, the band signed to the record label Stay Sick Recordings, run by

Chris Fronzak Christopher Joseph Fronzak (born November 20, 1989), also known as Fronz or Fronzilla, is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist and founding member of the metalcore/rap metal band Attila. Aside from his work in Attila, he i ...

, vocalist for the

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

band

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

. BackWordz billed themselves as the libertarian

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...

Comic book career

In July 2022, Eric July debuted his new publishing company, Rippaverse Comics, with an online marketing campaign selling comic books and merchandise for the company's first project, ''Isom''. The campaign exceeded its original $100,000 goal, raising $1.7 million by July 15, $2.5 million by July 18, and $3 million by July 22. In May 2023, Rippaverse Comics announced upcoming installments to the universe, including ''Isom'' #2, ''Alphacore'' by

Chuck Dixon Charles Dixon (born April 14, 1954) is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on the Marvel Comics character the Punisher and on the DC Comics characters Batman, Nightwing, and Robin in the 1990s and early 2000s. Early life D ...

, and ''Yaira'' by

Jen and Sylvia Soska Jen Soska and Sylvia Soska (born April 29, 1983), also known as The Soska Sisters or The Twisted Twins, are Canadian twin sisters who collaborate as film directors, producers and screenwriters. They are known for directing often violent and visc ...

. The third comic book campaign of the Rippaverse is of ''Goodyng'' written by

Mike Baron Mike Baron (born July 1, 1949) is an American comic book writer and novelist. He is the creator of ''Badger (comics), Badger'' and the co-creator of ''Nexus (comics), Nexus'' with Steve Rude. He is also well known as the first writer on Marvel Co ...

, making around $291,000.

Political activities

July campaigned for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

in 2008, but now describes himself as an

anarcho-capitalist Anarcho-capitalism (colloquially: ancap or an-cap) is a political philosophy and economic theory that advocates for the abolition of Sovereign state, centralized states in favor of Stateless society, stateless societies, where systems of p ...

who tries "to get people thinking more critically about things." He helped found a group called Minorities Seeking Solutions, which he says aims to connect with young black males in particular and help empower them. He is a contributor for the Blaze TV network.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:July, Eric 1990 births Living people African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers 21st-century African-American singers African-American writers American anarcho-capitalists American comics writers African-American comics writers American libertarians Blaze Media people Commentary YouTubers Rappers from Dallas American music YouTubers News YouTubers YouTubers from Dallas Rippaverse Comics writers Rippaverse Comics people