A HIP hop artist has spoken out about how music has transformed his life after being a victim of childhood abuse.

One of the reasons that David McFadden became an artist was to express himself – and find a way to cope – after being abused between the ages of nine and 12.

The 31-year-old has been in therapy for it since he was 14 but said that does not even compare to music where he performs and records under the name Evila, which has become his alter ego.

David said: “Due to my childhood history it was very difficult. I’ve spent a lot of time dwelling on the past.

“I created this alter ego and alias to become that confident person I need to be to get out of it.

“Music does something to me. I can hear a certain key and I will feel it and react to it.

“I grew up with music and it just triggers emotions for me. I’ve learnt to step into those shoes now so it’s no longer an alter ego.

“I’m that confident person I’ve always pushed myself to become.”

David, a former Padgate High School student, was drawn to hip hop when he was 11.

He said: “My dad used to DJ and I’d hear Beastie Boys and old school hip hop like that so it was always there.”

David started writing his own music in his last year at Woolston CE Primary School but he was inspired to take it more seriously when he heard Eminem’s first hit, My Name Is, when he was 13.

Now David has his own studio at his Hatchmere Close home and wants his latest album, The Phoenix Amongst Vultures, to inspire listeners that they can get through anything.

He added: “My lyrics used to be quite dark but I wanted my new album to be in contrast to that. It’s a lot more positive.

“It’s about getting out of that and that’s why it’s called The Phoenix Amongst Vultures. Music has always been a therapeutic thing for me. I went through a lot of therapy when I was younger but nothing compares to my music at all.

“A lot of people I don’t know have contacted me out of the blue and said there is a lot of inspirational messages in my music.

“At the moment I’m trying to get a positive message across and to help people understand that no matter what happens you can get through it. That’s why there are songs like Head in Clouds, Getting Out Alive, the Never Know song we did with my group Thoughtune and Good Memories.

 

Evila with Thoughtune

“I’ve got fans in America and there are people who pop up from Italy, Switzerland and Chile.

“It’s literally worldwide. It’s very surprising but a lot of the recent support has come from Warrington.”

Despite Warrington’s guitar band-orientated scene, David is well known and well respected among the town’s musicians.

He has performed at Warrington Music Festival numerous times and many know him from his days with acclaimed band Lazy Fader.

David said: “I used to run rap battles back in the day. I’ve always been a part of the hip hop scene.

“I was in a band called Lazy Fader about 10 years ago and we did big battle of the bands called Surface Unsigned.

“We had a drummer, guitarist, a bassist, a guy on the turntables and an MC. We had the lot and we got to the final out of 15,000 bands.

“We came second and I think the judges were drawn by the fact we were so different and stood out.”

When the band went their separate ways Evila went solo and organised hip hop events in Warrington before starting Thoughtune, a hip hop/rap collective.

David, whose fiancee Tanya shoots all his music videos, also has three albums under his belt but that only scratches the surface of his work as he makes music every day without fail.

He added: “I started at such a young age that I’ve now got a huge catalogue of more than 1,000 songs.

“Even now I’m sitting on two albums worth of material that I’ve not released. I only try to release the things I feel are ready and fit with the position that I’m in.

“My plan is for people to get to know me through my music and that’s what I think music should be about – it’s the story of a person.

“None of it is really against anyone. It’s more about what I had to go through. I can only let you see it through my eyes. It helps me to express myself and if it helps someone else then all the better...”