In the quiet suburban town of Cheverly, there’s a musician who utterly transcends genres. Armed with both a drum kit and a mix board, Pentagrvm creates a brilliant connection between two genres of music that, at first glance, could not seem farther apart: hip-hop and heavy metal. But when you listen to the numerous mixtapes and singles that Pentagrvm has on Soundcloud, the similarities becomes apparent. In hip-hop, Pentagrvam brings beats to the local scene inspired by classic southern underground sounds like Memphis legendsThree 6 Mafia and Tommy Wright III. With more than 1,500 Soundcloud followers and a laundry list of artists that he’s been working with—such as vets like DJ Smokey and Jake Sinatra—Pentagrvm is growing into an artist who showcases the darker side of hip-hop in the D.C. area.

The Cheverly producer’s musical journey started out like any other musicians: Screwing around in a friend’s house, learning to make beats. That soon inspired Pentagrvm to make beats for himself. “I just went home, downloaded all the programs from [his friend’s] computer, and just started making my own patterns and loops,” he says. His introduction to making beats was also around the time the producer was asked by a friend to drum in a new death metal band. Six years and several lineup changes later, Infvmy is one of the D.C. area’s most prominent death metal outfits.

With these two perspectives in music, Pentagrvm sees the distinct connection between the two genres and has skillfully navigated the parallels between the two. “I’ve took [the] ambience that [Horrorcore] had and I wanted to throw that into the rap scene,” he says. “Because I’ve noticed most of these rap shows are like punk shows, with the crowd surfing and mosh pits and all that shit. I just want to make rap that people can headbang too.”

With his increasing success in music production, Pentagrvm’s journey in music has mostly been one of good vibes and fun, but he still wants to build a professional musical future for himself. He tells Arts Desk that he plans to go to school before he goes all in with music. “I just want to make sure I’m straight before I dive completely head first into this music thing,” he says, “but as of right now, I’m having fun with it… don’t doubt my love for it though, I love this shit.”