Carnage the Executioner entertains and inspires students at VMSS
On Friday February 6th, 2019, Maynard Terrell Woods, a beatboxing-rapper, came to visit the 8th graders of Valley Middle School. The stage name of Woods is Carnage the Executioner. He is a humanitarian, a father, a friend, a musician, a poet, a youth advocate, a social activist, a writer, an educator, a rapper, a beatboxer and a survivor of his own demons.
Growing up, Carnage had a rough past. He has been through many trials, and has overcome his demons in many ways. Carnage has dealt with domestic violence, was sexually, physically and mentally abused, and to add onto that, he was homeless for a while. He grew up around people with drug and alcohol abuse.
My idol is myself, because a lot of people will fail you if you let them have the power to do so.
— Carnage the Executioner
Carnage was introduced to music by his mother. “Just listening to music itself was a big part of it all. One of the only good things my mother did for me was introducing me to the good R&B musicians that helped me veer towards music and rapping.” He started to beatbox at the age of eight. At age twelve he was taken out of his home and placed into different foster homes and group homes, this is where he spent the rest of his teen years growing up. He was a talented young kid, and was drawn towards words and sounds. “I loved words, I used to read the dictionary when I was younger, that’s one of the many things that I love about rapping. It uses words that help me express myself and tell my stories to people, so I decided to start rhyming,” said Carnage. Carnage the Executioner seems like he could be a motivational speaker because of the stories he tells and the advice he gives. “No matter what, don’t give up, stay strong, it’s not your fault what you go through! — Carnage the Executioner
Carnage is his own boss; he doesn’t like people telling him what he has to do. He has 20 releases and has appeared on at least 100 releases from other artists! Carnage the Executioner has worked with Major rappers like Ice Cube. One of his favorite releases that he has done and one of the most listed songs that he has put out there is called “Minnesota Mean”. It takes Carnage on average 2-3 hours to write a song, rap lyrics and all.
Carnage says that his idol is himself. “My idol is myself, because a lot of people will fail you if you let them have the power to do so. If you don’t let them have the power to do that, there’s nobody else to blame when you mess up, you can only be mad at yourself. I think I looked up to myself because I saw myself as a strong person, and I could overcome anything that stands in my way.” There is meaning behind almost every song that he releases. One of those songs is called “Show Saver,” which is is about helping people get rid of the fear of public performance. He wants people to be able to tell their stories like the way he does with rapping. 
Carnage the Executioner wasn’t always his stage name. At the beginning of his career he was called T-Swift, but not like Taylor Swift. In 1997, he wanted a name that pulls people’s eyes to him and his music, so that is why he changed his stage name to Carnage the Executioner, he had seen lots of carnage and destruction in his life, and looks at it like more of a journey rather than a bad memory. “I want to inspire, I want to be an example to kids on how they can do the same thing, that’s one of the many reasons why I do what I do. Secondly, kids will tell you what’s up, kids will tell you if you’re doing good or if you need to clean it up.”
Carnage is a very fun, encouraging, and comical person that if you meet, you would instantly feel relaxed and happy around. He likes to have fun with people, which was on display during his presentation at VMSS. Carnage made some beats and kids were allowed to come up and dance or add on to the beat. He had a couple rap battles with some of the students at Valley.
One of his quotes that stood out during his presentation was “Let’s come together, rather than tear each other down.” He said this after one of his rap battles with a student, as the audience was asking for more. The presentation was a very fun experience for students and teachers alike.
Godzilla Peña • Feb 13, 2019 at 5:51 pm
This was really cool! If only I had my phone, I would have recorded almost all of it, his speech, his music, the rap battles(those were recorded) and everything in between! His name also reminds me of a game called Primal Carnage: EXTINCTION(you can guess what’s in that shooter…). He, himself, is a very cool and strong role model, I wish most, if not all, of the school would listen and take the messages to heart.