Puckett, a Sinclair Community College student and aspiring rapper, is confined to a motorized chair. He said the disease makes him fatigued more often than a normal person.
“I get tired way quicker,” Puckett said.
Despite that, he said his disease affects his music in a good way.
“My music’s so much stronger with it,” Puckett said.
He’s been in the chair since he was 3 months old, but said he has no issues getting around campus and thanks to Disability Services he can have note takers with him in his classes.
“Sinclair’s pretty good [for me],” Puckett said. “But the elevators are really slow, so that’s an issue.”
Puckett, who said he goes by Puck, loves hip-hop music. He lists Kanye West, Eminem and Jay-Z as his modern favorites, and he also likes older acts like A Tribe Called Quest.
Puckett has released two EPs—short for extended play—called “Million Dollar Dreams” and “Still Wishing.” He is recording his third EP right now but doesn’t have a name for it.
“Hip-hop is definitely something I want to pursue as a career,” Puckett said.
Puckett said he does 3-4 shows a month opening up for more established acts, including Talib Kweli. On Oct. 22 he’ll do his first show in Dayton at Hammerjacks. He said he’s not nervous though.
“I’ve never performed in Dayton, I’m looking forward to it,” Puckett said. “Hopefully gain some more fans down here.”
He said the only show he’s ever gotten nervous for was last year at his high school in Springboro.
“That was different, I got nervous because, you know, there were teachers there,” Puckett said. “So it was a little different than normal.”
Puckett said he enjoys being in front of a crowd and enjoys proving himself to those who haven’t seen him perform.
“At first, if I perform for a crowd that’s never seen me before I can tell,” Puckett said. “Because I’m in a wheelchair it’s a little different [for the crowd]. Their initial reaction is that they are curious, and that’s what I like, because I know how they are going to react to me and I want to change that reaction. I like to change them from curious to, ‘okay, I can rock with this kid.’”
Some of the venues he performs at are not handicapped accessible so he went down to Fairfield and bought a 9-foot ramp to take with him to shows.
“Everyone’s pretty supportive and likes what I do at my stage shows,” Puckett said.
He said he wants his music to be uplifting.
“I’m not killing anyone in my songs,” Puckett said. “It’s more of a positive note, kind of tells my story. It’s the main reason I do it to begin with. I never wrote it to be motivating but a lot of people tell me it’s motivating and that’s a good thing. Ever since people started telling me that it’s changed my music in a good way.”
Puckett is a Communication major and is taking mostly general education classes right now. He said he’s a procrastinator and that the tests in college are a lot harder.
“I was kind of nervous about college to begin with,” Puckett said. “So I didn’t want to take more than I could handle.”
After Sinclair he plans to go to Wright State, which he said ranks as one of the best schools for disabled students. Despite all the challenges he faces with muscular dystrophy, he doesn’t let the disease define him.
“You just got to stay positive,” Puckett said. “When I picture myself I don’t see a wheelchair.”