It’s kind of unreal that today, we’re impressed when artists can actually sing, create instrumentals and (maybe most astonishingly) pen their own lyrics. Aren’t those qualifications prerequisites to a career in music? Well, reader, it ain’t all bad! 21-year old Duke senior Mike Posner is a great example of how new musical artists are taking the craft and business back into their own hands. He’s already touring independently when not in class, producing and ghostwriting for Def Jam artists and schooling marketing vets on how to properly push your work on the internet.

Here he is recreating Beyonce’s “Halo” in his dorm room (clip 1) and then knocking out an original vocal rendition of the track in what we’re assuming is a campus studio (clip 2).