Science says babies can hear music from inside the womb. Some mothers place headphones on their belly for some easy listening.
Others rely on a loudspeaker playing reggae music.
Garnett Silver-Hall, 23, has been around music and entertainment since before he took his first breath, while his pregnant mom attended reggae festivals.
Some of Silver-Hall’s first memories are of live musical performances: Watching from his parents’ shoulders at two of their favorite local music festivals in the Bay Area where Silver-Hall grew up: Reggae on the River and Sierra Nevada.
“I think most of my memories come from the festivals,” Silver-Hall said. “That was a tradition, we always went to both of those every summer. I was young for a lot of it but I have been going my whole life.”
Now a University of Arizona senior on the men’s wheelchair basketball team, Silver-Hall has reconnected with his passion for music and finds the rhythms of both are similar.
Silver-Hall recently released his second single, “Top Shelf Freestyle.” The first song that he wrote, performed, and produced almost entirely on his own.
A song that is about proving yourself and not being afraid to ask for help along the way, his newest single shows Silver-Hall is finding his footing as an artist. The song dropped during a transitional period in his life academically and athletically.
“I was proving to everyone else that I can make dope stuff, but I was proving it to myself at the same time,” he said.
Becoming a three-sport athlete
Silver-Hall dropped the ceremonial puck at a San Jose Sharks game, traveled to the mountains of Greece to train with the Greek national wheelchair basketball team, scored a game-winning goal in the 2017 USA sled hockey youth championship game, and recently took a basketball trip to Romania.
Those experiences only happened because of a chance encounter at a hometown movie theater with his father.
“My athletic journey began when I was 10 years old,” Silver-Hall said. “Me and my pops were at a movie theater and we ran into another family that had a child with a disability. They introduced us to this program called Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program.”
The Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program, provides opportunities for local youth with physical disabilities or visual impairments. The program offers recreational and competitive activities, with a goal of increasing confidence, leadership skills, and independence.
Silver-Hall was born with arthrogryposis, a condition that affects the joints and causes contractures. This means that certain joints cannot bend or extend in their natural range of motion.
He uses a wheelchair and as a kid, he navigated his hometown of Bolinas, California sitting on a skateboard and pushed it forward using his hands.
“At first, our only means of transportation was a skateboard,” said Silver-Hall’s father, Michael “Zulu” Hall, 72. “Sometimes we would go into stores and they would try to kick us out for the skateboard until I explained our situation and gave them an idea of what was going on.”
On that same skateboard, Silver-Hall accompanied his father to the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program in search of more information.
As Silver-Hall rolled in on his board, he received a puzzled look from the three-time Olympic medalist and head sled hockey and basketball coach at the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program, Trooper Johnson, who signed the kid up to play.
Silver-Hall joined those teams and thrived.
“Sled hockey was honestly really similar [to navigating atop the skateboard],” said
Silver-Hall. “I already had the balance and it came kind of natural to me I think. That’s why I kept going back.”
He was good at his new found sport, he had a new community with shared life experiences and also participated in wheelchair BMX and wheelchair basketball — which led him to Tucson and a scholarship offer from the UA to play ball.
“I think (the recreation program) was the first time I was around a group of people with similar disabilities, practicing and playing the same thing. That was kind of a first for me,” said Silver-Hall.
Rediscovering music
During his sophomore year, Silver-Hall changed his psychology major to music with a minor in public relations. His very first course showed he made the correct choice.
“I started making beats and producing. I just fell in love with that instantly. I picked it up quick,” said Silver-Hall, whose parents named him after the famous Jamaican musician Garnett Silk. “I think just playing music and making beats gives me a feeling that I have not found anywhere else. I think the closest thing is really locking in during basketball.”
It was not a surprise to anyone around him that he was finding success in his new field of study.
“I knew he has wanted to do music since forever,” said Rae Rodriguez, 20. “He has been talking about this since high school. Him and [some of our teammates] would always have rap battles using Garage Band on the car and plane rides to and from tournaments.”
Rodriguez is a former BORP teammate and created the cover art for the single. He was on FaceTime with Silver-Hall when he published “Top Shelf Freestyle.”
“I had been there through the process of making it,” said Rodriguez. “I saw him writing the lyrics and how much effort he has put into it. It is crazy, I still can’t fathom it. I was really proud of him when he released it.”
Rhythm and flow
Sports and music are similar passions for Silver-Hall, who gets in the same creative and focused zone with both.
“In ball if you’re hot, making all your shots, and locking up on defense; you’re on a run,” Silver-Hall said. “I’ll be in the studio at night and I’ll find a dope drum groove to go in my beat or I’ll finally find a little melody or write a verse that I think is amazing. It’s the same. I don’t know how that works in the brain but I am sure that it’s pretty similar.”
In addition to that flow state, Silver-Hall finds another mental benefit.
“[Basketball and music] are both very freeing in a way,” said Silver-Hall. “Having the creative aspect just allows me to think outside of the box to get better.”
To find balance, Silver-Hall maintains his priorities: School, basketball, then everything else, he said.
“I graduate (this) fall and I’m here to play ball, I love playing ball and it has been a passion of mine for a long time,” said Silver-Hall. “Making my own music is kind of new to me. I am finding a lot of fun and creativity with that right now.”
Unlimited G
Silver-Hall’s mother, Maitreya Silver, 46, and his father often said their son rubbed elbows with some of the most influential names in reggae as a child.
Silver-Hall’s godmother is grammy nominated reggae artist and actress Sister Carol.
Silver Hall’s childhood nickname, “Unlimited G” was given to him by reggae artist Mikey General.
His musical influences surround him and Silver-Hall aims to channel that creativity into his music and on the court when he plays his final season for UA, which plays next in December.
After graduation he wants to work in public relations or marketing in the music and entertainment industry. Whatever comes next for Silver-Hall, he is ready. His father ingrained that into him growing up.
“It is not what happened to you but it is how you react to what has happened to you,” his dad said. “Nothing in the world is impossible to us.”
Kevin Thomas is a 2024 University of Arizona journalism graduate. He is a content producer for PHNX Sports.
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