Lauren Petri

5 May 2021

Final Project

How a Pullman Rap Group Grew in COVID

In 2019, a group of artists who met through mutual friends in Pullman, Washington,

decided to channel all of their musical talents into one entity—a hip hop and rap group by the

name of The Pullman Collective.

The ensemble is composed of four members, who are all juniors at WSU: three vocalists,

Zach Settle, Vasili Varlamos, and Sam Coulon, and their producer, John Glenn. Their songs

feature lyrical themes of college life in general, as well as what it’s like to be a student in the

small and rural town of Pullman.

“It’s hard to find clarity in a city like this; chaos, fake love. . .” croons Zach Settle in the

song “GOLDEN”, on their album titled simply Pullman. “But I think I found it, staring at this

sunset. I think I found it.”

But instead of the group being entirely centered around Pullman, the group wanted to

make an album for Pullman; something that was about and would be relatable to the peers

around them.

“The songs aren’t necessarily only about Pullman,” said Vasili Varlamos. “We put

references to Pullman in our songs because it’s really the only thing we have in common. We’re

all very different people, who grew up in different places, so going to WSU was one of the only

common denominators we could rap about.”

 Varlamos, Coulon and Settle, on the cover of their album Pullman.

The Pullman Collective really began when Zach Settle and his friend from high school,

Sam Coulon—who made music together in their freshman year dorm— joined different

fraternities.

“Sam joined Theta Chi, where he met Vasili, who made music in highschool,” Settle said.

“Meanwhile, I joined Pi Kapps and met John (Glenn), who made his own beats. After all of us

met at parties and stuff and realized we were all into music, we wanted to see if we could get

together to make something good.”

John Glenn, the group’s producer, said he makes music for the fun of it, which is why

being in a group with his friends in college is perfect. “I love finding people to work with that are

passionate about music like I am. The point of making music for me is having fun and working

with talented people,” Glenn said.

 “Zach Settle’s flow is insane,” Glenn said of his bandmate. “Every time he’s on the mic

you know it’s going to be fire.”

Coulon, Settle, and producer John Glenn at their friend’s 21st birthday party

The album, that was once a dream in the back of their minds, is available on Spotify,

Apple Music, and Youtube. The intro begins with a clip of Gary Jenkins, the chief of police of

Pullman, warning college kids from throwing parties in the midst of the pandemic. Following are

songs titled “BEASLEY” and “SIDELINE”, referencing the football season that many students

have missed dearly. Settle later raps in the song “GTA” that their beats are “sicker than

emergency visits to Pullman Regional.”

Coulon also raps about the troubles that college parties can bring to a student in the

group’s single “LOVESICK”, when he says, “Friendships fabricated, everyone’s intoxicated, you

say nothing new to me and the fun is slowly fading.”

The group was only able to make one song together titled “DO OR DIE”, before the

COVID pandemic hit, forcing students to move home for the semester.
 “We had to take a break from the group when COVID hit, before we had really been able

to start at all,” Settle said. “We wanted to release the album by the time we came back to school,

but we spent that semester working on the album and had to release it a full semester later.”

Settle said it’s challenging to get a group together in the pandemic, and it’s harder to

collaborate in the same way musically when they’re not in person.

“We had that huge surge of COVID cases in Pullman when we first got to school, so I

was sketched out with how many people I wanted to see and be around. I didn’t know if I wanted

the guys to be coming to my house and recording,” Settle said.

Vasili said that although COVID has definitely hurt his music career, he has hope for the

future of the band.

“Even before COVID we were talking about doing concerts or maybe even performing

for a football game,” said Vasili. “Since we have another year in Pullman, we are hoping it clears

up so we’re able to do a live concert, where we can release another project.”

Until then, The Pullman Collective plans to release three more singles that they hope will

promote their group further.

“We’ve had setbacks, that’s for sure,” said Glenn. “But I’m so excited for our future.”

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