Imagine working your way up to the top only to have fallen down, except this time it’s not just another obstacle in your way; you can’t get up.

It’s upsetting, right? Well, not for Austin Kerr.

For those unaware, Austin Kerr parted ways with pop/rock band Set It Off after rumors and lies spun out of control. It’s been nearly a year since he left his career with the band, one that he spent years building up, but his defamation won’t stop him from doing what he loves: making music. Austin is back, and he’s climbing much higher than he has ever before.

I had a chance to speak with him over the phone about his new project which you can read about below.

Can you introduce yourself?

My name is Austin Kerr. I'm a rapper and I write music under the name PRGRSS. I release it under my name and my friend who makes the beats, so it's PRGRSS and M3NDEAD.

For people who are unfamiliar, can you talk about your new music?

I started writing poetry when I was pretty young, and I really like writing poetry cause it's a really good way to get out a lot of the thoughts and feelings and emotions that I don't necessarily feel comfortable talking to friends about, or kind of dealing with on those sort of bases.

What made you want to start making music again after what happened while you were in Set It Off?

It can be a very trying experience when you have everything you have, care about, and work for kind of ripped from you. I definitely went through a large period where I was trying to figure out what I was doing and what I was trying to do. In the end, going back to music was kind of my original love. Originally, I was writing in my own band and that band formed into Set It Off, and throughout all of Set It Off it's really what I had wanted to do so I kind of realized that this was an opportunity for me to be the artist that I was always hoping to be when I first got into music.

What happened last year with the rumors and lies about you?

The nature of rumors like that is you can't really talk about it without it going one way. A big problem with rumors like that is that when there's nothing actually there, it's really hard to prove a negative. It's very hard to find evidence that says, "This didn't happen." You end up having to do a lot of research to figure out how to disprove a pointless rumor. If you were asleep and you woke up the next day and someone were to say, "Hey, why did you steal this car?" You’d say you were sleeping, but unless you had a video camera showing you asleep how could you prove you were asleep? In a situation like that is that you start to say, "Whoah, I didn't steal a car," and they're like "Can you prove it?" It’s very hard to disprove a rumor that’s not based on real events. That's the easiest way to explain it- it's just that it didn't happen. I didn't do it to begin with and anyone who really knows me knows those rumors we’re impossible.

I feel like it was handled very poorly, what happened. It's business; they just want it to move on as fast as possible without creating a scene.

Yeah, the only thing I can say is that there's very little that happened to me that has to do with band members. It's just publicists rewriting, magazines writing their own versions of statements, taking words and changing them, but that's why a lot of that was handled the way it was. On the actual band side I was promised I would not be thrown under the bus since they knew I was innocent, but unfortunately the label can write whatever statement they want and put it on Facebook.

I shared your Indiegogo on social media and I asked, "What are your thoughts on Austin?" and I did not receive one bad comment. Everyone was so devastated that you left but they're happy with what you're doing and some were like "Oh he's making new music? I didn't know that."

Well I think that's the biggest thing. I am who I am, you know? One of the biggest things that brought me back to putting out music and back to everything is that I am who I am. I'm proud of who I am. I'm proud of being a nice person who's kind, considerate, gives hugs to people and tries to brighten people's day, and I'm going to continue to be that person no matter who tries to tell me that I can't just be a nice person. I think that overall through all the music that I release, it is very different. I do hope to kind of expand some fans' viewpoints of music. When I was growing up I had a lot of musicians and bands that would change their sound and it would open my ears to new levels of music. I'm really excited to go into a new world that I think is going to be a really exciting pick for me.

Speaking of new world, can you explain your transition from rock/pop to rap?

Quite a bit honestly, in most bands there really isn't a group effort when they're writing music. It really is one or two people at the most. The most I ever really did for Set It Off was I wrote a couple choruses and changed up the lyrics here and there. I never really was that big a fan of the pop/rock myself. I grew up on bands like Fall Out Boy but that's when I grew up, so I really wasn't into the type of music that I've been playing for the last 5-6 years.

What do you hope to achieve with PRGRSS the poet?

I want to make as big of a difference to as many lives as possible. I think making a difference to a lot of people can sometimes be seen like you have a big head, but I think everyone makes a difference. I think everything that someone does has an effect on someone else, and I think that there's a lot of good out there; there's a lot viewpoints. I really hope to inspire people to work hard, to not go above the idea that things are handed to them, or that there's something set in its way. Realize that you can make shit happen if you just push against it. If you push against any adversity there's a way through it. That's really a big thing that I'm hoping to kind of show more people- that there isn't just one way to be right, there's a million ways and you don't have to stomp on other people to do it.

I know it's been a while since you've actually made music- almost a year. Why the long wait?

I’ve actually been working on this stuff since probably around August, to be honest. When I started I was really bad. I started and I was like, “Okay, it’d be cool to do something like this,” because I write poetry, and that quickly became, “Okay, cool let me get back to music,” and when I first started I was really fucking bad- really really bad, so I spent a lot of hours every day working on stuff, writing up songs, writing and rewriting. I’ve written a good bunch of songs that I’ve never released. Then I found a friend, M3NDEAD, who’s a friend I’ve had for a long time and I know he made music like that. Then I started working with him, and talking and figuring out how to work together. Then I had a couple of life situations where I had to put everything on hold and save up money for something or had a couple family emergencies. That’s why it took so long to actually show it to people.

Why do you think people should check out your music?

I think it’s somewhat thought-provoking. I would hope that it’s something of a connecting experience, where you can listen to it and have a good time and really feel connected to something, and that’s the reason why I’m into making music; it delivers that for other people.

Any last words?

Anyone who is reading this, just persevere. Language, I just think is really important to just work towards building something as opposed to being concerned whether or not something is finished right now. Just do that.

You can check out some of PRGRSS and M3NDEAD's work on their YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Feel free to donate to Austin's Indiegogo campaign and you’ll receive perks for certain donations! If you can’t donate, feel free to share. Even spreading the word means a lot.

If you’re curious as to what exactly PRGRSS and M3NDEAD are all about, check out their new music video for “Mess Me Up.”

If you haven't checked his music out, I highly suggest it. You're missing out. Austin Kerr is a very hardworking, loving and inspirational individual who only wants to see everyone happy, including himself. It takes a lot of courage to get back up after being knocked down so hard. Austin’s passion is what makes him so deserving of another chance to make a difference. What’s done is done, but it’s made Austin who he is today: a beautiful individual, a talented rapper, and a poet with a true vision.