Richard Williams, who goes by the name Prince EA, recently won Vibe magazine's "VibeVerses" competition.

St. Louis has a rich musical history, and a young St. Louisan recently added to that history. Richard Williams, a junior in anthropology at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, was the most recent winner of Vibe magazine’s “VibeVerses” competition.

Williams, whose rap name is “Prince Ea,” submitted a rap video to a generic beat he downloaded from the Vibe Web site. He was called in early June and notified that he had won the competition.

“When I got the call that I had won the contest, I honestly was in disbelief,” Williams, of north St. Louis, said. “I’m usually the type of person who never wins anything, so I felt like it had to be a mistake. Then I saw my picture on Vibe’s homepage, and I knew it was official.” As the winner of the competition, Williams is featured on Vibe’s Web site and in Vibe’s June issue, which may be its last (the magazine shut down June 30). He also received $5,000 in M-Audio recording equipment. Williams considers himself an underground rap artist, meaning he’s not necessarily seeking mainstream exposure.

“I’m a YouTube partner, so I get paid off of the videos that I post on there, but other than that I’m strictly focused on school,” he said. “My ultimate goal is to jump into an anthropology field after my music career is over. Anthropology is what I really love, and is what will self-actualize me.”