Interview: London Hip-Hop Artist Mike Maro Talks About His New Single "Seasons Change"
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“On arriving in Nigeria, I realised I had forgotten my midi controller back in England, and had no other choice but to find other ways to be creative. I ended up making “Seasons Change” on my iPad.”
When did you realize that you were actually very good at rapping and should start writing, recording and releasing music?
I realised I had a skill for making songs at the age of 11 and began writing then. As I grew older, I turned more to freestyles and at 16 I became the best in my school.
I made a conscious decision then that I was going to take music seriously, recorded my first song, began to release music and haven't stopped writing ever since.
Congratulations on the release of your new song "Seasons Change". Tell us about what led you to create this song on an iPad during your family vacation; and was it based on personal experience?
On arriving in Nigeria, I realised I had forgotten my midi controller back in England, and had no other choice but to find other ways to be creative. I ended up making “Seasons Change” on my iPad.
I initially intended to write the song for my brother's girlfriend at the time but ended up keeping it because it became so personal. The backstory is based on my second year uni experience, a true heart-break tale. My then girlfriend turned ex left me to be with who I considered one of my best mates; as for the rest of the story (i mention specific details in the song). I signed a contract in my first year to live with my then girlfriend (now ex) and 'so-called' best mate in the same house, the damage was already done by the time we got to second year. This made my uni experience catastrophic; I was only able to pick myself back together in my 3rd year.
Following up on the last question, what are some things that inspire your creativity as an artist and producer when developing new music?
These days I get inspiration from anywhere. I have a really clear head when I drive and am able to think freely and freestyle most of what I end up putting in a chorus for example. I am also inspired by themes in movies/series, when I write i try to take the approach of a script writer who is trying to tell a story with each episode.
I am also an avid reader, and have a huge love for autobiographies. These are some of the things that inspire me outside of the music because I feel as a musician you can get boxed in being creative just within music, hence when I step outside of my comfort zone I am able to see the world in different colors and have a clearer perspective when I write music.
Can we expect a music video for "Seasons Change" to follow? If not, what's next musically for you?
I am not working on a music video for “Seasons Change”, however, I am working on more new music and a couple of new music videos. As we are all supposed to be on lock down, I am having to be quite creative with my ideas.
Tell us about your experience in the gospel trio and what you learned about yourself as an artist during that period that has carried on to now.
Those were one of the most fun years of my life because I was a kid experiencing something new and exciting with my classmates who had the same interest in music as me. I was considered the vocal leader of the trio, there was a guitarist and the other who was great with hyping.
What I took with me from then is the confidence to get on stage and perform songs, I was very charismatic and I have always had a gift for producing catchy hooks.
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