ON THE RISE ARTIST: MoLo

We recently had an interview with a rising Rap artist from Queens, NYC named ‘MoLo’

Where is your family from?

Both of my parents immigrated here from Guinea in West Africa and I was born and raised in Queensbridge, NYC.

How did you come up with the name ‘MoLo’?

One of my boys was into graffiti in middle school. Naturally, I wanted a nickname of my own to write. I took the ‘Mo’ from my first name and the ‘Lo’ from my last name and ran with that ever since probably 7th grade.

Tell us about your track “A Lot”

‘A Lot’ was originally released as my debut single on SoundCloud on 8.22.19 and then re-released on 6.4.20 on all streaming platforms. As of now, the track has over 35K total streams. Leading with a catchy, playful, and melodic hook, A Lot is about ultimately becoming successful and ‘coming up’. Fun fact — the song was recorded in an office and it started off as a joke.

How would you describe your music style?

My three single releases, ‘A Lot’, ‘Gone’, and ‘Henson’ are previews to the experimentation and versatility that define my sound. Each song consists of catchy melodies, but none of the three sound the same in terms of style. Whether it’s a trap, chill, R&B, or dancehall beat (not out yet), I feel like I’m pretty good at being able to adjust and match my voice and melodic patterns.

What made you begin your music career?

I never really knew I’d be doing music forreal until about 2 years ago. I do remember having a little rap notebook in the 5th grade and strictly writing rhymes for daily journal assignments in 10th grade English. Other than that, English teachers have always told me that I’m a decent poet and writer, so the interest was always there. Fast forward to 2018 and I got recording equipment with another up and coming artist I grew up with who goes by playpm (also the producer on my 3rd single release — ‘Henson’).

Who/What are your biggest influences?

The three people I looked up to the most as a kid were Muhammad Ali, Kobe Bryant, and Tupac. Obviously I wasn’t old enough or even born when Pac and Ali were at the top of their games, but I studied them and grew to admire what they both stood for and how they went about it. Kobe probably had the strongest impact on me growing up. Not enough can be said about what he represents to me and so many others. Music wise, Akon was the first artist I was introduced to. I remember my mom copping a bootleg of his first album at the hair braiding shop she worked at and handing it to me when she got home when I was around 9. I didn’t grow up around too many other African kids, so seeing Akon do what he did was a huge confidence booster for me at a young age. All through high school, I was mainly bumping Tupac. Definitely was listening to Nas as well. Knowing that someone from my neighborhood made it as far as he did (and is still going) was another huge motivator for me. Over the last decade, some favorites of mine are Tyler, Rocky, Young Thug, Travis, Sheck, Drake, NAV, Don Toliver, Kendrick, Q, Earl, and Vince. I feel like each of these guys brought something new to the table with their craft and made it normal to be abnormal.

Are you working on any upcoming projects?

I’m currently working on a couple of short projects — a solo EP that I hope to have ready for release by the end of 2020 and a collab project with my guy playpm that we hope to drop sometime next year. I have a few loosies in the vault that I plan on dropping next year as well.

Do you have any other plans outside of the music?

I’m also into fashion and I’ve slowly been building a portfolio with hopes of getting into modeling (see: ***@mobe8ryant on IG***). Besides that, I can see myself eventually getting into curating short films and comedic skits. I have a talented group of friends and I see no limits to what we can get done. Down the line and hopefully sooner rather than later, I want to start a sports based non-profit that serves inner city youth. As a kid, it killed me to watch the Little League World Series on TV and know that it was virtually impossible for my peers and I in the neighborhood to have that same opportunity.

Where can we find you on social media ?

You can follow me @mobe8ryant on both Instagram and Twitter