Munboi

Munboi is bringing a nice, eclectic mix of his music into the world. I had a chance for an interview and, here’s what we chatted about.

Thank you man, very happy to be here so I’m MUNBOI a producer, audio engineer and artist. My vibe is to be as versatile as possible to work with a many different genres and and express true emotions that people can connect with. Which runs in line with my overall goal is to introduce more positivity into commercial music.

One thing that I’m always interested in, when I sit down and chat with artists is, what their defining moment was that they knew that they wanted to be in music… What was that moment in time for you?

It’s funny actually there was a couple moments I had realised music was the way. The first was when I was 14 and I was writing poetry but one of my friends was tryna become an artist at the time and would send in rap videos of himself into our group chat and I said to the group I will give it a crack so I spat a 16 over an instrumental with a black screen and the mandem started gassing me up so I figured I would keep writing that was number 1. Then the second moment was about a year later on my Mac I had Logic Pro and was messing around with presets on my keyboard and a mate sat in the room said I had an ear for melody and should pursue production so from then it was straight onto YouTube tutorials and sleepless nights learning. Then the nail in the coffin was when I was working as an junior CAD engineer
at 18 looked at the depressed old geezas around me and said nah screw this I’m not becoming these guys and then enrolled into a music production course at uni from there the ball has continued rolling.

Yeah man I do all the production, composing, arranging, recording, songwriting, mixing and mastering. I have a large network in the music game so I do work with a few musicians and producers here and there especially if they have a saucy beat with a chorus that just comes to me. Most music I make is actually played in my head doing everyday things then I voice note the melody and create the song.

In everyday life I’m just living for the moment and motivated to give the people around me a better life not just monetary but in terms of contempt with life and death and just to be happy. Showing them if they put in the work they don’t have to be caught in the same depressive cycles. It’s also the same for my music I’m not worried about leaving a legacy or changing the world but if I can make 1 persons day better because they can relate with a song and feel slightly better I’ve done my job. I guess my main motivation is I don’t want anybody to feel alone because they don’t have too.

I am personally on a mission to get good music heard by everyone. What is one thing that bothers you the most about trying to come up in the music world today and, do you prefer being underground or, is the mainstream something you strive for?

I’m believe on the same mission too man and I don’t really get bothered by other people or things because I’m contempt on my own grind but it is disappointing to see everybody chasing someone else’s sound or vibe it’s just very sheep like just be yourself man find your own vibe. I also don’t agree with how a lot of it is kinda meaningless formulated music like it’s not really come from personal experiences and it’s just to boast about something or another
pop song to make money. Personally I would prefer to be underground but there’s no money in it and I’m trying to get my family out of the council estates and to open up youth studios to stop youth violence. But I guess the main reason to be mainstream is I want to inject more positivity into mainstream music because it’s getting tiring listening to the same things and most songs nowadays are just negative, there’s more to life than violence and money.

I have a few depending on what genre I’m working with but for Hip-Hop I would have to say MF Doom and Mos Def. In terms of alternative I would have to say XXXtentacion and Gorrilaz. And for more funky vibes I would have to say Fela Kuti and Jamiroquai. All these guys give me insights on exploration of songwriting or sound and I use them all the time to reference against my own or other people’s tracks I’m working on.

One question that I like to ask artists is, how did Covid affect your music in particular and the music scene in your area?

It killed the music scene in the UK as our government couldn’t care about the entertainment industry even though it was one of the largest grossing sectors in the UK. In my area particular the music scene isn’t too great but any live event was cancelled but I think it had a bigger impact on the artists making music because the motivation had been lost and the cause for inspiration to write music was gone but I believe it will come back bigger and stronger.

I, myself, personally think that there’s too much social media out there to keep up with. I understand why it’s necessary but there’s a ton of it out there. What are your feelings on social media and music today?

I agree man you can’t make it anywhere in the music game without being social media pro and that’s part of the grind now too, but I personally don’t think it’s healthy for artists as it can cloud the mind or even become a constant distraction but unfortunately it is the only way to reach millions of people in one place. It literally is the ultimate marketing tool if you can use it correctly. I would say if you don’t like the social side save some money up for a bit and run a marketing campaign or get a social media manager to relieve some of that stress.

I grew up in the 90’s, I listened to everyone from Dr. Dre, to Weezer, to Pink Floyd, Metallica, Cypress Hill and back again. I truly believe that the 90’s were one of the greatest era’s for original music. Which era of music is one of your favorites?

I agree man the 90s pioneered one of my favourite genres which is drum and bass but to you probably hardcore and it literally birthed dance and electronic music. Also the pop songs in the 90s were a big vibe I still think it’s when Hip-Hop and R&B was at its greatest for meaning, rhythm and even production was on point. I believe that we can make the 2020s or 30s just a vibey.

Yeah man all the time I spend a lot of time engineering or developing other artists but my own music is still a top priority I have a super dope project coming out around September called ‘EUDAIMONIA’ which is a lot more live band stuff but also carries some important messages from stoic philosophy to help spread that positive awareness. Then after that in the winter season I have a project with Lannen. which is more drake type vibes you’re gonna love it.

What tips or advice would you give someone that’s just starting out in the music game?

I would say perfect a couple things whether that be production or songwriting and make sure you’re happy with the standard of music you’re releasing don’t rush anything you’ll know when the time is right to release something. Also to find a team of friends that believe in your vision and you can trust because it’s a lot harder to do this on your own and the more minds the more wavey your stuff will be so accept the criticism around you as a compliment to make
you a better artist. Finally don’t get caught up in the music I use to stress all the time like I’ve gotta get this done that done but ultimately it’s just music man do t forget to love the people around you and enjoy every moment you have.

I want to thank you for this Q&A, Is there anything you want to say to everyone out there? Shout outs?

I would like to say big love for the interview and one massive thank you to all the people that help with my projects and to the team and family I wouldn’t achieved anything without you dudes. There would be a long shout out list if u was to name everybody so I’m just gonna say I love you all you know who you are!!

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