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INTERVIEW WITH MAINO
By Javon Adams
From Murder Dog vol 15 #3
Your single, “Hi Hater” really blew up! How does it feel to have
a song that is on the lips of folks nationwide?
It feels tremendous. It feels great especially after coming from
the grind with the mixtapes and the DVDs. Just trying to work to
get to this position right here. It’s just the beginning but it
feels great.
You once said that when you were signed to Universal they didn’t
know how to promote a rapper from New York. How confident are you
that Atlantic will do what needs to be done to put you in the right
situations?
They’re already showing you right now. The proof is in the pudding
right now. I went from mixtapes and DVDs to MTV and BET. I
haven’t been signed to Atlantic for a year yet and my train is
already moving. I was signed to Universal for two years and never
put a single out. Never went on Promo or nothing. Atlantic is supporting
me 200%.
Is it what you thought it would be as you start to get the ball
rolling and build up that momentum?
Ah man, I just know that I am blessed. Coming from where I came
from I never thought that I would even be in this position. Once
I did get into the music industry I dreamt of one day being able
to be known and be on TV, do certain things and have a record that
everybody knows. When it comes on in the club everybody is screaming.
I dreamt of this day.
It’s been a long coming. How do you balance your personality with
the business of music? Have you been in a situation where your
frustration started to get the best of you when you felt things
weren’t moving fast enough? How do you balance being a businessman
with the streets where you can handle things right away?
That came from being in prison for ten years. If there is one thing
that prison taught me it’s to be patient. If I sit there in somebody’s
jail for ten years straight then I can wait three, four or five
years to bubble up as far as the music is concerned. Nothing I’ve
ever been through out here has been as hurtful and as painful as
what I felt when I was in prison. Nothing can amount to what I
felt in there or the loss that I felt. All that did was made me
patient and stronger and better equipped to deal with the industry.
You said that the greatest part of being an emcee is being able
to provide for your family. Did your faith in being able to provide
legally for them ever get shaky during the negotiations with Atlantic? Did
you ever feel that you had to revert back to doing some things
that you didn’t want to do during that process?
I never said that I didn’t revert back already, you understand?
The truth of the matter is that when I came out of jail I was still
attached to the streets. While I was waiting—and I had a great
supporting team—I was still attached to it. Without saying certain
things…you already know what it is.
You mentioned having a good team around you. How important is finding
the right people to surround you in the music business?
It’s one of the most important things because you can’t do everything
by yourself. You need a team and a great cast. You need people
that are really for you. No ‘yes men’. You need people that
are going to be honest with you and ride or die with you. If
I didn’t have that then things would have been a lot more drastic
for me. If I didn’t have that support system then it would
have been crazy.
What is the best piece of business advice that someone has ever
given you?
Don’t spend all you money on cars and bullshit.
So you’re looking into investing into different things?
Definitely. You want to make your money make money.
Some emcees just rhyme and others make songs. You fall into
that song-making category. Can you explain the difference
between ‘just rhyming’ and ‘making a song’?
Look at it like this, when I’m on the mixtape circuit I can just
rhyme until my heart is content. I can just do whatever, but when
you want to play on a more national level you want to get the people
involved and have songs that are going to bang on the radio and
in the club that kids and ladies will pick up on then you have
to get into a song-making mode. Some people can’t make the
transition from being a great lyricist to being a songwriter or
a record maker or a hit-maker. I pride myself on being able
to do both when I need to.
A hit song can be a blessing and a curse sometimes. On one
hand your awareness goes up because you’re getting all the spins
and the video is getting played. Then people want another ‘Hi Hater’. How
do you handle that pressure and how do you approach that?
I’ve faced pressure before with my life. There is no pressure
that I could feel. That’s easy pressure. That type of pressure
I welcome. I have a new single out called ‘Hood Love’ which I feel
is a bigger radio record than ‘Hi Hater’. I just feel that
I have a better radio record than ‘Hi Hater’ this time around.
If people are looking for my momentum to die down then they’re
mistaken. Everything I’m doing is by design. This was planned.
I didn’t stumble onto a hit. All of this was put together and planned
out so I’m prepared.
I heard the song and I think it will do well.
On the radio. It’s not necessarily a club record but it’s definitely
a radio record. The doors that ‘Hi Hater’ has opened for me around
the country makes it easier for them to take.
Your album is dropping soon. What will define success for
“If Tomorrow Never Comes…”? Is it platinum or bust? Is
it the amount of shows you do? Is it getting on a good tour? What
defines success for you?
When you think about who I am and what I come from then I have
already defined success for the street nigga, for the nigga that
never had nothin’, for niggas that’s on the corner trying to come
up, for the dudes that are in prison and trying to come out. Coming
from that with two felonies and incarceration, I’ve done it already. I’ve
done what they said I couldn’t do. Whether I go platinum or I go
double wood it is what it is. I’m good and I’m happy because
dudes like me don’t make it in life, let alone have a career. So
I’m good with whatever happens. Of course I want to sell records
because that’s what I’m in it for. I want to be wealthy and
have things and go forward. If I only sell 200,000 copies
does that mean I’m a failure? There’s no way in the world
somebody could look at me and my life and call me a failure. By
no means.
What is your website so people can stay connected to you?
Mainohustlehard.com and hihater.com and for the people who love
myspace there’s myspace.com/maino |
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