Mic Mountain: Exclusive On His Come Up From The Underground by Gabriela Valentin

 

Almost 48 years have gone by, and hip-hop became a staple in the mainstream industry of music. Starting off on the east coast, taking a huge boom in the South Bronx of New York. It became popular for the underground scene. All thanks to Dj Kool Herc who started this movement. Known as a way to being perceived as an expression for the youth. It has now moved to a celebration and a powerful tool during protests. To this day, you can find an artist such as Mic Mountain using his power and influence to create a new flair in Hip Hop.

Who Is Mic Mountain?

Mic Mountain is an Afro-Latino rapper and producer of Native American descent. He started his career in music during his teenage years. He thrived off of his joy of writing and paid local producers to record in their 8-track studios. Currently, he is also a graphic designer and web developer. Meanwhile Mic Mountain is an independent artist who also uses the art of drawing as a form for his expression. 

“When I was a kid, I knew [music] was a good way to express myself”, said Mic. 

As someone who classifies himself as an introverted person, he found a way to be an outspoken person. For that reason, Mic Mountain relies on his creative projects. These ventures helped him be more social and have his peers accept who he is even more.

Breaching The Barriers 

By the 1980s a big part of the Latino community located in the outskirts of the United States became interested and started experimenting with Latin rap. It is different from Spanish rap, which originated in Spain. Many Cubans and Puerto Ricans who lived on the islands warmly welcomed hip-hop. 

Rappers such as Vico C, Ivy Queen, Chezina, Daddy Yankee, Eddie Dee, Tempo, and more were the ones who adopted this movement and became pioneers in the genre around Latin America. 

As for Mic Mountain embracing the Latin roots is just part of his style of music and believes in the mix of an indigenous drum or the “boom bat” as he mentioned during the interview. 

“I feel it has a native American rhythm to it, there’s always this soulful base, melodic tones, and soul samples. As well from old school sounds and a lot of Latin influence”. said Mic Mountain for Hypefresh. 

Projects In The Making 

Moreover, Mic currently has two studio albums called Piragua released in 2020, and Mas Piragua released in July of this year. Both pay homage to his Puerto Rican roots. 

To give more context, Piragua is a shaved ice dessert commonly found in the streets of Puerto Rico. These snacks come in a shape of a cone covered in a fruit-flavored syrup. Most of these bright colored dessert snacks usually sell for $1.25 to $3.00 at most. 

One of his favorite projects so far is Piragua, because for him it was the one who started it all. 

“It’s very special to me, it expresses my love for my grandmother who passed that year [2020] during the peak of the Covid pandemic. It’s also my first professional studio album which was mixed and mastered properly”. 

Mic Mountain produced majority of the album himself and he believes it’s a good album. Additionally, he dedicated a song to a girl “who stole my heart” as he remembered. A song found on his album Mas Piragua called “Black Spanish” is known as one of his most popular.

Inspirations 

Many of his influences come from many of the genres in Spanish music, varying from Salsa, Reggeaton, Merengue, and so on. Furthermore, there are artists who have given Mic Mountain the push into the right direction of inspiration going from Big Pun, Bad Bunny, Anuel AA, Willie Colon, Hector Lavoe, Oscar de Leon who is affectionately called The Pharaoh of Salsa. 

He’s currently a 24/7 recording artist, which means he is always at the studio. What Mic does to find his inspiration in writing the songs is that he listens to the beat itself. While having a drink and smoking in the meantime. By the time he finishes writing, he goes straight to the booth and records almost instantly. As for now, we hope to see even more growth in Mic Mountain and catch a glimpse of what’s next to come. 

“I want to inspire people to be themselves and anybody who can relate to what I’m saying. Also to breach the gap between Spanish-speaking, hip hop listeners. Basically leave my contribution in hip hop.”

 

Written by Gabriela Valentin for HypeFresh.com