The Grynd Report Interview Nashville artist MUG$ Amillion @mugs_amiilion

1. MUG$ Amillion We appreciate you spending time with us. What inspired you to get in the music business?

As a kid I was always excited to interact with people and entertain them through my words. I’ve always had a passion for music and performing, so it was just a matter of time before I officially dove into it. The love received from live performances in front of my peers really gave me the confidence that I needed to pursue a career in music seriously. Once I went to college and learned the behind the scenes knowledge of the music business itself, I knew then that this would be something that I wanted to be a part of for the rest of my life.

2. Take us back to your Origin, what was it like growing up in your city?

My family (mostly my mother’s side) migrated to Nashville, TN a few years before I was born, from a small town right outside of Memphis called Brownsville (Haywood County). I would be one of the few of my many cousins that actually had a chance to grow up in both places. I would spend a lot of my early childhood summers visiting my grandmother in the country, while living the city life throughout the rest of the year attending school and the daily life routine. I grew up in a single parent home with my younger brother, being raised by our mother. My mom was only 17 when she had me so she was still trying to figure it all out. The blessing in this though was that we had a huge family, so I spent a lot of weekends staying with family and bonding tough with some of my cousins that were my age. Outside of my family ties, I became somewhat popular in school and in the neighborhoods we resided in. Overall, growing up in Nashville was pretty cool for me, we weren’t poor but we weren’t anywhere near balling either, BUT we made the best of every situation!

3. If you had to define your sound to potential fans how would you describe it?

I’ve been told that I have a very distinctive voice, with a strong southern drawl. So I would say my style is somewhere in the lines of a Bun B meets T.I., mixed with a little Ice Cube and Nas, because of my ability to actually spit bars of intelligent lyrical content, while keeping it “hood’. More recently, I’ve come to describe my style as “OG Music”. Music that my generation can relate to, yet music that is cool enough for the youngins’ to look up to and rock with also.

4. Who would you say influenced you in the music business and why?

My biggest influence in the music business would have to be Master P. I admire his vision to include his family (brothers/son), and other people from his community when it came to building his musical empire. He believed in his talent and brand no matter what, and was smart enough to learn the actual music business in order to dodge the typical downfalls of most people that get involved in the music industry.

5. Talk to us about your recent single/video release “Tryna Make It” and the concept behind it.

My latest release “Tryna Make It” is the lead off song to my upcoming EP. The concept behind the song was basically a telling of my story as it pertains to personal struggles that I’ve dealt with and constantly strive to overcome. My younger brother was sentenced to 51+ years in prison at 19 years old, my best friend was murdered at 22 years old, the same year, and my first cousin and closest kin was gunned down and killed also, at the age of 31. I also wanted to speak out about the injustices that we currently face as black people in America by shouting out some of the recent victims that were killed by way of police brutality, as well as stand up for the black music community by promoting that “Black Music Matters”. All in all with the message that although we are “Tryna Make It” through all of this, we will make it!

6. What is “Money United With Game” and how did it get started?

Money United with Game is currently the name of my Limited Liability Company, but believe it or not, it was actually my stage name (M.U.G.) for years, prior to me changing it to MUG$ Amillion. The creation of Money United with Game came about while I was watching a documentary about pimps. What I took from the documentary was that money has a powerful influence on people, but for those that don’t have money, they have to rely on their “game”, (knowledge, mouthpiece, gift of gab, etc.) to entice others to follow them. I thought to myself then, “man if somebody had both they would be a bad boy!” At the time my street name was Mug, so ironically the whole phrase of Money United with Game came to me and fit perfectly as an acronym for those letters, so I ran with it as my name. Several music releases and years later, I was told by a PR specialist that the name sounded like a group of people and not an individual. Well, fast forward, a couple of years after that and it actually became a group of us/ the company.

7. When can we expect a full project release from MUG$ Amillion?

I will be releasing an EP titled “1 of Amillion” on November 27th alongside my book titled “Indie Music Major Business: A Guide to Your First Royalty Check”. The EP will be available on all major streaming platforms as well as my company website. The EP will also be a complimentary gift with every purchase of the book!

8. What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned in this business so far?

I’ve learned to really look at my brand and music as an actual business. By taking care of music business tactics like having a music publishing company and filling out split sheets, I was able to secure licensing opportunities on BET and Oxygen Network, as well as have my songwriting contributed to a #1 Billboard album.

9. Where can fans find you on the internet?

I can be googled of course, but you can find me @mugs_amillion on Instagram, MUG$ Amillion on Facebook, subscribe to my YouTube channel Mugs Amillion, and my website www.MoneyUnitedWithGame.com will keep you up to date with any recent or exclusive content I have going on.

10. Any Shout outs?

Thanks Amillion to my family, my team, and all my supporters! God is good!! Rest In Peace to those we’ve lost and #FreeMyPeoples!

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