What I didn’t expect while interviewing MostArt was to have my own tape recorder turned against me. Unconventional to say the least, it would be the start of an interview unlike any other I’d ever done before; yet fitting considering the fact that MostArt is unlike any artist I’ve ever heard before. MostArt’s music is an amalgamation of different genres fused together to create a sound that is both entertaining and compelling. It’s a multidimensional representation of his hard work, dedication, and unique philosophy on life.
His talent is endless but in the beginning there was the piano.
MostArt began playing the piano at eight years old and in just a few years could master the concertos and compositions of composers like Mozart and Beethoven with the ease of a seasoned prodigy. It was the piano that gave him the foundation he needed towards becoming the diversely talented musician he is today. “Playing piano at a young age I believe does something to the brain that people should study. It makes you understand music better. I can pretty much play any instrument because I see piano in other instruments.”
But it was his years spent at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles that exposed him to a whole different world of music, art, and hip hop culture. He absorbed it like an insatiable sponge and integrated it into what would later on become a style exclusively his own:
“In Fairfax High School, I used to beat box back in the day in pretty large circles, circles of high school students. No teachers of course. We used to freestyle, beat box, battle…just do all sorts of crazy stuff. Eventually somehow a bunch of us that were a part of this freestyle movement got a room on Thursdays during lunch. A bunch of kids got a room. That’s scary.” He chuckled at the recollection. “A bunch of people used to come down. Slowly it was like twenty people, thirty…eventually there was no room to get in. People were actually coming in during lunch to watch people. I remember some kid going on stage and doing a back flip off the stairs of the stage and landing in a split. It was crazy. We used to call it Freestyle Forum. Anybody with artistic talent used to pretty much come there and show it. And this isn’t any high school musical or drama class. It’s just kids who got a room, and now we’re making trouble. It turned into a pretty big thing. People would wait outside, bang on the door to go in. We actually had to be pretty tough cause the people were pretty crazy. With no adults around, someone’s bound to get beat up. Definitely some good times.”
The sign of an artist that can transcend time and remain relevant is one that can progress while still maintaining appeal. In the past, MostArt was primarily known as a hip hop artist, but he has evolved into an artist that is capable of so much more. “I don’t just do hip hop. I never really did. I always did other stuff. I just never released anything. I just kind of kept it to myself.” With the world developing a more eclectic taste in music and different genres colliding to create new and unheard of sounds, MostArt can now reveal what he kept only to himself. With several plans and collaborations with different artists underway, expect to hear a lot in the upcoming year from the budding artist. He explains, “Right now I’m working on several projects. I have one project that is more electro, psychedelic, loungy, progressive…constant change of sounds…very inspired by movie soundtracks…just a really cool adventure pretty much. And I have another project that’s definitely more rock but has very good elements of classical music, even show tunes…very progressive.”
Being a talented pianist, vocalist, and producer extraordinaire would overwhelm most, but for MostArt, it’s simply the beginning. “I want to do more. I want to bang on more desks, hit random lamps and bowls, and just create all sorts of different sounds…record them, remix them, twist them up, and blend them.”
Never settling and constantly changing, MostArt’s music is meant to entertain and inspire. “I like creating music for people. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily for myself. I actually enjoy creating beautiful music and showing it to people…to actually create that emotion, knowing that someone can hear it and feel a similar emotion. And that’s when I feel like I’ve succeeded. If I’ve inspired you then I’ve done my job. I feel like I can walk away feeling happy.”
[youtube j1Y-6FourKs nolink]MostArt is one of the elite few who has the broad spectrum of talent and foresight that is both capable and destined to captivate millions. He has the unique ability to integrate all aspects of his life into his music to create a whole other genre uniquely his own, a genre that truly knows no bounds and looks to the sky as its only limit.
When I asked what he wanted people to know about him as an artist, he simply replied:
“I want them to know that I’m just as normal as everybody else…Sike.”
Written By: Keldine Hull – keldine_hull@yahoo.com