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Artist Spotlight

Interview With MJ

Interview With MJ
Exclusive Interview With MJ, a soulful yet determined up-and-coming rapper out of Houston, TX creating to shift the game in Hip Hop. Born in Redondo Beach, CA while raised in Pensacola, FL, MJ has been around both worlds enough to craft her own.  She began creating music in 2011 after being inspired by Kendrick Lamar’s “Good Kidd, Madd City.” She relocated to Houston in 2016 to further pursue her musical aspirations. She aims for her major breakthrough while taking on a new approach in the female Hip Hop genre. Her lyricism is exciting yet deep and introspective. Her flow is smooth as silk yet can be as lit as a fire. She has released her most recent single, “DREAMS”, featuring the sultry vocals of singer Breana Marin.

Where are you based?
Currently, I’m in Houston, TX
How long have you been making music?
Been creating music since 2011.
What genre would you consider your music to be?
Hip-Hop and Rap.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music?
In college, I was struggling with what I wanted to do with my new adult life. Music and writing had been in my life on and off since I was 8 years old. There were unique artists coming out that we’re changing the game to one more of substance and lyricism mixed in with a little crazy. There were emotions I wanted to express through art. I love music. I was obsessed with it and I wanted to become a creator myself. So here we are.
What are your biggest musical influences?
Growing up in terms of female influences I loved Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliot. Missy in particular produced, wrote, and spit her own work which till this day I greatly admire. In college and beyond my three main artists who helped influence me were Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Childish Gambino.
Are you signed to a label or are you an independent artist?
Independent Artist.
What have been the biggest challenges in your music career?
The biggest challenges have been obtaining the knowledge and resources in order to elevate my career to the next level. I am an independent artist which means I don’t have the millions of dollars invested from a label. Nearly everything I’ve done I’ve had to do from scratch while still surviving. I’ve slept on couches and nearly been homeless a few times. But it has allowed me to grow stronger in my abilities and to steady my ship.
How many songs or albums have you released to date?
I’ve released an EP and six singles along with a mixtape from 2016. In addition, I’ve released several freestyles and have done some work with other artists.
Can you tell us a few things about your latest release?
Definitely! “DREAMS” was produced by Dreamlife, who recently did some work on Summer Walker’s “Still Over It”. I’ve gotten to chat with him and he is an extremely talented English producer. The hook is sung by Breana Marin, who is an extremely talented and beautiful R&B singer. I wrote my lyrics for the song this past summer after having to overcome several trials in my life. It is a deep song that I feel is one if not my best works so far.
Any plans for new music or upcoming projects we should know about?
“DREAMS” will have a music video on my official YouTube channel so stay tuned! I am currently working on creating more visual content in order to expand my reach and for my fanbase to see more of me as an artist and human. I have several new songs in the works as well. So again, stay tuned!

Natalie is a journalism major with a focus on Entertainment and Music who aspires to become a Content Creator For Honk Magazine. Eventually, she wants to be the Publisher or Editor-in-Chief of a major Publishing House. She loves helping people find their voice and passion for writing and journalism, and she can always be found with coffee in hand, editing another article.

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Artist Spotlight

GOODTWIN shares reflection with indie-pop single, “Soak It Up”

GOODTWIN

The indie-pop project GOODTWIN offers a subtly stirring new single, “Soak It Up,” that’s sort of like taking a deep breath after drowning out the world for so long. The track combines avant-garde jazz elements with their indie-pop sensibilities. “Soak It Up” is more of a quiet rallying cry than a rousing proclamation.

The song gently explores the push-pull of life between external pressures and inner peace, the feeling of being pulled in multiple directions while seeking a soft place to land. GOODTWIN’s leading force and vocalist, Gus Alexander, wrote the song in response to that insidious, yet understated, influence on modern life, and the need for validation, doing something useful with your time today, and, at the same time, being attractive enough to get what you need gutted from someone else.

“Soak It Up” offers an encounter with the concepts by attending to how it was made, with a focus on presence rather than performance and on significance over distraction. The balance between warmth and precision in the production is immaculate. The track, produced and engineered by Carly Bond and Germaine Dunes of Sound and Hearing at Altamira Sound, has a refined yet raw feel that doesn’t seem polished but rather suggests a human element, which suits its introspective tones.

Jack Doutt’s mastering adds another layer of depth to a soulfully rich composition, leaving enough space for each element to shine without overwhelming the others. The result is a cohesive, immersive sound that feels intentional throughout. For fans of indie-pop with a sprinkle of jazz, introspective verses, and emotionally driven production, the track is an exciting addition to GOODTWIN’s blossoming discography. It’s a piece of music that invites a slower tempo, that forces attentive listening, and, with it, an experience more fully lived.

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Artist Spotlight

G3 the Plug moves like a ghost on latest release “Danny Phantom”

G3 the plug

G3 the Plug goes darker with his new single, “Danny Phantom,” a moody slice of hip-hop whose chord, and melody-led chills make it feel less like a song and more like this state of mind you have after the witching hour. Emotionally understated and  raw, the track embodies that quiet intensity of moving through the city when everything is far away and everything seems blurred, half-seen.

Built on a minimal trap foundation, “Danny Phantom” excels in its simplicity. The production is intentionally loose, leaving room for the emotions to breathe rather than smother. It’s a beat that doesn’t beg for attention, it settles in, serving as an enveloping setting that mimics the song’s motifs of isolation, motion and presence. Every bit of sound seems deliberate, supporting the introspective mood rather than competing with it.

G3 the Plug doubles down on understatement. He chisels away rather than overexplain, allowing space to pass like streetlights out a car window. It has that drifting feeling, of being in a place while actually not being there at all, that gives the album its ghostly contours. The title seems right, G3 floats through the track like a ghost, invisible but powerfully present, in landscapes where silence is as telling as language.

The key to making “Danny Phantom” stand out is its emotional honesty. This isn’t a track intended for the spectacle, it’s meant for reflection. It’s a record that speaks to anyone familiar with the sensation of being alone in motion, tumbling toward some destination and hauling thoughts up from the depths after dark. Lying in the land between underground rap and atmospheric hip-hop, “Danny Phantom” makes clear G3 the Plug’s capacity to convey mood through music without forcing it. It’s a slow-burn record, one that uncovers itself with more listens, with the music lingering long after its final beat.

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