We’re always on the look out for exciting new artists here at RIDE and today we’ve got a fresh underground star for you to get your teeth into.
Meet Mannix, a fast rising artist with an intriguing new take on experimental rap…
First off, who are you and where are you from?
Well, starting with off my name is Mannix. It’s the lesser-known of my two last names and I thought it sounded cool at 15 because it had an ‘X’ in it. On a more serious note, I picked up something directly corrected to me. I didn’t want a name that was a characterI had to tap in to, rather something that was an extension of myself.
Tell us how you got into music?
Growing up I was exposed to lots of music from a young age. Lots of my music knowledge comes from sitting with my mom watching old music videos. As I grew up I was able to dive deeper into different eras thanks to access to an extensive record collection through a friend. When I was 15, I thought I could make some extra money DJing thanks to my wide range of music. I accidentally downloaded Fruity Loops andI’ve never looked back. Now almost 22, I find myself with a much more intentional and personal approach to the music.
Your new project, Samples With Some Bars, has just dropped – tell us a little bit about the inspirations behind the project?
After not putting out music for two years, I found myself in a spot where I was creating just to create. Heavily inspired by Mac Miller’s later work, I wanted to make a project that was more honest and personal than anything I’d done before. I’ve had a hard few years now dealing with mental health battles and music is what helped get me through it. I wanted this project to feel just right when you’re smoking weed in the house onSunday morning. That’s when most of it was made, in the morning. However, most songs were mixed and finalised late at night. I think the cycle of night and day is an underlying theme throughout the project.
Lyrically you open yourself up on this project, the bars are pretty raw, was it challenging to put these emotions to paper and them release them to the world?
I had a ten track project done and ready to be released in March of 2021. After listening through it for about a month, wrestling with if it was ready to be released, I felt that it just wasn’t me. I scrapped every song and the next song I made was Samples With SomeBars. I freestyled most of it at a lower moment for me and didn’t even mix it or make anything at all actually for three days. When I came back and listened again I fell in love with the style and was inspired to, over the next few months, make the next three songs. At one point there was 6 songs on Samples With Some Bars, but I decided to shorten it to the four to keep the message concise and clear.
Samples With Some Bars is a pretty self-explanatory title, but the project is way more dynamic than just… samples with some bars, what influences your experimental style?
Like I said earlier, Mac is a big one for me. I’ll always admire how vulnerable he was able to be. Earl Sweatshirt is another one that I hear a lot of listening back through the project. Personally though, when I’m making it I’m just following my ears. I think there is something special about live music and the feeling human error gives so I try and blur the line between analog and digital as much as possible in my music. Growing up, I was a hip-hop head. Samples have been and probably always be a part of my work.
Have you got a favourite track off the project or one that means the most to you?
In the last month I’ve found myself reaching for Snow most often. It was the last song I recorded for the project and I think it does a good job to round out the project. That being said, I think the project is incomplete if any track is missing. They balance each other and help to paint the full picture.
Finally, I always find this question gets a variety of different answers, what would make this project a success in your eyes? Streams? Buys? Fan reaction? Or is simply releasing it a success in itself?
After two years, the fact that it has even released feels like a win. However, I think more than any commercial success, I am hoping for connection. I want people to feel at home in the music. When I was going through hard times there was music I reached for to get relief or to relax. If I can do that for even one person than I’m happy with the release.
RIDE MUSIC 