Messiah! is a rapper and producer from Eastside Charlotte. His most recent single, “Deville” was released on November 5th. This fast-paced and melodic tune is one of the songs that best captures Messiah!’s sound. We begin our interview talking about Charlotte, what it was like to grow up there and how it informs his music making. He says, “I feel like every time I open my mouth, I gotta climb. You at the bottom of the map, and you at the bottom of the list… so I feel like I gotta rap a little harder”. Some of his musical influences growing up include Lil Wayne, Aretha Franklin and Usher. This small mix highlights one of Messiah!’s main concepts which is black unity. He says that his curiosity brought him to the mic at the young age of 6 but his rhymes were “hot garbage”. The love for the music never wavered, and Messiah! eventually began teaching himself the ins and outs. He recorded numerous songs in his bedroom, and allowed close friends and collaborators to record there as well. One of which is current phenom MAVI and fellow member of the collaborative “Killswitch”. Messiah! speaks at length of the benefits of coming up together, while maintaining and growing into their brotherhood.
He briefly previews an unreleased EP which he is most proud of to date and hopes to release by the end of the year. Once again his new single “Deville” is out now and the first song on the project. Thank you again to the man himself Messiah! for opening up and conversing with a fan 💆🏿.
Recorded: 11.8.21
