Torrance “Mistah” Mackins is a talented independent Artist who is in the midst of a genre change and who has a new purpose to share with the world. In concurrence with this, he just released his brand new 11 track album titled, ‘Covered’. With all of this change and new momentum, we thought it was a good time to reach out and have a conversation with the talented artist.
We will certainly get to the genre change and our review of his music, but to get started, let’s take a look at how he got his start in music. We asked Mistah about when he got started creating.
“I started making music in high school when I was on the north side of Toledo, Ohio. That was all the way back in 2004!”
By our calculations, that’s roughly 17 years of making music, give or take a few months in either direction. That amount of time spent on a craft will certainly become a benefit as it allows you the practice hours to keep getting better. With that said, people grow and change over that length of time, so it shouldn’t be surprising that he now has a new focus for his music.
This genre change gives Mistah Mackins an opportunity to take a fresh look at the process of creating music. This change allows him to now spread the new message he wants to share with his current and future audiences. We asked him about all of this and here is what he told us.
“I was never really what you would consider a ‘gangsta rapper’, I really just spoke on what I been through, done, or had seen in my life. In 2015, I re-dedicated my life to Christ and I wanted my music to reflect the life I was now living.”
Creating music is a personal experience and is a reflection of who the artist is as a person. Dedicating your life to a higher power is bound to have an impact on your music, so the change for Mistah Mackins makes a lot of sense. With this in mind, we asked him about what inspires him both as a person and as a musician.
“I draw on life experience and a deep desire to praise and worship my Savior. My music is my story. If I meet you and the encounter can help others in some way, you may be in a song! Musical influences would include Dee-1, Bizzle, Datin, NoBigDyl and Bumps INF, to name a few.”
We found Mistah Mackin’s story to be intriguing and inspiring, but that isn’t the whole story here. We’re here to talk about the music. We listened to his catalog, including the new single, and here are some of our thoughts.
Given everything we’ve covered to this point, the song title should come as no surprise. The song kicks in with a soulful beat mixed with an auto-tuned chorus before giving way to Mackin’s verses. The song is a narrative about an artist contemplating his life, its meaning, and where he’s going and the chorus relays this message well.
“I’m trying to make it on this road
It’s hard but I will never fold
And I can’t do it on my own”
The topic behind the song is a complex one, but Mackins finds a way to break it down for listeners in an extremely relatable way. We asked him what the meaning behind the song was for him.
“‘I Need You, Lord’ is a call out to God from a man who doesn’t have it all together! No matter how proud or self involved we can be, at some point, we come to the realization that we can’t do this thing alone! If you’re at that point ‘I Need You, Lord’ is for you.”
Going through life’s struggles and looking for help is a theme we can all relate to. The video for the track has nearly 8,000 views in a little over a month. You can check it out below.
‘A Couple Barz’ is Mistah’s second most popular song on Spotify with over 15,000 streams to date. The song starts off warning listeners to not sleep on Christian artists because they have bars too. From that point on, he’s on a mission to prove it. The song sounds like an old-school east coast track while managing to stay true to his message.
If the goal was to prove that he and artists like him have flow, then it’s mission accomplished. You can check out the video for this one here as well.
The third and final song that we’re reviewing here, has a sound different from the first two. In fact, all three of these songs show off a different side of the artist’s ability. This track has a twangy beat to it that almost reminds us of the St. Lunatics from the earlier part of this Millenium.
Mackins flows playfully over this beat delivering clever lines all while tying it back to giving his glory and meaning to his faith. The song shows a completely different yet equally talented side of himself.
This talented independent artist has a lot going on for him right now, but we wanted to turn our attention to what his future goals are. Here’s what he had to tell us.
“I’m released my new album, ‘Covered’, on 07/23/2021 and have another video on the way. I’m releasing new music all 2021, more heat like ‘A Couple BARZ’ also on the project and out now on all streaming platforms! I’m just enjoying giving God praise and making feel good music as well. “
For a lot of the greats, the joy is in the journey. That seems to be the message that we can take away from Mistah Mackins. With more music on the way as we make our way down the second half of 2021, it’s a good time to get familiar with him and his music.
Follow Mistah Mackins with the links below.
Elliot Tousley
Music & Marketing Guy. Co-Founder of De Novo Agency and Songflowr
© 2021, Seth "Digital Crates" Barmash. All rights reserved.
