Maino: Miracle Baby
Maino wants respect. And that need to be respected has been earning him the ears of Hip Hop fans since 2003 through. After becoming a breakout star on the mixtape and street DVD circuit, the Brooklyn rapper signed with Universal Records. Due to the usual politics and okie-doke, the signing only served as an obstacle instead of a blessing and the two parties parted ways in 2007.
Despite the setback, Maino adopted his Hustle Hard mentality and moved operations across town to Atlantic. After proving himself to have mainstream potential with the success of his lead single, “Hi-Hater,” and the follow up “All the Above,” fans and the industry as a whole patiently wait to see what’s next from the boy first introduced by Lil Kim. With the release of his debut album, If Tomorrow Comes… drawing near, the sky seems to be the only limit for the self-proclaimed miracle baby.
HipHopDX.com: You are unlike many other rappers in that you tend not to glorify the fact that you served time as part of your image. Why is that?
Maino: 'Cause that’s not who I am as a man. I was in jail and I didn’t want to be there. I don’t want to glorify that shit. I did it, I got through it. I came in a man and I left as a man. I’m a G. With certain things it is what it is. You see the scare on my face, it tells a story. I don’t try to hide that shit. I don’t make songs about it but I don’t try to hide it either. I showed it in the “All The Above” video because I want people to see my struggle and see where I come from. This is the story of a young boy going in, doing his time, and coming out and reaching for the stars.
DX: With today’s industry being more about image than anything else, have you ever had an A&R or label rep try to get you to play more off that angle?
Maino: Nobody ever told me what to do as far as my persona. My persona is what got me this far. I don’t know how far back you remember me, but when I was on the DVD circuit, before I had a major deal, that’s the reason I’ve been able to last this long. And that’s how I been. This is not my first major deal. I got signed to Universal, things didn’t work out, and now I am on Atlantic. But even through all that, I never had anyone ask me to promote jail more. I don’t have to promote myself in that way because it’s kind of hard to go around it in an interview. That’s a question that always comes up and I always have to reflect back on the time I spent in prison. I mean I actually started rapping in jail so it is what it is.
DX: You’ve mentioned many times that you got started rhyming while locked up, do you feel like you would be where you are today if you hadn’t gone through that experience?
Maino: No. If I didn’t go through prison and I didn’t feel what I felt, no. I would not be here today. I’m almost positive of that.
DX: Why do you feel that is?
Maino: Music was never a thought in my head or even an option until then. I’m being honest with you. The way I was living homie…trust me, I would not be rapping. I’m a miracle baby, man.
DX: When a mixtape artist manages to crossover they sometimes lose their core audience. So far you’ve managed to walk the line with your singles by being commercially appealing yet still holding onto the ear of the streets. Is that a conscious action or is that just how the music comes out?
Maino: It’s important for me to protect my integrity. It’s important to for me to be me. If I don’t then this, this is all for nothing. I was never trying to just make a song, I’m trying to make a career. And the way you build a career is by staying true. Like, songs come and go, but artists last forever. If I just made up a hot song that had no identity and just blow up that song, no disrespect but, I would be more close to what Flo Rida is and I don’t want to be that. No disrespect to the homie, we’re cool. But that’s just what I didn’t come here to be. That’s not what I want to be. I’d rather grind it out and still have content that the streets could relate to. I’m glad I came up on the mixtape circuit for all these years because now we’re here.
DX: Sometimes when artists come from the mixtapes and sign to a major their core audience is sometimes left missing the artist they came to know and love. Did you keep the mixtape fans in mind when going through the creation of the album?
Maino: Definitely. But before I really answer that question, let’s examine how many people made it off the mixtapes and actually put out an album. If we’re talking people who came straight off the mixtapesm, I can name only two - not including myself and that’s 50 Cent [click to read] and Fabolous [click to read]. I’m talking about people who were on the mixtapes before their big single. People that are remembered before they blew. With that being said, when I first did “Hi Hater” [click to listen], a lot of my fans were like “What are you doing. How you going to come out with this commercial shit?” So I had to keep grinding and make people understand like look, I’m still that nigga. In order for me to win in a big way, I have to make records a certain way so that I can bring the streets to the world. And really, the only commercial records are the ones that are on the radio. Like, I’m still Maino. I’m still hard. Even the song “All the Above,” which is probably a bigger crossover record than “Hi Hater” was, if you listen to what I’m saying I’m still keeping it street. I’m still talking about going from nothing to something. Listen to the words “What do you see when you’re looking at me/ I’m on a mission to be what I’m destined to be.” I’m not talking that, "Oh baby lets go drink champagne in the Bentley." I’m saying I’m a miracle baby. Look what the ghetto has made me. Who can’t feel that?
DX: The album is entitled If Tomorrow Comes. What does that mean?
Maino: That’s actually part of a longer sentence. The whole thing is “If tomorrow comes I want my tomorrow to be better than my today.” That means we’re out here, we’re hustling hard, homie. We’re grinding with a purpose. What I mean by that is, when you grind you want your tomorrow to be better than your today. You want to have more money tomorrow than you had today, you want to be more successful tomorrow than you are today, you want to happier tomorrow than you are today. Nobody is going to look forward to some bullshit. You go to sleep hoping that when the sun comes up it’s going to bring you a better day. That’s what If Tomorrow Comes is about.
DX: Being a new artist, as far as the mainstream is concerned, you have to be on the road and do a lot of interviews and shows in order to let the people become familiar with you and at times it can wear down on your spirit. What is it that motivates you to keep going during all that?
Maino: I think about my life and where I come from and the fact that I don’t deserve to be here. I get up in the morning and I work, I don’t complain. I go to three or four cities a day. I sacrificed not seeing my son when I want to see him and spending time with him so I can provide a better life for him. Like it’s real simple, it’s either do this or be back in the streets. Bottom line.
DX: People have compared the Rap game to the crack game. Based on your personal experiences, would you say you agree?
Maino: I can understand why some people say that. But the one thing about the industry is that hate ethic. A person disrespecting, a person lying to you, not keeping his word, in the street I’d end up breaking him up and beating his head in. The industry is distasteful in a lot of ways because of some of the people in it. A lot of people aren’t trustworthy, a lot of people are snakes, a lot of people are liars, a lot of people are dream-sellers…it really is a disgusting business in a certain way because of the people that dirty it up with their bullshit. But is it really like the crack game…well I’ll tell you this, I ain’t going through now what I was going through when I was out there.
DX: I know. I have yet to hear of anyone turning up dead because they were late turning in their next single.
Maino: Exactly. Like it may be like a Crap game, like a game of dice because it can be a gamble, but it ain’t like the streets. The streets is real, my nigga. Like nobody who’s really out in the streets wants to be there.
DX: You never try to portray yourself as some kind of super gangster but at the same time you’ve talked about having to lay down “the hand of God” and how you never tolerate disrespect. In your opinion where is the line drawn between being a man defending his honor and dignity and a thug trying to build a rep?
Maino: When I first got into the game I had a lot more incidents than I’m having now. I kind of was able to fall back and just get to making the music. That’s what I ultimately wanted people to respect me for. But at the same time, things happen. I’m stuck in certain ways and one of the things I’m stuck on is respect. Respect is big with me, son. I idolize respect. I came up looking up to the gangsters because they had so much respect. I wanted to be just like them niggas. Them niggas had money, they had women, they had the clothes and the jewelry on and nobody could touch them because they were well-respected. I idolized respect. I couldn’t wait to be one of them kind of niggas so when I came up I fashioned myself behind those kinds of niggas. Respect means so much to me to the point I’m almost a fanatic about it. The minute I feel like a nigga is saying something or doing something crazy, I lose it. But at the same time, given where I am, I had to train myself to react different. Like I had to tell myself “this is music, son. You ain’t in jail. These people really don’t understand you. Respect to them may not mean that much.” I can’t use those street ethics in this corporate environment but I need my space and my respect. That means a lot to me.
DX: In a recent interview Styles P talked about the difference between success that comes from being respected and commercial success. With everything you’ve gone through to get to this point which do you want more?
Maino: Respect is big. It means more to me than this bullshit five minutes of fame. That will never be questioned. I will always maintain my dignity and I will always maintain my integrity. But at the same time, I need that commercial success to create the opportunities. I need those opportunities but I’m going to do it in a way that I can still be me. I’m not going to sell myself short or sell myself out. I need these opportunities so I can feed my people.
DX: You’re from Brooklyn. What is it you love most about your boro?
Maino: Our pride, man. I love our pride. Like you can see a dude and be like, “Yo, why you got on that green hat?” and all he’ll say it's “'cause I’m from Brooklyn, nigga, what the fuck!” I love that pride. Everything is Brooklyn. We just feel like because we’re from Brooklyn we’re the shit and I love that and I’m waving that flag man.
DX: There is a long list of big name Hip Hop artists that have come from the streets of Brooklyn. Do you feel any pressure to keep that tradition going?
Maino: Oh definitely. I’m derived from that. I fall from that family tree. From [Big Daddy] Kane [click to read] to [Notorious] B.I.G. to Jay-Z [click to read]; I’m a direct descendant of that. I came from that tree.
DX: Looking back, which Brooklyn emcee had the biggest impact on you?
Maino: I’d say B.I.G. hands down. It was definitely B.I.G. that did it for me.
DX: You got your foot in the door by linking up with Lil Kim, one of Brooklyn’s biggest female emcees. What’s your relationship like now?
Maino: I mean we family. We’re definitely family. Always will be family.
DX: You and T.I. are close. How big a role has he played in helping you develop yourself as an artist and building your brand?
Maino: That’s my brother. The love I got for him is outside of music. The love I got for him and his family and the love he showed me…he’s done things for me that nobody, not even people from my own city was willing to do for me. Like, he’s the type of dude that any help I could possibly need, he’s willing to get down and help me. He’ll do that on any level. That comes far and few in this business, son, when you do come across someone like that you have to salute him because there are not many.
DX: How often do you two speak now and do you two have any plans to work together after his release?
Maino: Because he’s incarcerated and he has limited time on the phone so I haven’t had the chance to speak to him yet. I’m sure I will speak to him soon and I definitely plan on going to see him if I can. I’m a felon myself, so I’m not sure if I can do that but I do plan on at least trying to go see him. As far as the music, that’s the homie right there. I mean when he gets out, the sky’s the limit. I mean right now I’m more concerned with him getting out of there, but I’m going to be here.
DX: If you could use only one word to tell the world who Maino is, what would it be and why?
Maino: Unstoppable. When some people are faced with adversity, they bend to it, they fall. If you put adversity in front of me I find a way to get past it and get through it. I break the doors down. I’m a train that never stops moving, my nigga. I chase success every single day. I dream of winning every single day. This is what I want to do, it’s all I want to do. My relationship with my baby mother was so strained because I was so selfish about doing what I wanted to do. I got lost in the music. Why? Because I want to win. My drive is like 20,000. You have no idea how much I don’t want to go back to what I came from. So if it means me being on the road for a year straight, doing them free shows, grinding in the studio I’m going to do it, my nigga. Then I’m going to get out to them cities and get on them corners and sell that crack. I need to eat, my back’s against the wall, my nigga.
Despite the setback, Maino adopted his Hustle Hard mentality and moved operations across town to Atlantic. After proving himself to have mainstream potential with the success of his lead single, “Hi-Hater,” and the follow up “All the Above,” fans and the industry as a whole patiently wait to see what’s next from the boy first introduced by Lil Kim. With the release of his debut album, If Tomorrow Comes… drawing near, the sky seems to be the only limit for the self-proclaimed miracle baby.
HipHopDX.com: You are unlike many other rappers in that you tend not to glorify the fact that you served time as part of your image. Why is that?
Maino: 'Cause that’s not who I am as a man. I was in jail and I didn’t want to be there. I don’t want to glorify that shit. I did it, I got through it. I came in a man and I left as a man. I’m a G. With certain things it is what it is. You see the scare on my face, it tells a story. I don’t try to hide that shit. I don’t make songs about it but I don’t try to hide it either. I showed it in the “All The Above” video because I want people to see my struggle and see where I come from. This is the story of a young boy going in, doing his time, and coming out and reaching for the stars.
DX: With today’s industry being more about image than anything else, have you ever had an A&R or label rep try to get you to play more off that angle?
Maino: Nobody ever told me what to do as far as my persona. My persona is what got me this far. I don’t know how far back you remember me, but when I was on the DVD circuit, before I had a major deal, that’s the reason I’ve been able to last this long. And that’s how I been. This is not my first major deal. I got signed to Universal, things didn’t work out, and now I am on Atlantic. But even through all that, I never had anyone ask me to promote jail more. I don’t have to promote myself in that way because it’s kind of hard to go around it in an interview. That’s a question that always comes up and I always have to reflect back on the time I spent in prison. I mean I actually started rapping in jail so it is what it is.
DX: You’ve mentioned many times that you got started rhyming while locked up, do you feel like you would be where you are today if you hadn’t gone through that experience?
Maino: No. If I didn’t go through prison and I didn’t feel what I felt, no. I would not be here today. I’m almost positive of that.
DX: Why do you feel that is?
Maino: Music was never a thought in my head or even an option until then. I’m being honest with you. The way I was living homie…trust me, I would not be rapping. I’m a miracle baby, man.
DX: When a mixtape artist manages to crossover they sometimes lose their core audience. So far you’ve managed to walk the line with your singles by being commercially appealing yet still holding onto the ear of the streets. Is that a conscious action or is that just how the music comes out?
Maino: It’s important for me to protect my integrity. It’s important to for me to be me. If I don’t then this, this is all for nothing. I was never trying to just make a song, I’m trying to make a career. And the way you build a career is by staying true. Like, songs come and go, but artists last forever. If I just made up a hot song that had no identity and just blow up that song, no disrespect but, I would be more close to what Flo Rida is and I don’t want to be that. No disrespect to the homie, we’re cool. But that’s just what I didn’t come here to be. That’s not what I want to be. I’d rather grind it out and still have content that the streets could relate to. I’m glad I came up on the mixtape circuit for all these years because now we’re here.
DX: Sometimes when artists come from the mixtapes and sign to a major their core audience is sometimes left missing the artist they came to know and love. Did you keep the mixtape fans in mind when going through the creation of the album?
Maino: Definitely. But before I really answer that question, let’s examine how many people made it off the mixtapes and actually put out an album. If we’re talking people who came straight off the mixtapesm, I can name only two - not including myself and that’s 50 Cent [click to read] and Fabolous [click to read]. I’m talking about people who were on the mixtapes before their big single. People that are remembered before they blew. With that being said, when I first did “Hi Hater” [click to listen], a lot of my fans were like “What are you doing. How you going to come out with this commercial shit?” So I had to keep grinding and make people understand like look, I’m still that nigga. In order for me to win in a big way, I have to make records a certain way so that I can bring the streets to the world. And really, the only commercial records are the ones that are on the radio. Like, I’m still Maino. I’m still hard. Even the song “All the Above,” which is probably a bigger crossover record than “Hi Hater” was, if you listen to what I’m saying I’m still keeping it street. I’m still talking about going from nothing to something. Listen to the words “What do you see when you’re looking at me/ I’m on a mission to be what I’m destined to be.” I’m not talking that, "Oh baby lets go drink champagne in the Bentley." I’m saying I’m a miracle baby. Look what the ghetto has made me. Who can’t feel that?
DX: The album is entitled If Tomorrow Comes. What does that mean?
Maino: That’s actually part of a longer sentence. The whole thing is “If tomorrow comes I want my tomorrow to be better than my today.” That means we’re out here, we’re hustling hard, homie. We’re grinding with a purpose. What I mean by that is, when you grind you want your tomorrow to be better than your today. You want to have more money tomorrow than you had today, you want to be more successful tomorrow than you are today, you want to happier tomorrow than you are today. Nobody is going to look forward to some bullshit. You go to sleep hoping that when the sun comes up it’s going to bring you a better day. That’s what If Tomorrow Comes is about.
DX: Being a new artist, as far as the mainstream is concerned, you have to be on the road and do a lot of interviews and shows in order to let the people become familiar with you and at times it can wear down on your spirit. What is it that motivates you to keep going during all that?
Maino: I think about my life and where I come from and the fact that I don’t deserve to be here. I get up in the morning and I work, I don’t complain. I go to three or four cities a day. I sacrificed not seeing my son when I want to see him and spending time with him so I can provide a better life for him. Like it’s real simple, it’s either do this or be back in the streets. Bottom line.
DX: People have compared the Rap game to the crack game. Based on your personal experiences, would you say you agree?
Maino: I can understand why some people say that. But the one thing about the industry is that hate ethic. A person disrespecting, a person lying to you, not keeping his word, in the street I’d end up breaking him up and beating his head in. The industry is distasteful in a lot of ways because of some of the people in it. A lot of people aren’t trustworthy, a lot of people are snakes, a lot of people are liars, a lot of people are dream-sellers…it really is a disgusting business in a certain way because of the people that dirty it up with their bullshit. But is it really like the crack game…well I’ll tell you this, I ain’t going through now what I was going through when I was out there.
DX: I know. I have yet to hear of anyone turning up dead because they were late turning in their next single.
Maino: Exactly. Like it may be like a Crap game, like a game of dice because it can be a gamble, but it ain’t like the streets. The streets is real, my nigga. Like nobody who’s really out in the streets wants to be there.
DX: You never try to portray yourself as some kind of super gangster but at the same time you’ve talked about having to lay down “the hand of God” and how you never tolerate disrespect. In your opinion where is the line drawn between being a man defending his honor and dignity and a thug trying to build a rep?
Maino: When I first got into the game I had a lot more incidents than I’m having now. I kind of was able to fall back and just get to making the music. That’s what I ultimately wanted people to respect me for. But at the same time, things happen. I’m stuck in certain ways and one of the things I’m stuck on is respect. Respect is big with me, son. I idolize respect. I came up looking up to the gangsters because they had so much respect. I wanted to be just like them niggas. Them niggas had money, they had women, they had the clothes and the jewelry on and nobody could touch them because they were well-respected. I idolized respect. I couldn’t wait to be one of them kind of niggas so when I came up I fashioned myself behind those kinds of niggas. Respect means so much to me to the point I’m almost a fanatic about it. The minute I feel like a nigga is saying something or doing something crazy, I lose it. But at the same time, given where I am, I had to train myself to react different. Like I had to tell myself “this is music, son. You ain’t in jail. These people really don’t understand you. Respect to them may not mean that much.” I can’t use those street ethics in this corporate environment but I need my space and my respect. That means a lot to me.
DX: In a recent interview Styles P talked about the difference between success that comes from being respected and commercial success. With everything you’ve gone through to get to this point which do you want more?
Maino: Respect is big. It means more to me than this bullshit five minutes of fame. That will never be questioned. I will always maintain my dignity and I will always maintain my integrity. But at the same time, I need that commercial success to create the opportunities. I need those opportunities but I’m going to do it in a way that I can still be me. I’m not going to sell myself short or sell myself out. I need these opportunities so I can feed my people.
DX: You’re from Brooklyn. What is it you love most about your boro?
Maino: Our pride, man. I love our pride. Like you can see a dude and be like, “Yo, why you got on that green hat?” and all he’ll say it's “'cause I’m from Brooklyn, nigga, what the fuck!” I love that pride. Everything is Brooklyn. We just feel like because we’re from Brooklyn we’re the shit and I love that and I’m waving that flag man.
DX: There is a long list of big name Hip Hop artists that have come from the streets of Brooklyn. Do you feel any pressure to keep that tradition going?
Maino: Oh definitely. I’m derived from that. I fall from that family tree. From [Big Daddy] Kane [click to read] to [Notorious] B.I.G. to Jay-Z [click to read]; I’m a direct descendant of that. I came from that tree.
DX: Looking back, which Brooklyn emcee had the biggest impact on you?
Maino: I’d say B.I.G. hands down. It was definitely B.I.G. that did it for me.
DX: You got your foot in the door by linking up with Lil Kim, one of Brooklyn’s biggest female emcees. What’s your relationship like now?
Maino: I mean we family. We’re definitely family. Always will be family.
DX: You and T.I. are close. How big a role has he played in helping you develop yourself as an artist and building your brand?
Maino: That’s my brother. The love I got for him is outside of music. The love I got for him and his family and the love he showed me…he’s done things for me that nobody, not even people from my own city was willing to do for me. Like, he’s the type of dude that any help I could possibly need, he’s willing to get down and help me. He’ll do that on any level. That comes far and few in this business, son, when you do come across someone like that you have to salute him because there are not many.
DX: How often do you two speak now and do you two have any plans to work together after his release?
Maino: Because he’s incarcerated and he has limited time on the phone so I haven’t had the chance to speak to him yet. I’m sure I will speak to him soon and I definitely plan on going to see him if I can. I’m a felon myself, so I’m not sure if I can do that but I do plan on at least trying to go see him. As far as the music, that’s the homie right there. I mean when he gets out, the sky’s the limit. I mean right now I’m more concerned with him getting out of there, but I’m going to be here.
DX: If you could use only one word to tell the world who Maino is, what would it be and why?
Maino: Unstoppable. When some people are faced with adversity, they bend to it, they fall. If you put adversity in front of me I find a way to get past it and get through it. I break the doors down. I’m a train that never stops moving, my nigga. I chase success every single day. I dream of winning every single day. This is what I want to do, it’s all I want to do. My relationship with my baby mother was so strained because I was so selfish about doing what I wanted to do. I got lost in the music. Why? Because I want to win. My drive is like 20,000. You have no idea how much I don’t want to go back to what I came from. So if it means me being on the road for a year straight, doing them free shows, grinding in the studio I’m going to do it, my nigga. Then I’m going to get out to them cities and get on them corners and sell that crack. I need to eat, my back’s against the wall, my nigga.
