RSS
Home
Mania Music Group artist profile: Midas
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Photo by Kelly Connelly
Most of you probably know the name Midas in reference to the Greek king who, as mythology tells us, possessed the power to turn whatever he touched into gold. But the good people at Mania Music Group are fighting to give the name a more modern connotation with their tireless promotion of their youngest artist, Emmanuel Williams; also known as "Dapper Dan" Midas.
My primary concern for this interview was to get to know the man behind the music; the method behind the madness; the mystery behind Midas, if you will. His songs – which I encourage any hip hop fan to check out online via maniamusicgroup.com – are undeniably entertaining and well-produced. But if you're like me, then you feel like you need to know a little bit about the actual artist as an individual before you can truly embrace their music. So without further adieu, allow me to introduce you to MMG's own, "Dapper Dan" Midas.
* * * * * * * *
I was privileged enough to be able to meet with Midas for an interview at Verede Grace Studios, where his record label – Mania Music Group – does most of their recording and engineering. At first glance you would never suspect that such a friendly and soft-spoken individual would in fact be a rising star of Baltimore's hip hop community. With a smile that seems permanently plastered on his face, Midas doesn't show an ounce of egotism or self-consciousness; traits which all too often consume musicians striving to catch their big break.
Midas didn't grow up listening to hip hop. Sixties and seventies soul music trained his ear as a youngster on account of his mom's musical tastes. But in sixth grade, he had his first exposure to rap music when a Junior M.A.F.I.A. video came on the school's television system by accident. This incident got the ball rolling, and soon young Emmanuel was hooked. He cites his biggest influence as The Notorious B.I.G., saying "What made me really want to be a rapper was Biggie. He could tell a story and you could just strip the beat from the rhyme scheme and you could listen to it a cappella. The story was so compelling that it didn't even matter what soundscape you had for it."
As for his own music, Midas began recording in 2004, and acknowledges that having producers Brandon "Bealack" Lackey and Dwayne "Headphones" Lawson on hand has made a huge difference in his creative process. Although he admits that "sometimes a hook will just jump in my head," he believes that artists and producers have a mutual responsibility to inspire each other to want to create something truly unique and interesting. In the case of Mania Music Group, Midas holds that "Dwayne is soul food and Brandon is sushi. We've got two different palates of production style." This differentiation allows for much greater diversity in the label's final products, and keeps things interesting for their artists.
When I asked him which of his original works was his favorite, Midas' expression told me that I may as well have asked him which member of his family he loved the most. But finally, he responded, "If I had to pick one... just based on the overall feeling, message, content and flow? It's probably 'Push Start' cos' it manages to capture everything that is me. It captures the introspection, it captures the rhythm, it captures the craziness, it captures the party; it captures as best as you can all of me in one record."
So what is it that separates Midas from the rest of the rappers out there? He explained, "You have to bring to the table who you really are and what's goin' on. You have to speak for the people. Part of being an artist is self-gratification, but another part is to counsel and to provide comfort in times like these." He went on to explain that if there is a theme that runs throughout most of his music, it's that "I understand what it feels like to be number two all the time. And what it feels like to always come up short, or get that close and ahh you didn't make it. I know what it feels like to be down and to want more, but it's not your time yet."
Midas has faith in his own talent and drive, and hopes that it will take him where he wants to go in life. When asked where he thought he'd be a year from now, he smiled and replied, "Hopefully out of debt... hopefully I won't be workin' a regular nine to five and Mania Music will be writing the checks. Next year, God willing, I want this label to grow. I want it to be a bubbly, shining beacon of possibility of what music could be. Next year I just want the people to be ready to digest what I have to offer."
* * * * * * * *
Alongside the respective talents of Kane Mayfield, Ron G, and producers Lackey and Lawson, it's very possible that Midas' hopes for the future will someday be realized. He has quite a legacy to fulfill on account of his namesake, but if he continues to develop his talents and maintains his dedication, Midas may very well achieve a level of success that makes it seem as if everything musical he touches really does turn to gold.
Related Articles:
Comments
