Mel Low is working his way up. He’s originally from Rockford, Illinois and made the move up to Madison, Wisconsin. The working artist is now performing shows up on stage in both cities. We spoke earlier this month and talked about his history with rap and hip hop.
“As a kid I wasn’t the rapping type. It wasn’t until I grew up, and I just started listening to these lofi beats, and rhymes started to just come to me. And that was, when I would say, I was in my early 20s when I had first started doing that.
The rapper said he would rap in cyphers at local parties. People wanted him to rap more, so he would keep going. Then he started working as a mover at Two Men and a Truck in Madison (we worked together eventually).
“I met Brett when I was, I want to say, 23-24. He kinda put a spark under me and challenged me. And then from there, it was kind of history.”
The two of them worked on the day to day together, and would also get together and rap. I shared a similar experience with the great Splitty on these roadtrips. We freestyled a lot but did not record like he did with Mel Low. This duo put their songs on Soundcloud and Youtube.
Mel Low said he’s influenced by modern and old school music. He listed Ice Cube, NWA, Eminem, and Tupac, as influences. And though he says “a lot of females is what’s really hot right now,” the emcee still likes Lil Durk, Lil Yachty, and J. Cole.
This is one of the artist’s hottest songs right now, “Lethal”.
He has a few projects in the works. Look out for a video from Mel Low and his Rockford crew. The emcee said he “always has ideas churning”. Mel Low is a skilled writer too and says he’s working on a song for smokers too that tells a story.
This young man is putting in work outside music as well. He coaches an AAU team, and takes classes in sports and entertainment, on top of his day job. He has an interesting take on things.
We talked about a couple current events in hip hop as well. I brought up the popular Kendrick vs. Drake beef.
“I was late on it. I was so late. I didn’t get into it until I think “Euphoria” dropped out. And, I mean, at first, I was rocking with Drake. Cause I feel like Drake was making better songs. But then Kendrick got more real, and then that’s what rap beef’s all about. It’s not about necessarily making a good song, it’s about making that real, and that’s what Kendrick did. He started making that stuff that started shining light on some of the things that Drake was doing in the industry. And it was a good song, but it was more hidden. But then he came out with “Not Like Us”, and it kind of shut everything down. Like, I’m not a Drake fan like that where I can’t see that Kendrick clearly won. I mean, he got the Super Bowl out of it.”
Then I asked if he had heard about Tupac’s family hiring lawyers to investigate Diddy’s links to murder.
“I always had an inkling that Diddy had something to do with that. I just feel the beef at that time was too high that someone had to have an inside job, an inside look, on, ‘alright bet, this is how we’re going to get rid of Tupac and Biggie.’ And I feel like he was that guy in the background fueling that fire of the beef.”
Mel Low is an interesting character and I love hearing what he has to say. I’ve seen him put in the work and I’ve heard his incredible skill many times. He has many different sides so it would be simple to say he has just two. In his music, you can hear his artistry, pain, and imagination. Listen and experience an array of emotions through Mel Low’s special mix of calm demeanor and loud talent.
