#RookieOfAtlanta Interview w/ @Mantiz186

> 1. Where are you from?

I'm from a small town right outside of Columbia, SC called Elgin. Dirt roads, stop signs, and one traffic light.

> 2. When did you fall in love with hip hop?

Feels like I'm watching Brown Sugar lol... at a very young age. When I had the "Coolin At The Playground" album by Another Bad Creation... that was '92 I think... I was in kindergarten. Either then, or the Kriss Kross "Totally Krossed Out" album.

> 3. Why do you this? 

Some time right before I graduated, I saw a film on the evils of hip hop and the music business. It actually scared me right into quitting. But I felt a calling of God to stay at it but change up my message. To tell the world what I saw. To be a voice to the nations. So when people ask, I tell them I'm a gospel rapper with a parental advisory sticker. 

> 4. Who are your influences in music? 

"The only Christopher we acknowledge is Wallace..." Definitely B.I.G. I think I wanted to rap BECAUSE of him lol. Then when I got deeper spiritually, Pac inspired me more to be revolutionary. Kanye inspired me to be relatable. D'angelo inspired me to be smooth. Jay inspired my delivery. Ryan Leslie inspired my skills. I just look up to so many people, honestly. Its more to name but I think those are the main ones.

> 5. Describe your musical style.

Soulful. From the mouths of others, it's just simply "good music". But I'd just aim to say "soulful". I try to have something about the song give you goosebumps. Whether its the melody I sing, the cadence I rap, the drums I hit, anything. I want that feeling you get when that "right" chord is played on the organ at church. That feeling.

> 6. What was the first song you knew from start to finish?

Aw man I don't know! Lol my father says I was singing before I could talk so it may have either been a gospel song or a jingle off the TV or radio.

> 7. When will you be dropping a new tape? 

That's very tough to say, honestly. My management team wants to do one project, I want to do another, my fanbase claims they're waiting... I'm not sure. I'm just tryna make good records right now. I started on a project called "Word To My Words" that was strictly for my core fanbase on top of original samples with no drums added. Then a second project I originally titled "Almost Famous", but the creative process isn't flowing with my whole team as well as I had liked. So I'm really just making songs and I'm sure I'll have enough material for something major early next year.

> 8. Where did you get your name "Mantiz" from? 

A bug. Lol the praying mantis. But it wasn't the bug that I cared for. It was more so the origin of the word. In Greek and Latin, it means "prophet" or "seer" and all I did was change the "s" to a "z" and people catch hell tryna pronounce it right.

> 9. What is your least favorite song that you have recorded? 

I don't even remember lol. Well... there was this one song by Sadie Hawkins called "Coins". I didn't hate it but I didn't loved it either. That's probably it.

> 10. How long does it take you to record?

Not long at all. But I'm such a perfectionist, it takes longer than it should.

> 11. Where do you think you fit in Atlanta music scene? 

That's the thing, I DON'T fit the Atlanta scene. I gotta tell it... Def Jam A&Rs liked me, a lot. But coming to them by way of Atlanta, they feel I would be more "radio-ready" if I rapped with Auto-tune on my voice. Clearly Atlanta is looked at as either a joke or a gimmick. But if the people of Atlanta rock with my music, God bless. 

> 12. How does what your doing now shape your next 10 years?

I think it'll stamp me as voice of the people. I'd love to be a superstar, but sacrificing my integrity isn't worth it. I'll settle for just being legendary in the next decade to come.

> 13. What do you want people to get from your music?

A sense of mental freedom, and Lord willing, an urge of salvation. I want the people to break to yokes of slavery that the media has on them. I don't wanna just say I'm real, I want you to feel it through the speaker. I love when someone hears a song of mine and responds with "IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!!!" It assures me someone somewhere is looking for the real.

> 14. Is there a such thing as a perfect beat? 

Yes. That's a MUCH deeper conversation. For the sake of the interview, I'll say it's a beat that makes you do whatever the composer intended.

> 15. Who do you like collabing with? 

I love working with open minded artists and producers. It challenges me. But frankly, I feel as though I'm surrounded by the most talented individuals on Earth. My imprint, R Dot Entertainment and my conglomerate, The Block Symphony, is the best. 

> 16. If your mixtape was like a movie which one would it be? 

I've never been asked that before. I need much more time to think about that one. Its too many movies in history. I'd say it's an inspirational film with plenty of comedy and romance, but it's NOT a Tyler Perry flick.

> 17. What is your recording process? 

Simply, plugging up the equipment and pressing the button. No rituals, no fluff. I just go in and do what I do.

> 18. If you had to listen to one mixtape for the rest of your life what would it be?

I'd die. No way I could. Well, maybe my last album, "The Preface II: Autocracy"... I maybe could do that.

> 19. If someone had never heard your music before what would tell them before they listened? 

"You may hate me for what you're gonna hear, or hate everybody else for what they've been making you listen to." Thank God for Kendrick Lamar. Rappers of a certain caliber make you question every other MC in the same spotlight. That's how I view myself. I'ma bring the real to drive out the fake.

> 20. What experiences in life have made you who you are today?

Two and a half consecutive years of funerals and heartbreak. Its been a VERY tough life, but I'm here and I'm thankful.

> 21. When everything is said and done what do you want GOD to say to you?

"Well done, thy good and faithful servant."

> 22. Who are you? 

God's son, a younger sibling of Christ. A Black man. A lover. A fighter. A believer. A worshipper. A musician. A realist. The realest. And I go by the name of Mantiz.