Exclusive Interview with 'MYKELL MESSIAH'

Mykell Messiah started in music at a young age. He began performing Gospel music with his family at age 6. His mother recognized his versatility at age 9 and enrolled him in acting, where he landed his first Broadway role. This venture helped Mykell develop his skills as an artist.

Mykell Messiah’s video for ‘Two Wrongs’ establishes him as one of Canada’s most polished R&B artists. Lighter Juice’s video shows a pensive Mykell dealing with unfaithfulness, genuine admiration, and hopelessness.

In the second verse, Mykell reiterates the trials of expecting reciprocity in relationships and being able to tolerate the shortcomings of loving the wrong partner unconditionally. He ends the cinematic visual with a ‘To Be Continued’ message.
‘Two Wrongs’ follows ‘Show Me,’ which just passed 1 million views on YouTube. He was recently verified on Facebook and Instagram and has a strong TikTok presence with 100K followers, 5 million+ views, and close to 1 million likes on his video posts. Check out the music video and exclusive interview below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how you got started?

MYKELL MESSIAH: I’m from Toronto, Canada and music has been my entire life. My mother is a singer and my family grew up singing in the church.

2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?

MYKELL MESSIAH: I grew up singing in the church every Sunday and in that environment you pick up a lot of skills and develop as an artist performing and inspiring.

3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences?

MYKELL MESSIAH: My mother and my father but as I developed as an artist: The Weeknd, Saint Jhn and Tank.

4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

MYKELL MESSIAH: Some key elements that I display through my music would be genuine expression of my life experiences. It’s emotional and raw but polished all at the same time.

5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style?
MYKELL MESSIAH:
I think in my artistic impression I just want to be real to who i am. There’s only Mykell Messiah. However, we all go through situations that are relatable so I just tell my story in hopes that my fans can connect.

6. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative and entertainment?

MYKELL MESSIAH:

Music in its purest form illustrates life but can also influence and inspire a revolution. The power of life and death is in the tongue so I feel like every period in time should have a soundtrack that correlates to what is happening in the moment. Whether it be an escape from the current climate politically and socially or a call to action.

7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfilment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

MYKELL MESSIAH:

The relationship between artist and art is reciprocal. Music is a cathartic release, it is therapeutic . As artists we all want the opportunity to be heard and have a certain status of relevance. However, the difficulty as an artist at times is to find satisfaction in the emotional release and your self expression, more than the audience validation that your thoughts and feelings are significant enough for them to make an investment of their time and money. I put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into my music and with the team that I have now, I have no doubt that more people will hear my music able to take care of my family as a result.

8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?

MYKELL MESSIAH: Usually I just hear melodies or chord progressions in music and it kind of just sparks my creativity. I don’t write anything down but whatever the music tells me to express is how I create my records.

9. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

MYKELL MESSIAH: The most difficult thing for me up until this point is that I’m relatively unknown. I’m a new artist and so I can be a little bit impatient. I just want to give the music the opportunity to be heard .

10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?

MYKELL MESSIAH: I’m proud of the fact that I am unapologetically me and I’m not going to switch or be fake for nobody. I’m proud of myself that I have remained confident that I have a story to tell and it is worth listening to. I’m never going to give up until the world has heard of Mykell Messiah.