Today we’d like to introduce you to Mychal Browning.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
In the early months of 2015, I was battling addiction and dealing with the trauma of almost losing my fiancé and newly born daughter to a life self-destruction. It wasn’t until my now wife told me she was leaving me that I had to take a hard look at the way I had been living.
I have been a pretty dope artist my entire life. In high school, I was voted “Most likely to have a Hollywood Star” which is why I spent the early years of my twenties establishing myself as authentic rap artist with the potential to be a platinum recording artist and record label owner. If you’d ask me what I would sacrifice to achieve my self decided dream I would tell you EVERYTHING. And so goes the story of my life.
The success of being a talented creative person comes with many temptations. Lust, substance abuse, and self ambition being a few of them. In 2015 the culmination of my success, ego, and foolish decisions brought about an ultimatum. Have the life I always wanted and lose the family I needed or move to Fort Worth, end my career as an artist, and dedicate my life to my family.
The choice was not very clear to me until I remember feeling like God was speaking to me. I was being selfish and only thinking of myself and I could hear God calling me to put aside what I wanted and to take a leap of faith and put my hope and trust in my family and a relationship with God. And so I did.
I thought my career as an artist was over and that I would never rap again because it caused me so much trauma. At least that was my plan but as it turns out there was a bigger plan in motion.
In the Fall of 2015, I was attending a local church in Fort Worth and committed my life to God. I began serving at the church and was introduced to Elliot Pickering, the youth pastor and emcee of “The Mix” a hip hop based youth program that used local Christian rappers and rap culture to reach the kids in the city. I was amazed at the fact that there were artists who used their skill to worship God and had an impact doing so, I hadn’t seen anything like it. I knew after volunteering at the Mix that I was being shown a higher purpose for the passion I had always possessed.
Fast forward to the present in the years leading up to now I’ve more impact on lives with my music than the decade before. God used music as a bridge to a relationship with him and has drastically improved my quality of life, my relationship with my wife and my influence on my children.
I lead the kids and youth at Trademark Church in Fort Worth and often use hip hop to share the gospel and the transformative message of life change that God has for me and anyone else willing to listen to the call and step out in faith. In my case it’s a 1500 mile journey in a new direction but every step brought me closer to my purpose.
I am grateful for my past but look forward to days to come. I’m currently working on album to be released on all streaming platforms and am building a new fan base here in DFW through social media and local venues.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road and I think that has been for the best. Often times challenge and struggle has allowed me to see myself for who I am and who I can be.
I’ve struggled with the one thing I believe most people who yearn to do something great or anything at all struggle with and that is, overcoming myself and getting out of my own way.
Serving God calls me to die to myself daily, which means I have to put my selfish ambition in their figurative casket and develop a selfless worldview that helps me focus on other people’s interest and find ways to serve the community I am apart of. That’s hard work if I’m being honest. I’m married, I’ve got kids and ambition I want to follow my own path and understanding but I know where that leads and so the struggle becomes looking beyond myself and asking not how I want to live my life but how does God want me to live my life. Again that’s tough stuff. The voice of self swings both ways, in one direction towards the selfish ambition of I can do all my way and the other direction of I’m under-qualified, unimpressive and under constant attacking from doubt and fear.
But I lean on a word and find strength in a God that’s bigger than me so I can move through the struggle with faith that I’m good an always will be.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I specialize in the ability to create emotion, experience, and enlightenment through the strategic and rhythmic use of words in a manner that moves the body and soul. That’s just a fancy way of saying I am really good a rapping.
I see rapping as an extension on God’s word a mechanism for tapping into human thought and relaying messages of truth and relevance in was that is edifying for both hip hop culture and church culture.
I write lyrics that have no explicit content and so I do not use excessive cursing or obscene language to entertain and enlighten.
I’m conscious of my audience and the platform by which I communicate and the power it has to drive culture and am very certain that if we could push more positivity push more narratives that challenge the hand culture, the drug culture the expectancy that hip hop can be socially responsible on a high level we would see more change in our neighborhood and personal life choice.
A man once said to change the world you’ve got to change public opinion and whether people are aware or not music plays a major role in the public ideas of the times.
What sets me apart is I’m aware of the impact my voice has, that my lyrics have and don’t want to waste my words or have them fall on deaf ears and so I craft messages that challenge the listener to examine their life and look for opportunities to go to the next level with their thinking.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
In ten years the hip hop market will have become 100% pop music with a lane of artist dedicated to not making music solely for commercial consumption but with the intent to disrupt the autopilot side effects on consumerism and replace it with critical thinking in hopes that we can make giant shifts in the way we treat each and the world around us. More and more artist will own their masters and labels and have the freedom to control their message and image creating a more diverse and authentic musical landscape.
Contact Info:
- Email: mychalbrowning@hotmail.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/themicrophoneboss
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/Microphoneboss/
- Other: Www.soundcloud.com/MicrophoneBoss
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