I discovered Masethemessiah on a Spotify playlist called "Hidden Rennaissance"; it's a playlist full of divine jazz rap, lofi rap, abstract hip-hop, indie rap, and alternative hip-hop. (Check it out here.) I heard his track "Scrambled Eggs In The Morning", and was immediately hooked by his honest lyrics and creative flow. I love the way he navigates the beat.
Fast forward to December 19th 2021, I had a chance to meet up with Mason, a.k.a. Masethemessiah, at That Good Sh*t's "Sunday Sounds" show. I spoke to him about inspiration, self care, and what he has in the works.
THAT GOOD SH*T
Let's get it going! How about you tell me about who you are and what you do?
MASETHEMESSIAH
Yeah! I'm Mason, I go by Masethemessiah, I make music, full time family man *laughs*. Music is like an outlet, what I use to express myself; it's an extension of self. I make music with my guys Yugen Blue, Dirtyshoes, and JayWitDaTrey, those are my folks.
THAT GOOD SH*T
And you guys work so well together! Yugen's production is insane.
MASETHEMESSIAH
Yeah, when we got here last night as a matter of fact, we just got straight to it! That's why I'm still kind of waking up. As soon as we got here we got straight to it, I got probably 4 hours of sleep, maybe. We good though!
THAT GOOD SH*T
Tell me where you're from?
MASETHEMESSIAH
I was born in Sacramento, raised in East Palo Alto, California.
THAT GOOD SH*T
Are you involved in that local scene? Are there any artists you work with locally?
MASETHEMESSIAH
East Palo Alto, it's kinda small, but we do have some artists out there. It's small, but it's a hidden gem. It's like a diamond in the rough, you've gotta look into it. Shouts out to Lil E From The G, 02 The Good Bad Guy, HEFNA GWAP, and Randy McPhly for being a big inspiration coming out of East Palo Alto.
THAT GOOD SH*T
So, when did you start making music and what did your journey look like getting to where you are today?
MASETHEMESSIAH
It was probably about 3 years ago, I was coming out of high school and in college just making music. And then I met them [Yugen Blue] in college too. From then on, stuff just started clicking. We was just going! I felt motivated 'cause I had people supporting me as I was supporting them. It made everything go well.
THAT GOOD SH*T
Yeah for sure! It seems like you have a really good support system of people. I feel like when you have community it helps your music grow a lot, and it helps you work with other people, get a feel for your sound.
MASETHEMESSIAH
Mhm!
THAT GOOD SH*T
So, have you faced any obstacles in your path to where you're at now with your music? What have you had to push through?
MASETHEMESSIAH
Sometimes I experience writer's block... That's really probably it! I might get a little unmotivated sometimes, but I get out of that kind of quick, you know? I get right back into it.
THAT GOOD SH*T
What motivates you?
MASETHEMESSSIAH
My grandma. I take care of her. Experiences that we're going through and have been through. Like I said, it's an outlet so everything that's going on around me. My environment and stuff, it motivates me to get it done.
THAT GOOD SH*T
Who and what inspires you? Is there stuff outside of music that inspires you?
MASETHEMESSIAH
Yeah, my grandma, she's a big inspiration. My community. My friends and family. It's a lot of things close-knit to me. Things that I've been around. Artists inspire me too, I got some artists that inspire me like Kanye West. I'm a big fan of Kanye West. MAVI, love MAVI, shoutout MAVI! Man, my friends... A lot of things inspire me. I just pay attention to my surroundings, you know?
THAT GOOD SH*T
For sure! So I'd love to hear your thoughts on intention with your music and how that plays into it.
MASETHEMESSIAH
My intention with it was just to use it as an outlet. I like to keep it real-time. So it's like you're growing with me. When I put stuff out, I want the listener to grow with me. Stuff won't really be the same each and every time. When I first started, I really had to just get a lot up out of me! I still am; you just grow with me.
THAT GOOD SH*T
That's so awesome. So as you're putting out music and growing as an artist, how do you take care of yourself physically and mentally to make sure you're at your best for your music?
MASETHEMESSIAH
I like to box. Boxing is cool; I go to the gym with Jay, play some bsaketball. Taking some time off too. Not just trying to go all-out. I like reading sometimes, going on walks. Yeah, just stuff like that, taking care of my mental. That comes first, regardless.
THAT GOOD SH*T
Yeah, the grind is important but you also gotta take your breaks and make sure you're good mentally.
MASETHEMESSIAH
Facts!
THAT GOOD SH*T
What does the next year look like for you? What you got planned?
MASETHEMESSIAH
We just trying to accomplish more. Trying to do some more shows! Get that going, keep the ball going somewhere. Keep putting out real-time stuff. Might drop more next year, I got some Bandcamp releases. We gonna just keep on going! I don't wanna speak too much into it or throw nothing off, but we're gonna keep it going.
THAT GOOD SH*T
Do you have any dream collaborations, people you really wanna work with?
MASETHEMESSIAH
Ah man! Hell yeah. One day I wanna work with Madlib or Freddie Gibbs. Westside Gunn, Kanye West. That's up there.
THAT GOOD SH*T
How would you describe your sound?
MASETHEMESSIAH
I would describe it as me. It's what I'm feeling, it's my emotion at the time. Whatever emotion I'm giving off at that time, that's where I'm at and that what you're gonna feel. Definitely hip-hop though!
THAT GOOD SH*T
You've got a unique sound for sure. I found you on the Hidden Renaissance playlist!
MASETHEMESSIAH
Shoutout to Throne man, for real! Out there in the East, he put that together. It's a whole Discord, they put all of us in there, we met up and stuff. (A few of us from the Discord had already met in person). We've got some things in the works, I can't say too much. *laughs*
Make sure you check out Masethemessiah on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, and Instagram. Not only does he make incredible music as a solo artist, but he's also part of a newly formed group called "SLÜ", formed in 2021 after the members linked up on Discord. Other artists in the group include Praxeye, Dirtyshoes, JayWitDaTrey, Yugen Blue, & Sevnth.
Big love to Masethemessiah for this interview and for supporting That Good Sh*t. We couldn't be more stoked to have him as our first official artist interview. Stay tuned for more interviews :)
-Annabelle, founder of That Good Sh*t