In this day and age of WWE-inspired rap music, keeping it real doesn’t count for much anymore. But if Maino has his way, he will always choose authenticity in hip hop over the exaggerated, almost faux lyrics that so much hip-hop music seems to portray today. In an exclusive interview with BET.com, Maino talked about his new album and the path he took to get there, while explaining why he chose an honest approach to making music instead of following the trends.
“I’m honest in my music,” says Maino from his hotel room in Los Angeles, where he is promoting his recently released debut album, If Tomorrow Comes. “If you listen to some of these dudes, they talking about how they was always getting money and they was always winning. Dudes tell stories like they ‘super n**ga. I don’t mind being honest, telling you I lost here, I won there. I come across on a more human aspect than a lot of these dudes. I don’t wear shades. I want to look a man in his eyes.”
For Maino, who last year was nominated for Rookie of the Year at the BET Hip Hop Awards, music hasn’t always been there to help lead him in a positive direction. It’s part of the reason he chose to name his album, “If Tomorrow Comes,” because he was always looking for something better. “[The album title] came from a book I read in prison. I want my tomorrow to be better than my today. I want to be happier than tomorrow. I’m always looking for something brighter,” he rationalizes. Not a surprising outlook on life for someone who spent his quite a bit of his early adult years behind bars. When Maino was just 15, he was sentenced to 10-years in prison after being convicted for kidnapping and trying to ransom a drug connect. Now, after having learned a valuable lesson about life, Maino is ready to keep growing as an artist and a person.
After being signed to Universal, Maino got the co-sign he needed from Lil’ Kim, who put him on her last album and helped introduce him to a broader audience. Now signed to Atlantic Records, the Brooklyn, N.Y.-native has already made noise with two very distinct hit singles.. With his underground anthem “Hi Hater,” and the radio-friendly “All The Above” featuring T-Pain, Maino proves he can diversify his offering—a much-needed talent in a struggling rap industry.
“I just want people to respect me for making good music,” he says. “This right here is just my first album. I’m here to keep pressure on the game and keep going.” Not that respect has ever been a problem for Maino, whose reputation seems to afford him much of it. In a clip that surfaced online about a year ago, Maino was caught smacking a member of an audience that he was performing in front of. Maino explains the situation, “The dude was disrespecting me. His whole thing was his point was I love you so much, I rep you I wanna be on the stage with you and if I can’t be on the stage with you, it was f**k you and I can’t have that.” Apparently, while he was performing, the guy had some disrespectful things to say to Maino, who responded with a quick 5-fingers to the cheek. “I knew there was cameras in the club, but I didn’t think about that. The footage was that close I didn’t know that was really on me like that. I was just thinking about this dude in front of me. Let me give him a little bit of shut up.” But after the footage leaked to every major online outlet in the industry, Maino got a taste of how quickly word can spread. “I’m learning that I can’t use street ethic in this corporate environment…I come from a crazy background, but I’m trying.”