ere are two
more young men Brooklyn can be proud to call its own.
Rapper Will Milla and his co-manager TouMoney, both in their early
twenties, are trying to make it the right way in hip-hop - by bringing a
positive message that will help uplift their people. Stated TouMoney, "A
lot of music nowadays is just produced to make money. There isn’t any
kind of message behind it, or if there is, it’s usually negative. We
want to stress the positive because there’s already enough negativity in
the streets."
He
said, too, that while rappers are always talking about keepin’ it real,
"A lot of them out here rap about chains and guns and cars and material
stuff. But the average person that buys their album doesn’t have any of
that."
Will, who writes all his own lyrics, raps about substantive social
issues, real-life experiences that his listeners can relate to because
they see them every day or are going through them themselves. He only
curses in a song when it’s necessary to get a point across, and when he
talks about an issue like selling drugs, instead of glamorizing it, he
takes the approach, "This is what led us to do it; this is why we got
out of it; or this is how you can help yourself get away from stuff like
that." "I’m not going to make selling drugs look like it’s such a great
thing because it’s not," Will stated.
Will Milla’s first mixtape CD out of the series Hungree as a
Hostage Vol. 1, was co-produced by TouMoney. One of the songs on it
is "Rough Times." When Will performed it last summer before about 5,000
to 8,000 people at the Million Youth March, it grabbed a lot of
attention because of the way it dealt with real issues that you wouldn’t
hear a lot of rappers talking about – including some that are often
off-limits, like the negative things your own mother did in her earlier
life and their effects now. The song’s hook goes:
"All I know is what I’ve been through, rough times, not enough dimes,
weed or women, my eyes have seen the consequences. Lots of stitches,
wilding out while living’s my religion. I think back of all the
kickbacks, kidnaps, mom’s sick, placed in a home, she wants her kids
back, should have thought before she did crack, I spit facts about
life’s problems, my transitions and sick raps. Roll it up and got a sick
track!"
Will began
writing poetry when he was 13 years old, and he performed his first rap
at the House of the Lord Church’s Easter program when he was about 14.
Also, it was at this church that, when they were quite young, he and
TouMoney first met and became friends. They both have the church to
thank for the fact that they didn’t stray too far down the wrong path
while growing up. Although his lyrics are strictly secular, Will’s
religious background certainly influences their positive direction.
Will Milla has been enthusiastically received at such venues as the
Downtown Night Club and Jimmy’s Uptown Café. He is very well informed as
to politics and will be performing with Council Member Charles Barron at
a memorial benefit for the family of Timothy Stansbury.
Will commented that when he gets to the top of the mountain, he wants
to be able to look back and say, "I didn’t have to step on anyone’s back
or destroy anyone to get here. I made it just on my own hard work.
Battle rap is the true form of hip-hop," he continued, "but with today’s
generation, artists often possess more pride than talent. If someone is
more creative than they are, they take it as an insult when, instead,
they should embrace the next one. I don’t feel I should have to make
someone else look bad to make myself look better."
TouMoney added that they could have gone the negative route and
probably already made another CD, "But we just want to stay humble and
stay focused on what we’ve got to do, and convey that through the
music."
Both TouMoney and Will are hoping to do something that’s good for
other people and successful financially. Right now, they're working
independently, trying to put together their own label, which they will
call Infinite Mind, and trying to get a distribution deal. As
TouMoney explained, "We like to think of it as a movement: getting ahead
by using your brain. Even though a lot of people chose the streets, if
we can make that change and be seen doing positive things, hopefully we
can influence others to do the same thing."
Hungree as a Hostage Vol. 1 can be gotten on the street
throughout Brooklyn and Long Island. For further information and for
bookings, call TouMoney at (917) 873-0128 or email thegoddmilla@yahoo.com.
