Once Upon A Mic is a group that is formed around four artist from different locations in the South. Wunda and Nov are both from South Florida hailing from Broward County. CodeBlack is from Jefferson City,TN and Flintstone Mafia is from Atlanta, GA. Once Upon a Mic derived from a group called Musique Sans Frontieres (Music Without Borders). We consist of two producers and three lyricists. Codeblack and Flintstone Mafia handle the beats while Codeblack, Nov and Wunda handle the lyrics on the material we release.
What is your background? tell us where you grew up and some information about your upbringing/experiences as a youth:
CodeBlack: I’m from Jefferson City, TN. I had both my parents growing up as a child which I’m proud to say. I grew up in a methodist church as a child. I moved around a bit in my youth but stayed inside Jay Bird Hill. I went to predominately white schools which was a problem for obvious reasons that we still face today.
Nov: I’m from Sunrise, Fl. I had both my parents growing up as well. I lived in Sunrise for 20 years, and moved up to Tennessee to follow family. Growing up I seen a lot and what they say about South Florida is no joke. The stories you hear happen more often then you see. The main group of people that I stuck around consisted of Dominicans and Puerto Ricans.
At what moment did you know that music was part of your life and what feelings did you have towards making an active impact with your music?
CodeBlack: It started when I was in the Choir, and then it moved onto rap when my friend I grew up with since elementary came up with the idea to make a group so we did.
Nov: Back in 2009 I was sitting in my friends rooms and we would sit there making a minimum of ten beats a day from samples his mom had from her old cd collection. After a while we would sit and just kick lyrics back and forth to each other. A few years past and I was a part of a group with four other lyricists and our main focus at the time was to make music for the individual instead of the mass. Inside the group I’m in today we still walk by those standards. I’ve always been confident in myself so thats the feeling I had in making an active impact with my music.
What artists inspired/influences you and if you could collaborate with any artist (alive or passed) who would it be and why?
Codeblack: I would have to say Kanye man, because the way he makes his beats and flows to them for years creating his own style in a sense. I would really want to collab with Currency mainly because he has that laid back flow and chill attitude which would merge together greatly.
Nov: I gotta say Redman is somebody that inspired me without a doubt. Without even talking about him being a legendary artist, but he has never changed who he is as a person which I respect the most. As for an artist I would want to collaborate with would have to be Nas, just to have to blessing of a true lyricist would be amazing.
What do you think about the current state of hip hop/mainstream music?
Once Upon a Mic: I think alot of the new music coming out is trach, Yeah you can pick out a few artist every other month but the majority of the music that released this year was trash, we hope to see hip hop move into a better state.
Currently, what projects do you have in the works that you are most excited about?
O.U.M: Currently we have an EP in the works by the name of Origins which will tell the story of each of us from when we all started music till we came together. CodeB1ack will be having two mixtapes dropping I Don’t Do Drugs, But I Think About It and Purple Sac.
Nov: CodeB1ack has some crazy work ethics.
What are your short term career goals within the next 6-10 months?
O.U.M: We plan to drop our Origins tape along with a few videos, then get paid, get laid, and don’t fade haha.
CodeBlack: Literally get paid, I’m serious.
O.U.M: We plan to build our local fan base and expand from there, working on new mixtapes along the way.
What are your long term career goals within the next 2-5 years?
CodeBlack: We gonna drop two to three albums, travel, do some shows and get paid.
Nov: Not be broke, Let be honest being broke ain’t fun and the struggle is real but it is what it is.
In 2-5 years? I plan to have this O.U.M brand being known all around. I plan on having a spot in that XXL freshmen edition. Get our music in the right hands and move from there.
If you had one song out of the catalogue you have created to show a person what song would it be and why?
O.U.M: We would have to all agree on saying Late Night Drive. The song itself gives you those real thoughts that nobody really speaks about.
To the person who had never heard of you what is it about your music and story that you would tell them to entice them to be a supporter?
O.U.M: You want something you can relate to, a group of individuals that you can either turn up to or straight ride with then hit up our music, we dont disappoint.
If your music could be described in five words what would those five words be?
O.U.M: New, Refreshing, Lyrical, Relateable, Motivational
What do you bring to the game that is unique and different?
O.U.M: We don’t bring that gun talk to the table, we bring the relateable content in todays society to the table. We bring that concious rap because the last the we need to be listening to is fantasy music. No reverb, no autotune, just raw lyricism. Reality Rap.
To the aspiring artist who is considering a career as a musician what lessons or advice would you give them to inspire them or to uplift them in the journey?
O.U.M: We would have to say stay patient and keep working on your content. The more work you put in the better you get and people will start to recognize you.
What are your social media profiles and where can people purchase/download your music?
Soundcloud.com/Onceuponamic
Reverbnation.com/Onceuponamic
MusicClout.com/onceuponamic
What are your final words you would like to say to people that you have left out?
O.U.M: May The Force Be With You