#MCM: Moe Pope
Moe Pope, originally from Boston, MA, is an indie hip-hop artist, songwriter and contemporary painter. As a lyricist, Pope chronicles the stories of his life and his community by touching upon subjects like fatherhood, relationships, and the human condition.
Drawing inspiration from a diverse background of influences, Pope has spent the last few years reinventing his craft and forming alliances to inspire his work. His latest collaboration as Moe Pope & Rain released the long awaited full-length album Let the Right Ones In January 22, 2013 on Brick Records, to widespread critical acclaim.
For his newest collaboration, Moe Pope has teamed up with well-known producer The Arcitype (Duck Down Records) forming the band STL GLD. 2017 had the Duo nominated for several Boston Music Awards with them taking home two for “Album Of The Year and “Video Of The Year”….. STLGLD will be Starting 2018 off with a performance at Boston Calling Music Fest.
Who has been your most influential mentor?
Mrs. Zuhairah Bilal, my 6th grade art teacher at the Lewis middle school in Roxbury, was probably my biggest influence. I would love to say my mother, who worked hard to feed and cloth me and my sister, but she worked and the time spent was rarely about knowing who I was as a person …it was more about who she wanted me to be. It’s not a knock on her, she absolutely tried her best as parent, but my art teacher was the first person to ask who I wanted to be and worked hard to help get me to the place I envisioned for myself as an artist and musician.
Mrs. Bilal gave me choices and allowed me to question everything, including herself. She was the first person to say it’s okay to be different and she would challenge me to be better. Like most young brown people from the inner city, I was poor and from a single parent household. Music and television was often what taught me and my sister our morals. Icons of acting and music like Sidney Poitier, Fred Astaire, Marvin Gaye, David Bowie, Michael Jackson became my heroes… music videos and TV kept me company before my mother came home and by the time she did come home she was exhausted and had nothing else left for us.
Mrs. Bilal was the first adult friend I ever had and also the first adult to take an interest in what I thought. In raising my own children, I have often found myself repeating things she said to me when I was sad or upset… and I still, to this day, question everything.
How did you get where you are today?
Honestly it sounds terrible, but pain and neglect goes a long way, when you add just a little spark of hope and love to a child that is hurting…that child will grasp onto it if they are not lost already. Music and art became the medium in which I was allowed to show how I felt. I remember doing a talent show in 6th grade- I was an extremely quiet kid, very unsure of myself. I don’t know what made me do the talent show, it was out of character for me, but I did it. The response from the crowd was amazing, they stood up and clapped. I watched my aunts and mother smile and look at me in a way they never had before.
I never wanted that feeling to go away. It was the first time I felt like someone actually saw me, and also the first time my insecurities took a backseat.
I never wanted that feeling to go away. It was the first time I felt like someone actually saw me, and also the first time my insecurities took a backseat. The neglect as a youth lead me to art and music, and filled a hole inside of me. That first talent show lead to my determination and using fear of failure as a driving force to have people see me for the first time over and over again.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In 5 years I truly hope I’m discovering new ways to be creative, as that is what makes me happy. Monetarily I would love to be able to make a living solely from being creative, very hard to achieve, but I will never stop that dream. I’d love to work more with youth and teach what art can bring to children who have far to often seen and heard too much in the city- where heartbreak, failure, violence, peer pressure, anger, and undiagnosed mental issues are rampant.
What about this city inspires you?
This city is constantly evolving due to all the business and universities and influx of new people coming to Boston for the first time every year. That’s new eyes and ears every year that you have to win over in order to be relevant in your craft …. it’s a love hate situation. This city is small, but not too small and it’s big but not too big. They want you to succeed, but not too much, because then it’s not the people of Boston’s anymore…
The cold has made people strong and it’s hard to break through their shell, but if you do break through, Boston has a ride or die mentally that is unmatched by any other place I have ever been… it truly is… if you are my people you are my people for life.
Finish these sentences:
Boston should be… less segregated. Don’t get me wrong, lines are blurred in many ways throughout this city but yet there is still very definitive segregation…. young people come to Boston watch Good Will Hunting or The Town and never step foot out of Allston Brighton and believe they have a grasp on who we are, never having went to Dorchester/Roxbury or Mattapan
Boston could be seen…as a trendsetter. For years, we looked to NY, Chicago, NJ, Philadelphia, for talent… it’s hard for some to wrap their brain around the fact that our brand of music is better than most; Boston’s artists are better than most . We are setting the standard now in a lot of ways politically and artistically, and other cities are starting to pay attention to us.
Boston wants to be…at the forefront, we just need to take pride in who we are and give back to help others get there.
Boston doesn’t need anything… some of the smartest, most talented people on earth are from here, but then they leave and take those home grown talents and skills elsewhere, never to return, because of the belief you can’t get to the next level with out leaving here. If instead, when we succeed, we made sure other Bostonian’s could have access to resources, to help further the scope of their dreams, that is what would help our city thrive for years and years to come…. a pride that exceeds just simply our city’s sports teams
