We recently connected with Southside Mab and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Southside, thanks for joining us today. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?
Growing up in the inner city, I never had much luck coming across kind and caring folks. Thankfully, there was one instance of the act of kindness that holds a special place in my heart til’ this day. I was roughly 6-7 years old at the time and it was my mother and I sharing a small house with two of my grandparents. They were getting older and it was hard for them to take care of me while my mom was working 2-3 jobs constantly. As a child at the time, I had trouble speaking and communicating with others. I only knew about 7 words max and didn’t know how to properly form a sentence. My mother enrolled me into several different Elementary schools in hopes of finding a caring educational system that can help me, but it was usually the same result of others not getting along with me and struggling with my grammar and vocabulary. One day while my mom was preparing to transition to a new job and change her schedule, she came across a small community school in Westchester. After being enrolled in that school for a few weeks, I was able to form sentences and phrases at a rapid pace and continued to improve my knowledge. The teachers were extremely caring and always told my mother I would be a future leader in any role I played in. I was guiding the other kids in the games we played and grew my confidence with each passing day. As time passed, we continued to struggle financially and my mother had no choice but to take me out of that school and move me somewhere else. As she told the principal our reasons for our departure, the principal stopped her mid-sentence and told her these exact words “Miguel will continue to get an education here and I will make sure he is provided with all the tools for him to succeed in this world, so that’s why I’m granting him a scholarship to come to our school for free”. I still tear up whenever my mother tells me this story and I’m forever grateful for that opportunity. If it wasn’t for that act of kindness, I honestly don’t know where I would be today. As my music career grows, I hope to give back to them one of these days and express my gratitude. Wherever my teacher and principal are today, I hope they are doing great and their compassion did not go unnoticed as I continue to grow as a human being to provide my best for this world.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I got into music at the age of 8 and knew since then I wanted to make a career out of this. I performed several talent shows growing up and would freestyle during lunch breaks in school in front a several kids. Not everyone was a fan at the time but that never discouraged me from during my passion. As I got older, I tended to focus more on sports because my high school didn’t provide much for music and the arts. It also wasn’t easy transferring to four different high schools each year while I was enrolled. When I reached college, I made the firm decision of dropping all sports and pursue a career in film and music. I grew more confident within my craft and how I tell my story within an instrumental. I understood my style wasn’t like everyone else’s and was very far from being considered normal but that only made me believe in myself more. I realized as grow older, you tend to lose peers that were once close to you and notice not everyone will support what you do. But in the end, realizing that most of your support will come from others who aren’t family and friends originally is a big step to acceptance and structuring your perception of your career into creating something great. I started performing around small venues and pubs immediately after high school and dropped a few singles at the time. I took a break for a couple of years because I was struggling with depression and anxiety and had no clue what was going on in my life. During the year 2022, I started structuring my brand and officialize my stage name as “Southside MAB’ aka known as “Nashville’s Gentleman”. The name picked up quickly around the city and I started to introduce myself more to my fellow peers who perform consistently in Nashville. After two years of releasing music on a consistent basis, I went on to perform over 20+ shows and getting booked constantly as an Independent artist which was extremely tough in Nashville especially for rappers and hip-hop artist. I want to be an example of inspiration to all independent artists who seek opportunities but don’t feel confident within themselves. As someone who used to get bullied and belittled constantly for being different, I stand tall and proud for my creativity and my business because it has been my only hope as I grew older. I want to provide timeless music and provide much more to the city of Nashville. There’s many communities I want to support and charities I want to contribute to all while I continue my journey to greatness as an artist. I released my second album this past summer called “THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING” in hopes of providing versatility and vulnerability in the music community. Hopefully listeners and fans gain a new perception of life after listening the the project. Cheers to everyone who supports me and I promise to do great things in this life to provide a bright future for music and artists across the world. Yours Truly, Nashville’s Gentleman.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is when my audience reaches out and lets me know that my music has impacted them for the better. So many people struggle with day-to-day living that we have no knowledge about and they try to escape through the sounds of music. The fact that there a million things that people can be doing but they choose to enjoy my music and express their appreciation to me goes a long way. I’m forever grateful to be a part of others lives and being able to contribute for the better. I try to make music for different environments as well as being alone in the car or in the room with headphones on. I try to bring comfort to those who feel they walk this planet alone and is in need of guidance through it all. I can always write party music and feel good melodies, but writing about my lowest moments and how I still continue to grow from those experiences will always be a priority to me. So I thank everyone who continues to support me and my music and I am forever grateful to be a part of everyones journey through this life!
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
The best thing society can do to support artists is showing their full support without the worry of being judged. As an artist myself, I’m fully aware the career path I chose is considered a dream to most but only those who seek that dream are the ones who fully understand. It’s so much easier to support someone who has already made it (which is absolutely ok) but a lot of people fear of showing support to those who are still in pursue of that career. I love that I’m able to contribute to the city of Nashville and its arts, but I want to bring more opportunities for all genres of music so more artists can perform their originals rather than always having to cover someone else’s songs. As a place known as “Music City”, I want to bring that name into fruition and provide even more great things for this city so it can thrive in the future as more citizens are moving here. But it all starts with support from our community to contribute this progression and showing love to our locals artists here in Nashville!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://southsidemab.com
- Instagram: @southsidemab
- Facebook: Southside MAB
- Twitter: @southsidemab
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@southsidemab
- Soundcloud: Southside MAB
Image Credits
Cayce Campaign (@rosesoffirephotography)
Chris Laymen (@creativelaymanslens)
Jordan Bryce Albarado (@jordanalbaradophotography)