Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sergio Mendes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Sergio thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

The story began for me when i first stepped foot into the Vagabond for their weekly Dubstep Show called Get Low and seeing MC Jumanji spitting bars to i think it was Goth Trad performing, a Japanese Dubstep/Grime producer/DJ. It was wild to me to see the mix and blends of such wild and energetic production bits, then to see the lyrics over it. I knew then that i would fall right into the rabbit hole of the UK Genre.

At the same time, i was surrounding myself with some talented lyricist and took on the role of managing a rapper, who i wish to be left unnamed. It was an uphill struggle, as is with any underground hip hop scene. The Pay to Play was getting to much to deal with along with the ego’s of some of the people that was in the scene. Jumanji was doing his thing in the Dubstep scene and our paths started crossing more and we began to become very close friends. As time passed, he start working with a music label in Orlando, FL and was being managed by a close friend of ours. So i would tag along at times and understand the way things were going.

After awhile, i started to realize that the scenes were very similar: Filled with snakes and industry people with 1 thing in mind: Themselves. That when I offered my managerial service to Jumanji. Within the 1st month, we were published in the local newspaper and decided that with the momentum we were gaining, and the connections we had, we would do things on our own terms. That was the birth of American Grime Records. The label took off and with a year we had released multiple compilation albums and premiered several individual artists projects.

At this point, we were still getting Zero love from our local scene and were unable to lock in bookings for our artists. So we took it upon ourselves to search for venues and throw our own shows. We started with underground illegal warehouse parties and eventually progressed to full fledged clubs and lounges. Now we were able to show case our music that we have grown to love and that inspired us to make our own style of it.

The original mission was to get our local artists the shine to finally make it out of the rough and difficult scene of ours. We have now grown into a brand and a movement that pushes UK Music culture stateside. Unofficial Ambassadors of Grime and Dubstep.

Sergio, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Whats up guys, My name is Sergio Mendes and i am the co-founder and manager of the AmericanGrime collective. I come from a history of managing Hip Hop artists and have grown into something much more. What started out as just a music label has grown to be a Movement!. As a collective, on top of releasing music, we throw local events, we manage artists and their tour bookings, we have our own merchandise line of items, we also own sound equipment for rentals and we also have our own in house group of graphic designers, just to name a few. We have an umbrella of different branches of the music scene and aim to attack any project by utilizing the avenues we have built over the years. We specialize in dubstep and grime, which works well with my background as Grime music is basically dubstep bass music with live lyrics over. It expose the fluidity and versatility of the DJ and MC, all while performing live. This concept is very difficult if not practiced and requires skill. With our collective, we aim to use the avenues we built to help any and all artists who wish to be involved with pushing this culture. If its with showcasing their styles, releasing their music or even collaborating on shows. What sets us apart is that we are the only collective in the US that solely focuses on UK Grime culture. Our travels to the UK, the invitations to perform on UK radio and all the performances we have done in Europe will show that we have been accepted amongst the originators of the genre and culture. Unoffial Ambassadors! haha

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I met my partner, Calvin aka MC Jumanji, at the Vagabond as he was a resident MC for their weekly dubstep show. We began to come great friends and we would throw Themed parties: Toga Parties, Tequila Pong, Nerd Night, Champagne and Blunts, etc. So we become comfortable hosts. In these parties, we shared in laughter and jest non stop. It was only right we do it to help push a cause we were both passionate about: Music. Since then, we continue to provide an environment for fans to lose themselves in the bass music.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I have been working as a Billing manager for a Law Firm in Miami for 14 years. Only because of that was I able to get AmericanGrime off the ground. In the beginning i believed that an artists should only focus on creating art, so I became the financial backing for our projects. We have come along way since then and our Merchandise sale, equipment rentals and tour bookings are what floats this boat now. I also was able to incorporate being computer literate and my bookkeeping skills into the label. So its a Win/Win

Contact Info:

• Website: www.americangrime.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/americangrimerecs/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanGrime
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmericanGrime_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9pmPnWp-Z0NqUjD0nZeXJQ

Image Credits
Pedro (Skyp3r Photography)