We recently connected with MICHAEL HOLLINS and have shared our conversation below.

Hi MICHAEL, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I knew that I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally when I moved back home from college. I was living in Fresno for 2 years attending Fresno State and me and my roommates had freestyle battles every Friday night. After getting laughed out the circle by people who actually rap, my competitive spirit knew I wanted to get better. I didn’t get laughed out the circle after that, but I didn’t “wow” anyone with my basic rhymes. One of my roommates cousins had a studio and he took me to check it out one day. He said I could record a mixtape if I paid him ($200). I moved back home shortly after that to Southern Cali, but went back up a year later, stayed on a friends couch and recorded the mixtape. After saving up and making the drive back up to Fresno, I knew I wanted to pursue the artistic path seriously. The feedback I got from the mixtape was all positive and I have been making music ever since. That was in 2010.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

For those who are reading about me for the first time, I go by the name Donatello and I am a recording artist and CEO for independent record label Burban Boy Ent. I started recording music in 2013 when I graduated from college and have recorded multiple projects since then. I have performed on stages from California down to Atlanta and have even been played on the radio (Power 106). I founded Burban Boy Ent. in 2016 and since then have pulled together resources to create a fully functional music studio. Our studio, Bunker Studios, provides services such as recording sessions, a photo/video shoot space, a podcast work space, music production, music editing (mixing & mastering) as well as label merchandise for sale. All of the services provided are done or created in house so that it is all the way authentically us. We pride ourselves on not needing to rely on outside resources for work production to be successful, however we are always open to collaborations. What sets us apart from others is again our all in-house work team that has an amazing chemistry and holds each other accountable. We are a well oiled machine ready for business and clients! I am most proud of how our label has bought into the bigger picture for the team and how everyone does their part to help us all reach ultimate success. We have all honed in on a craft like engineering, production, marketing or songwriting and have only gotten better and helped each other in the process.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

In my opinion, people can best support artist & creatives by first supporting their craft as early as possible and spread the word. When an artist is on the come up they will need to get their name out in the world so they will sell tickets to live shows, sell their music, sell their merch etc. This is where it can be beneficial to support these sales as much as you can by buying a ticket even if you cannot go or get a piece of merchandise or stream the song so that the artist can gain traction. Another way to support artist and creatives is to shout them out on your platform of your choice online to showcase their talents. You can post a video wearing their merch, about their upcoming show or maybe playing a song of theirs and all of that is very helpful. Upcoming artist usually do not forget this kind of support and will reward this person with free goodies the next time there is a show, merch drop or even services offered.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The ultimate goal of Burban Boy Ent. is to continue to stand out as an all in-house music label and eventually partner with a major label for distribution. In this day and age, there are many more options than before when it comes to distribution and an indy artist can do this themselves online. This can be a double edge sword as it is efficient and less costly, however, the overwhelming number of submissions can make it less likely to stick out over the massively large number of artist. Partnering with a major label will gives us the credibility and critical acclaim that we need to ride and then push ourselves with our newfound fans. This has been a goal and mission from the start of Burban Boy Ent. while of course attempting to keep all creative control in the process.

Contact Info:

• Website: burbanboy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donatello.world/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DonatelloWorld
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn0_DU7tq9viFC1lIBgWRJA