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

Michael, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I’ve been working on my debut project ‘LoveSexDrugs’ for the past 3 years and it’s finally dropping April 7th. I started this project during lockdowns and since then steadily released singles leading to the final release; it’s changed my life to say the least.

Through social media, mainly tiktok and twitter, I went from quite literally 0 to 100 — 130K monthly listeners and counting to be exact. I never thought I’d be able to do this all alone and while I’m still on the hunt for a team/label, I’m extremely grateful to be where I am right now.

Michael, 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?

I picked up music by ear when I was 12 by chance. A schedule mix up threw me into a band class when I started 8th grade and my course was set. I remember becoming obsessed with transcribing music on finale notepad, I spent hours doing it. After awhile I realized I wanted to add my voice & lyrics to the mix so I started vocal lessons, hanging out in my garage, and writing every night.

I think my strong need to break away from my conservative Jehovah’s Witness upbringing is what made compelled me to create provocative art. I try to keep it tongue-in-cheek, but nothing is off limits with me. I’ve always been told I say what others are afraid to say out loud and I take a lot of pride in that!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

During the pandemic I was found by a major label. My idols were signed to this label, this was huge! It felt like all of my work was finally paying off, like I was about to really make it. They wined and dined me, spent thousands on developing me, gave me gifts, helped me get in the room where I’d write my first ever radio top 40 song, the feeling was indescribable. I’m grateful for them even now, but one day they just… vanished. I was crushed, it felt like a rug was pulled out from under me. The huge deal, the promises of a huge career, just gone with no explanation. I didn’t work on anything for months, it was devastating. After awhile I realized that wasn’t gonna get me anywhere and I couldn’t let that be the end of my journey.

So I did what anybody else would do, I did it all over again. I finished all the songs I started with them, I fronted the costs myself, I even started talking to new teams and labels. I’ve always known I could do this myself, but I underestimated just how far I could get; I won’t ever do that again.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I think part of being an artist is constantly changing and evolving. When something doesn’t work, you have to move forward and figure out what you can do differently.

I spent my first year as a serious artist releasing boring songs that I didn’t like, because I thought it was what I was “supposed to do”. It was unfulfilling and completely untrue to me as an artist. So I gave myself one last shot to make a truly great song that I would wanna listen to over and over again. In that song I cursed, moaned, and sang about kissing guys & girls on the dance floor. It has almost 4 million streams now and changed the course of my life. I’ll always be thankful for ‘Fluids’ and the journey it continues to bring with it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/stachepapi
• Twitter: twitter.com/stachepapi
• Youtube: youtube.com/c/MichaelMedrano

Image Credits
Isaac Luna, Camila Noriega