13 Sep Soultrain.com feature Q&A with Mela Machinko

I’ve been a fan of Brooklyn’s Mela Machinko since hearing her dope vocal pipes on Pharoahe Monch’s “Push” single from his Desire album. She’s funny, witty and has the talent to back it up.

SoulTrain.com: Years ago, you were promoting it as a street album/mixtape. Where did the decision to release it as a purchasable full length project come from and what took so long?

Mela Machinko: It just became too big of a thing almost because conceptually, it would be a disservice treating it as a mixtape. It was a little bit more thoughtful and intensive than that. The reason it took so long was because I was doing it myself, pulling it together with bubble gum and masking tape. That indie struggle is mad real, yo.

SoulTrain.com: Obviously, the album is inspired by some of Jay-Z’s best quotables, yet each track stands on its own merits. Did you have a problem striking that balance between humorously paying homage to the iconic MC while making sure the songs were good by themselves?

Mela Machinko: I was just writing songs; everything just literally came to me. It was a lot easier for me because I’m a lyrics person. I’m absorbed by them and they become apart of my lexicon so there wasn’t an act of focusing on putting those lyrics together in order to give my own interpretation. It’s just my habit; I speak in rap lyrics.