W
hether you listen to hip-hop music or not Mayday speaks directly to you, the South Florida artist. Far removed from just about everything, the bottom of our peninsula state sometimes feels like an island, which might account for all the transient movement and the jaded attitudes that sometimes linger around the creative scene. Sometimes we feel stuck. This 6-man hip-hop band is doing everything in its power to get unstuck, and it’s definitely working. Their latest release, the 19-track independent CD, Stuck on an Island, is a thematically cohesive exploration of this idea of isolation that also takes a serious look at our planet’s rapid movement into the future and the notion that not everyone is completely ready for it, and it does all this while making you just plain want to party. The best way to get unstuck is to use a song to openly declare that you’ve already done it, which is the feeling on the album opener, I’ll Be Gone. The track is like a manifesto, letting the listener know right off the bat these guys will get unstuck at all costs. This is the mentality that guarantees Mayday’s success, and their talent backs it up. Short of writing a whole album review right here, suffice it to say that every track on the album is a potential hit, and every track portrays a clearly thought out idea or concept. It’s almost funny to think that Track #9 is called On 2 Someth’n, because they are clearly “on to something” right from the beginning of the CD. It’s almost a humble way of the band admitting that they know their sound is different, that it’s like a cross-genre soundtrack for urgent, rapid change. It’s the sound of the future happening now, with the feel of New Year’s Eve party music, and everyone at the party is ready to do big things in the New Year. It’s a fitting description for the vibe of the album, since the band will be playing on New Year’s Eve this year at Transit Lounge* in Downtown Miami. If you haven’t seen these guys live yet, that will definitely be the night of all nights to catch a Mayday show. The sentiment of the album title matches the concept behind
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the name of the group, which frontman Bern Biz explains by saying, “Mayday is like an urgent call, a distress signal… a call to arms. We see ourselves as the worker bees. We’re kinda of military minded with our work ethic. The name represents our frustrations, and our efforts to change them.” The urgency of getting unstuck is channeled into their music, which is what makes it so meaningful, so powerful, and so much more than just music. These guys push the concept of growth and progress, which they back up fully with their own track record, having grown from being an ambitious young duo to an all-out band that draws major crowds, as well as respect and collaboration requests from artists like Lil Wayne, Tek 9, NORE, Wiz Khalifa, Mac Maine from Cash Money Records, and Cee-Lo from Gnarles Barkley. Hooking up with Tek 9 for the Independent Grind Tour not only helped them to gain yet another powerful ally in the music business, but
it also inspired the guys to keep pushing toward their goal to become one of the major independent powerhouses on the national music scene, much like Tek 9’s immensely successful independent label, Strange Music. During a recent interview with the Mayday messengers before a gig at Transit Lounge, I asked each of the members to tell me their favorite memory from their recent mini-tour in New York. Unanimously, everyone said that it was the show they did at a warehouse in Brooklyn, an official CMJ after party sponsored by Reverbnation.com, where continued on next page
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