Mista Mozes can write, sing, rap and certainly command the crowd’s attention.
If you have not seen him perform in his 21st-century funk band The Capitol, you are missing out. Seriously. But today, and in Issue 21, we’re shining a light on Mista Mozes as a solo artist.
In 2012, he joined forces with other Austin rappers to form Soopafrendz, creating a clear cut path for his career as both a rapper and a singer.
He released his first EP, Ringz, earlier this year and shared his concept with us in this issue’s Music Spotlight.
When did you start making music?
I grew up singing before rapping. I started singing at age 3 in the Church.
I started making beats when I was 13. I was just messing around. I linked up with some guys at church that played piano and liked making beats.
How did your solo project begin?
I felt like my story matched Moses, the biblical character, because he left and came back to Egypt and said let my people go. When I left Austin and came back, the city and my people had changed so much.
The name was solidified when I was staying at Camp Pedernales while Katie, a girl I was dating at the time. I said if I’m going to be Moses, I need a staff. And when we got to the waterfront in the sand there was a stick standing straight up out of the ground. I thought, that’s for me.
Why do you make music?
For me, it’s cathartic. But I also consider myself a healer. I want to bring joy through music. That’s my calling. It’s to make other people feel good.
Who do you want to inspire?
I want to inspire the whole world if I get the opportunity. I challenge myself to keep going and find new ways of creating.
What message are you sharing?
For the Ringz EP, I’m trying to tell a story about love and the journey through love.
The first song talks about having a history. You aren’t together but then she’s arrived by song two, and you reconnect. By the third song you’re back in love. Then song four you’re out of the honeymoon phase, receiving mixed signals. The last song, Ringz, is about how a relationship goes around in so many circles.
By the end of the last song, the intro of the first song is playing backwards while I say, “until we meet again.” Then it starts all over again at the first song. It’s crazy, you could also start from Ringz and work backwards and it would tell the same story.
What Lyrics reflect your message?
“Learning from others can teach us some things about ourselves.”
There’s a lot of experiences that help you grow. Sometimes you love somebody and you may not be prepared for it, but it’s so deep that you have to learn from another relationship or experience to tell yourself that’s how to love this person.
It was right for me to tell my story in a small way, but it’s everybody’s story.
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