Interview: R&B/Hip-Hop Duo Mullage - Page 3

B Boi:  One of my biggest influences in the industry growing up was T.I., and just listening to the type of music he did and where it came, since we are from the same side of town. When I was in high school, I would watch a bunch of guys come up to my school and pass out his T-shirts and I really saw how he was on his grind. That’s kind of like the picture I had always painted in my head when we were out here grinding in the beginning stages and what we’ve gone through. That right there was one of the things early on that really inspired me to keep going and to push it.

The music business can be very tough. Who do you consider to be like a mentor or role model in the business?

B Boi:  We have a really good team around us and they have really given us a lot on the inside of the industry, especially Kamal Carter and Osei the Dark Secret from V103. We’ve never walked into a situation blind. They’ve always given us the rundown, things to expect or things that we should do or could do to make things a lot easier.

B Town:  While I second that, for me personally, it would have to be my mother. She’s actually in the industry and a part of a stage play, Beauty Shop, right now. To see other people have false hopes and false dreams, and she stuck with it. She lived by her slogan: “You’re never too old to be what you could have been.” She instilled in me that in this industry, you have to have thick skin. Things are going to happen and it’s not always going to go your way. Just be prepared for the worst. I would have to say my mother is my rock in the industry.

As you were preparing yourselves professionally, how did you come up with “Mullage” as the name of your duo?

B Boi:  Initially we thought of a collage as a piece of art that is constructed of different pictures that make an even better picture. We look at our music the same way. Even though we mix a bunch of different genres together, we are creating a musical collage. Our music showcases our different interests and lifestyles and where we are right now.

How about your stage names?

B Town:  Well, B Town came from the hallways of Stanley Creek High School, when one of my homeboys shouted it out. It actually came from my first name, Braylan. I dance, too, and I used to dance with a lot of people from DC. I kind of had my own style back then, because they have their own form of dancing in DC. So people would say, “You think you’re from B Town or something?” So it kind of stuck with me.

Article Author: Clayton Perry

Over the past few years, Clayton Perry has interviewed some of the BIGGEST entertainers in music, film and television. Check out his digital archive with 180+ definitive conversation pieces.

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