Phoenix, Arizona rapper Mr. Miranda presents the Jaron Ikner-directed music video for his new single “No You Don’t”. The track is produced by Ghanaian producer 3KubeBeats, who also collaborated with Mr. Miranda on previous single “The Thoughts” (watch the video). Mr. Miranda has also collaborated with Hexsagon (watch the “Key To Success” video) as well as Lifted of G.O.O.D. Music (stream “Writer’s Guild”). Regarding the “No You Don’t” video, Mr. Miranda says “I wanted to bring it back to storyboards and concepts for videos the way they used to be, especially since the song has a fun feeling vibe, and so I’m happy that Jaron was able to see my vision and we were able to accomplish what we wanted to with it.”
Your style harks back to the old school rappers who knew how to mix humor with skill. Who do you think influenced you most in this respect?
That’s funny because the majority of my music is a lot more on the serious end so this was a bit new for me. I’m a Gemini though so it displays both sides pretty well, that will definitely be the vibe of the album. I was always into the fun and entertaining emcees of hip hop growing up tho, Kid n Play, De la Soul, Digital Underground to name a few, Shock G is the one who came up with the video concept for Pac’s “I Get Around ” so that’s why it had more humor in it than his prior ones. Just wanted to take it back to those days.
What’s your favorite non-rap album of all time and why?
Counting Crows, “August and Everything After “. They’re my favorite alternative band ever and that album just was amazing to me. The songs and videos were all conceptual with great storyboards to them. I’d really love to work with them someday. I remember getting a chance to catch them live in 2007 in Arizona when we had the Superbowl here, it was one of the greatest performances I have ever witnessed in my entire life, especially when they performed “Round Here” because I remember Adam Duritz ( lead singer) was standing on the top of one of the speakers at the part where he says “she says she’s tired of life, she must be tired of something” and then jumped right off to the ground as if he was jumping off a building to his death as described for the character in the song. It was powerful and made me even more of a fan after that day.
Describe Phoenix to someone who’s never been there.
It’s HOT in the summer! Lol! That’s a given tho, but Phoenix is still a melting pot (unrelated to heat) and it’s continuing to grow musically so it’s great to see how far we have come. There’s beautiful women and the cost of living is affordable so you really can’t go wrong. There’s a lot of history here also and many films have been shot here. We also have the famous Miranda vs Arizona case in which is pretty important to myself being that Ernesto Miranda was my uncle. So there is definitely a lot of history here in this state.
What song of yours do you recommend people listen to first and why?
Honestly, any song can be heard first because every song is a piece of myself. Whether it’s dark, humorous, or sad it’s all me and I have confidence in every record played. Music is for everyone and everyone is different when it comes to personal preference but I try to make something for every individual to enjoy. One of my personal favorites is “Key To Success” because it was a powerful positive record and the video was brilliant so that would be a recommendation to a first time listener for sure.
What do you think it will take for you to blow in the industry?
Consistency, smart marketing, and drive. Those 3 key points are what it takes to be successful I feel and I already have them down so it’s really just a matter of time. I’m definitely ready to be heard and make a name for myself. I would be lying if I said I have never once had doubt or felt like giving up, this is a tough field that requires pretty much your undivided attention and so you catch yourself not really having much time for anything else really. So if you are doing this you have to continue everyday with the same amount of passion you had when you first started attempting this, and that is what I do so as long as I keep faith, work ethic, and provide quality music then anything is possible I believe. Hopefully the next time you interview me I will have made it. Thank you for this opportunity. Much love.
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