Underdog Who Strives to Be Top Dog: Young Mix

Caleb first introduced me to Young Mix when I interviewed him and when I asked if anyone had suggestions on who to interview, Young Mix's name came up again. I decided what the hell. He's young, multi-talented, and has a second album coming out soon, let's see what this guy is all about. His real name is Martin Encinas and he's from the Bay area, but his performing name definitely suits this talented rapper/producer.

So here's a look into what he's all about. Straight up/ Unedited aim chat...trying to be bicoastal and efficient is great. (Notice the time...he was up mad early. Now that's dedication.)

11:24:05 AM Katie: Why do you go by young mix?

11:27:46 AM youngmix: It all started in middle school when I would go to a studio everyday after school and the engineer that would teach us how to use protools and the other studio equipment. So he would always ask us who wanted to go mix the music and I would always volunteer, I mean like always not letting anyone else do it...lol So he said a comment like "you're the lil mixer for the studio now." He said something like that with the word Mix and it stayed with me. There was different variations before it became Young Mix, but thats how I honestly got my name

11:29:15 AM Katie: nice. have you always done rap and hip hop or do you dabble in anything else?

11:30:29 AM youngmix: As an artist I have always done rap, in high school I did some percussion. But as an engineer I have experimented with other genres of music

11:31:20 AM Katie: what other genres?

11:34:02 AM youngmix: Well one of my good friend, also the other member of my group, decided to record an album where he sings with a guitar. So that was all new for me. It was more alternative and like folk...lol

11:34:39 AM Katie: so you have a group? can you tell me a little more about that?

11:35:25 AM youngmix: Well I started as a group of 3 back in middle school, but now it's just 2.. Caleb and I

11:36:49 AM Katie: ok. so do you like producing or rapping/performing more?

11:38:19 AM youngmix: They're both my passions...

11:39:55 AM Katie: what do you like writing most about? from your page it seems like san fran pride

11:40:54 AM youngmix: lol

11:44:11 AM youngmix: Well mos def my city, and most of the time I write about experiences I have had.. But I also been working on being more versatile with my music like I write stories through my songs, I try to make music that will catch the attention of other listeners outside of San Francisco/Bay Area

11:45:49 AM Katie: with that being said is there a certain san francisco/ bay area sound then? if so explain.

11:48:49 AM youngmix: I mos def think there was at a certain time period like during hyphy, but now (especially since I moved out of the Bay Area to L.A) people think it's still hyphy. But NOT EVERYTHING IN THE BAY IS HYPHY...lol In fact, San Francisco was never Hyphy

11:49:22 AM youngmix: Don't get me wrong, we did support hyphy and contributed to the movement

11:49:51 AM youngmix: But if you lived in San Francisco, it was not hyphy like it was in Oakland, it's place of origin

11:50:10 AM Katie: haha way to get defensive

11:50:45 AM Katie: ok so where do you get your influences in music since you're trying to reach out to everyone?

11:51:34 AM youngmix: Not defensive..lol but more of a heads up like there's a lot of good music coming out now here in the Bay Area that isn't hyphy...like the new Young Mix "The Underdog" Street Album...lol

11:52:50 AM youngmix: My influence comes from my city because I feel people don't really know how it is out here and Im trying to do the same thing Biggie, Jay-Z, NaS all did.. They let the whole world know how NY was

11:54:06 AM youngmix: Also music has been a big part of my life, my grandfather used to be an artist for a living in Mexico, so I always saw my dad with a guitar in his hand or my uncles playing music growing up. That is also a big influence growing up

11:56:47 AM Katie: so how does your new album showcase the bay area?

11:57:42 AM youngmix: I mean when I recorded, lets just say San Francisco/Bay Area was all I knew and seen so that is mos def reflected in the CD

11:59:39 AM Katie: so i'm not familiar with the bay area music scene, how big is it that you got Big Rich and San Quinn on your album?

12:03:10 PM youngmix: Well San Quinn is a legend out here in the Bay Area, he's from San Francisco and he has been rapping for years. He has received national attention at a few peaks in his career, and he was also in the book of Guinness World Records for his collaborations with other artists (this was of course before lil wayne did the same...lol)

12:05:56 PM youngmix: Big Rich is a more newer artist but still has been in the game for a while. I known Big Rich personally before he became this big because he also use to go to the studio I would go to and he was like a mentor to a lot of us. But Big Rich is making major power moves for the Bay Area. He was the 1st San Francisco artist to get his video on BET 106 & Park, he has videos on MTV Jams, etc etc. He is mos def getting a lot of attention nationwide and he has a new album dropping at the end of this month

12:06:58 PM youngmix: So with that being said, these two artist are big out here and well respected, so doing a song with them was a blessing because I was a fan before I was able to record with them

12:08:05 PM Katie: thats awesome

12:08:33 PM Katie: so what's your favorite track on your album? and why do you think people will like it?

12:10:31 PM youngmix: I don't have just one favorite track or else I don't feel I would have put the rest on the project...lol but the songs I enjoyed recording the most were "From Tha City" ft San Quinn & Big Rich.. and "The Dopeness" ft Caleb... but it was a fun album overall

12:11:16 PM Katie: i guess that's true. i really liked the dopeness too

12:11:25 PM youngmix: Thanks

12:12:06 PM Katie: oh so i was reading your notes on your page. it said you might get an internship with a record label...howd that turn out?

12:15:23 PM youngmix: I had an internship, but it didn't end up working out the way I wish it did. But even though I didn't have an internship anymore I still learned something about the Music Industry: you have to continue striving and working hard to get what you want on your own because you can't rely on people and this industry is quick to forget who you are

12:20:40 PM Katie: i feel like thats true for a lot of entertainment industries. But i'll wrap this up cuz its almost been an hour. so 2 questions. what's your ultimate goal? And what is your album "The Underdog: The streets Are Listening" going to add to my music collection?

12:26:30 PM youngmix: My ultimate goal as an artist is to spark someone else's interested in music like it was for me. To listen to my rhymes and you have to rewind it one more time because the delivery and/or metaphors were to complex to grasp at once, and making the listener be like "That's dope" or something...lol And cuz Im human I would also like to support myself financially through music as well. As a producer I would like to help create some of the best music and be known within the Music Industry. But my short term goal is to do this album with Caleb, as a group, it's gonna be dope..trust me...lol

12:30:30 PM youngmix: "The Underdog" Street Album is designed for the listener to get a picture.. What I mean is, I really felt/feel like the underdog, so every song is just an addition to the bigger picture. Im a fan of music and I enjoy listening to full albums from start to end, so that is what I tried to compose, an album one can listen to from start to end so they get the bigger picture. An this bigger picture consists of feelings and emotions of one being the underdog and working to overcome those struggles through a San Francisco state of mind...

12:30:47 PM youngmix: And thank you for having this interview with me, I appreciate it

12:31:07 PM youngmix: "The Underdog" available now on Amazon.com & iTunes

12:31:29 PM youngmix: Check me out on myspace.com/youngmix and follow me on twitter.com/youngmix

12:31:51 PM youngmix: and Young Mix & Caleb will be the next project to look forward to

So there ya have it. There's a lot of info I didn't ask, so hopefully you'll be intrigued to check him out and maybe you can ask him yourself. Help him get to his dreams people. Ohh and don't forget to show support on July 12th, or maybe earlier...follow him to make sure, and buy his music.

Thanks Young Mix!