00:00There's a level of writing, you know, of writers, so I want to be one of them.
00:05I want to create my legacy.
00:07Hi, this is Mike Towers, and this is Billboard News.
00:20It's Tetris hanging out with our Billboard cover star, Mike Towers.
00:24How's it going, man?
00:24What's good, bro?
00:25So we got to talk about it.
00:28Or, as I can say it better, Black Panther.
00:30Yeah, but you did it well, you did it well.
00:31Oh, thank you. I try, I try.
00:32So tell me why the album Black Panther.
00:34Why the name?
00:36First of all, I feel like I'm a superhero.
00:38Whenever I'm performing or in the studio,
00:41like when it's time to do what I do, it's like putting on the suit.
00:45I mean, you said when you did our cover that this album kind of like
00:49was a return back to who you are musically.
00:51So what do you feel like you kind of like left that you're bringing back here?
00:55I think I left a little bit the
00:58the lyricist corner.
01:00That's what I like to do.
01:01But I was like trying to grow up as an artist
01:06and show the fans what else can I do.
01:09But, you know, sometimes you got to go back to the bottom
01:12and you feel like, let's go start again.
01:15I feel like you always do stay true to your roots,
01:16whether it's like reggaeton, rap, obviously, other genres.
01:19But you do experiment a lot as well.
01:21So how do you feel like you played around a little bit on this album?
01:25I always like to do different things.
01:28So I did like a reggaeroot vibe
01:32like a Bob Marley flow.
01:34I did it in the album.
01:36It's called En el Mal, like in the ocean.
01:39It's like reggaeton.
01:40Of course, hip hop, trap.
01:42That's the culture that made me get the love that I have for the music.
01:47But I always try to do like I want to see
01:50the people dancing in my show.
01:52How they sing every lyric.
01:55But I like to make them sing melodies, too.
01:59I mean, you dropped the Divino with Bad Bunny.
02:08So tell me about that collab.
02:09How did that come together?
02:10We have made music before, but we never did something like for the woman.
02:15So I played a couple of records
02:19and he was not that's the one.
02:21And I just when he listening,
02:24he told me, like, I really got what I want to say.
02:27So, you know, he's a genius making music.
02:31There is no doubt.
02:32And I'm other one, too.
02:34So it's like two greats together.
02:37And what do you feel like?
02:38Because you guys have done other music together.
02:40So what do you feel about Charles chemistry that works away?
02:43You know, he he always come with the A1 game.
02:47I always like to do the A1 game, too.
02:49So he he got love for the music.
02:52You know what was hot.
02:54So it's going to be always fire.
02:56You also work with Peso Puma.
02:58And I love that man.
02:59He's so genuine, man.
03:00So so down to earth.
03:01And tell me how it was to, like,
03:03mix reggaeton with like his whole regional Mexicana sound.
03:06You know, I'm a fan of his music of his.
03:09When I when I discovered his music, I was like, what's this?
03:12It's like a revolution of what they they was making.
03:17And of course, I got love for for like his music, like Corridos.
03:22It's like I started like therapy early in the morning, like,
03:26you know, going going on and listening to that type of music.
03:31But he made reggaeton, too.
03:33So it's like I know what he's trying to do.
03:38So he's making like a crossover, but in the right way.
03:43I played a couple of records for him in his studio.
03:45He was like, I love this one.
03:46He really love it.
03:48So he's genuine.
03:50Yeah, I like that you do that.
03:51You said that about Bad Bunny, too.
03:52So you always like have a couple of records that you go in with somebody
03:56so they can kind of feel what they want to jump on.
03:57Yeah, because I want to when I when I do like a song of mine for an artist,
04:02I want him to feel comfortable and that he can relate in the song.
04:08I make a lot of songs.
04:09So I study the artists that I'm going to see and show him a couple of records.
04:15And I mean, you've worked with so many great people on this.
04:17Benny Blanco as well.
04:18So tell me how it was.
04:19I mean, his production is flawless.
04:21So how was that part of the studio recording?
04:24We were in a studio in L.A.
04:27like a dope studio, like big studio.
04:30I'm like, damn, Benny Blanco is over there.
04:34He's like another day at the office.
04:35So we did three songs that day and the three songs are fire.
04:39But the one in the album, you know, when something is dope,
04:43the time pass and you play it at the same time.
04:46Yeah. So that's what happened with that song.
04:49And Benny is like, his vibe is crazy.
04:52Like whenever I'm around him, he's like laughing around.
05:01Is there a track that you're expecting like they're going to be shocked by?
05:04Like what track do you like?
05:05The fans are ready for this one.
05:06You know, now I'm making the albums and I have to think
05:10in the different categories of fans that I have.
05:14I have fans that love the hardcore music and they don't listen to any other songs.
05:20Only hardcore like bangers, street bangers.
05:22So I have music for them.
05:25But of course, I have music for the women, the girls like
05:29I love my towers, my flowers.
05:33It's my tower for the street and my flowers.
05:35For the ladies.
05:36So is that hard to like balance?
05:38Like all these people, like do they come up to you fans and like,
05:40oh, do more of this, do more of this?
05:41Yeah, of course.
05:43They will never be like, oh, I got to like a hundred percent.
05:47They're going to be always like people talking, you know, shit.
05:52But the thing is that I can
05:56please everybody at the same time.
05:58So little by little, I know
06:01I know you got to be in love with one of the songs for sure.
06:05And you wrote everything on the album?
06:07Yeah, of course I got.
06:09Let's say if you bring me an idea and I really love it
06:13and I think it makes sense, I'm up.
06:16I'm open to to work it.
06:18But I do all my lyrics.
06:20Yeah. Yeah.
06:21And I've heard that you've got like notebooks and notebooks of lyrics.
06:24So tell me, how do you get that inspiration?
06:27Like, where do you find the inspiration?
06:29I've been studying a lot of big artists
06:32and I think for the future, when they
06:36when they see, you know, the notebooks, they're going to say like,
06:38you know, this song you write over here, then they're going to see that
06:42how big the song was.
06:44And I just do it to inspire like the new generation.
06:47Did you challenge yourself on the songwriting to write a little different
06:50this time?
06:51Of course, because I think there's a level of writing,
06:56you know, of writers.
06:57So I want to be one of them.
06:59I want to be I want to create my legacy.
07:02I study all of them, but I have my story to tell, too.
07:11What was the challenge in the game of making this album?
07:14The challenge is daily, you know, always is a new challenge.
07:18There's a lot of new generation
07:21dropping music and their heart.
07:23So I like to study the game and whatever I can do for a new artist.
07:28Like, I like to help them, because when I started,
07:31it was a little difficult.
07:33So I know how how that feels.
07:40If you could put together, just bear with me like a collaboration album,
07:44you can work with anybody else who would be on your like ultimate next collab
07:48album.
07:50That's difficult because I got like chemistry, I feel
07:54with a lot of big artists, but one
07:57that I love to do, like for the culture is going to be like
08:02John C, like one of the you said, I use one of from Puerto Rico.
08:06And I like if we make a collab album,
08:09you're also going to be going on your North American leg for your tour
08:12to support the album.
08:13So tell me about that.
08:14Tell me what the visuals are going to look like,
08:16how the visuals been for the album and how you're going to help them
08:18match the tour.
08:19This is a new, a whole another vibe.
08:22And when I saw like the intro a couple of days ago, I was like,
08:26damn, because I never watched like the show from from the fan perspective.
08:31I'm always like on the stage, but I didn't like them.
08:36I'm like the fans going to going to see the difference
08:40because they they will mean that we've been with me in this journey.
08:45So whenever I do step of the game, they feel like proud of me.
08:50So they're going to whenever they see me again.
08:53So I'm going to be in your city.
08:55That's super cool.
08:56I never even thought about that, though.
08:58So like you get to like how involved are you in that process?
09:01You get to like sit back and like watch the lighting and watch the screens.
09:04Of course, you're going to be you're going to be doing that.
09:07But I did. I do not pay too much attention.
09:11I'm always like, I got my mind.
09:13I got to perform.
09:14But when you see like everything together, you say like,
09:18damn, it's going to look like raw.
09:22And now that you got this new music to perform,
09:24what song are you most excited to get on stage here in the States
09:27and like show off for everybody?
09:29It depends the city, but the intro.
09:33I'm always like focusing on how
09:37that's the moment that they're going to.
09:39Because, you know, they're waiting for me.
09:41They play music.
09:42They're going to get hype up.
09:43But when I go out, they get, you know, goosebumps.
09:48I'll do that. It's got to feel incredible.
09:50Is there a song that you feel like your fans always like?
09:52The one, you know, everybody's always going to go ham for.
09:55I have ten songs that whenever I play them,
10:00one of them is like Diosa or La Playa.
10:03Whenever I play them in the crowd, I don't even have to sing them.
10:07You know why?
10:08They're going to sing them for you.
10:09Of course, I do it because I like it, but they do it.
10:11Yeah, that's so awesome.
10:20Do you have that connection with your fans?
10:21I feel like you are also really private.
10:23You're somebody that kind of keeps your life to yourself,
10:25but you also have the connection with them online.
10:27So how do you kind of find that balance?
10:30You have to have your private life, too, because it is like crazy
10:34having everything like every time, like cameras in every place.
10:38It's like I don't like that.
10:40I just make music.
10:41If it was for me, even in real,
10:45they don't even know me as a person.
10:47It's like, you like my music? Listen to it.
10:50But I really love what I do.
10:53So what do you want to say to your fans?
10:55I want them to know that I was born to make music
10:59and that we have more stacks of music ready to blow out, you know.
11:07And whenever they see me, it doesn't matter.
11:10Like I'm ready to go.
11:13Like I'm ready to make this music.
11:16They're going to see me like every time harder.
11:19Dope, man. Well, I got to make it out to one of the shows.
11:21Thanks for stopping by.
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