Today we’d like to introduce you to Maor Mo.
Maor, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My relationship with music started when I was a baby. My parents had a band in which my mother was the singer and was touring in Israel while she was pregnant. Rushed from the stage to the hospital, it was then when I was born. Growing up my fascination wasn’t with toys or cartoons, but rather cassette tapes and MTV music videos. Moving to America at the age of eight, the language and culture barriers made it very difficult to fit in. During that difficult time, I turned to music. The music put into words and emotions what I couldn’t express otherwise. Writing songs in school instead of taking notes became the norm.
After recording songs on my computer my entire adolescent years, I moved to Miami at the age of 18 to pursue my dream. Having no money, or any resources in Miami, I struggled. Being without a place to stay I bounced between sleeping in my car to crashing at random people’s couches. Working odd jobs. My family and friends couldn’t understand what made me so willing to go through these extreme situations…my only response was for music. Music gave me everything growing up. It gave me hope. My only wish is to give music back by singing/writing songs and inspiring somebody else.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
With music, there is no clean blueprint to follow. Every single one of my idols and/or mentors got to where they got in different ways. The fact is that in most professions there is a definite route to take in order to achieve your goals, but music is not just not the case. Talent or great content wouldn’t guarantee people hearing from you. You could literally create the best song in the world, but if nobody hears it or knows about it. It’s just a really good song with no impact. Connecting the dots on the back end and learning the business has been a huge struggle for me. True artists are not great at communication or networking. Creative people are impulsive, and go more off emotion, and less strategy.
Please tell us about your work.
Being a singer/songwriter from a foreign background allowed me to approach music from an international level. I feel like I hear and create music a little different. Chord progressions are a huge deal where I’m from, and not so much in R&B, at least these days.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My biggest accomplishment has been working with some of my favorite artists this past year. I released a new album titled “Antisocial Media”, and got to collaborate with my favorite rapper Talib Kweli, along with my favorite artist/songwriter/producer powerhouse Rico Love. My good friend and mentor Pleasure P has taught me to approach music differently by opening up his studio to me and teaching me his method of recording, which revolutionized creating for me. In addition to these guys, I was able to collaborate with another childhood favorite, Murs. This project I was completely free and brutally honest about what my life was like and the struggles of being an undiscovered artist living in Miami.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @maor
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