Today we’d like to introduce you to Pablo Grand.
Pablo, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I think I always had something for music but I didn’t think it was possible. I decided it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life when I learned how to freestyle with my friend at 19. He came on a surprise visit with another friend to Texas, where I was living at the time, and I ended up road tripping with him back. Funny part was we had our phones disconnected, so we bought a map and played his mp3 and hotboxed over. We basically put some instrumentals and he taught me to freestyle. Kept it going and then a friend said yo take it seriously and I was like alright bet.
I was always into arts growing up. I was a thespian in high school and took classes in college. For a while, I was trying to figure out a way to make sense of it. I started with being a history major and after I did an internship in Pittsburgh, I changed it to communications. and then the road trip happened and I dropped out. I’ve honestly always put myself in places of opportunities and hustled my way into things and it was kinda at that point where I realized I didn’t need school. Not really.
With music it was just about figuring out a way to making a living independently without being a slave to a label or anyone else for that matter. And Honestly that I think about it there’s been a lot of things along the way that’s gotten me to where I am today with my journey with music.
One of the first things I thought about when it came to making money was throwing events and parties because back in high school, I had created an improv troupe to fund our actual troupe to go to State and compete and we actually sold out our first three shows. I had my best friend as my vice president Tracy and she kept it running after I graduated cause she was a grade below. It’s been six years and they now do shows at middle schools and are recognized by the school.
So yeah, I thought about that and house parties I had thrown and said let me do this cause I can build a community. At the time, people were charging 200+ for a 2-minute slot on a line up with 20 other random artists and I said Nah I can do better and actually put people on. And It made sense to me because I was curating a line up with artists with their own communities, with music similar to mine. So I just felt like we would all benefit because are fanbase had a high change of being in tune. That was the start of Vice City Love, an entertainment company that hosts events promoting local talent whilst providing a safe-space for women.
After that, I found residency at The Spot in Wynwood and after a couple of consistent Vice City Love events, I started throwing non-profit events under La Casa Mia. We do that every Tuesday from 8 pm to midnight and just hold space for the music community. We have community leaders from different cliques come and just cypher, do photoshoots or hold their meetings with other cats. I wanna make it known as the go-to place in Miami for local music. I’m working on that now. It’s been successful in supporting my music so far. I’ve been building a team for the last two years to start manifesting everything I’ve been working on. Merchandise is something I’m working on now too.
IDK music makes it easy to live your life and have your own business, at least for me. I’ve always hated working for someone because I’m adamant on this mission to change the world and 8/10 times, people just don’t care to that level, so it’s like – hard to listen to leadership when their intentions are not the best for me. My mom’s been a big impact on my life and her stories from Cuba have also fueled me to take control of my life like she did hers helping others get out of Cuba back in the ’80s.
I met Celia Cruz when I was a jit! We were at one of her concerts and I snuck on stage past security during her performance and she stopped me and called out to the stage for the parents of this child to come up and my mom was like damn I’m so much trouble and she ended up signing my mom’s hat and asking her to take a picture of us. She then told her I was gonna be great in music and my mom would always tell me this growing up but I didn’t believe it until now. It’s something that motivates me. I have the photo framed in my room.
Has it been a smooth road?
Far from smooth. If anything the opposite but at the same time I’m grateful cause it’s molded me into a much better person. Definitely, at the beginning, no one really cared for me and it was kind of hostile. I didn’t have a reputation or a real sense of direction with my music either. I knew two groups at the time called SoFlo Records and the Southern Slaves, who I would talk to about where to do stuff. SoFflo ended up introducing me to Catalyst Hip Hop where I met cats like Caveman Bless and Spaz 305. They would do shows there once a month and hold space at a church for people to work and perform, very lowkey it was cool! They were always packed, too at least while I was there.
That was around the first time I started seeing how possible it was. Well, they ended up going out of business and I had to figure out the next move and that was moving in with my same friend who taught me to spit. At some point along the way, I ended up grabbing a gig at Lincoln’s beard for a small event someone recommended to me and that’s where I met Bausemason and the likes of Backroom Sessions. He puts on local artists and bands. Really solid people. I ended up meeting Wear Love Hope, a non-profit that’s been a role model on how to go about business the right way.
Bausemason helped me with my first little event show called Vice City something and he put me on to a couple shows at a place in Kendall called 1FiveTwo, and sidebar before they closed down. RIP Around that same time, I started learning more about the industry and the business aspect of things and I met an investor. That guy changed everything from me. I fell through with my friend because the investor thought he was trash and that we didn’t need to work together. He ended up never investing either lol. BUT it taught me how to put my ideas in paper and map it out for someone. It taught me about sponsors and it taught me to make an LLC for myself, so I did under Vice City Love. That’s when I started throwing events.
Going back to the Southern Slaves, they had seen me put on shows for so long they asked me to help them throw their first show with the budget they had. They looked at a couple of venues before deciding on The Spot Wynwood. We called it Southern Slaves: On A Budget. That show was packed and successful too.
From there, I held my Vice City Love 2-Day Fest on Feb 14th and 15th of 2019. I put on 20 artists, put on four local vendors. Six visual artists and had two very successful nights back to back. They owners of the venues were so impressed with the fact that I had it busy on a Tuesday and Wednesday that they offered me a residency. That was the story of that. I’ve learned a lot from them too. People screw you over all the time and most people you realize put fronts to get to you but at the end of the day, you’re only in charge of how you respond. Not their actions. Something I remind myself.
The problem I started getting was turning down friends and people coming to me that wanted to be put on and I felt remorse. So I said well okay If I can do something for free for artists and it doesn’t have to necessarily affect my brand, why not? So I brought four community leaders I knew at the time and created what is now called La Casa Mia. (MIA like mine in Spanish but also like Miami). We hosted cyphers every Tuesday and played local music. Meanwhile, in between all this time, I’m finding pieces to the puzzle, building my team, and losing my shit lol. At some point that friendship got toxic, we fell out, and I moved out on my own, kept doing music and building a presence in the community.
NOW It’s 2020 and I finally feel solidified. This journey started in 2018. Back then, no one was bout the shit I’m putting on now – they were all for themselves with the glory but their minds have been open and hearts have been healed. Things play out the way they do and I give credit to life but I feel I’ve played a big role in manifesting the music community we have now in Miami. It’s more united than before, that’s for sure.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I’m known as the plug man straight up. If you know, you know. I’ve always had a knack for connection and uniting people together. I thank my parents for that, plus the fact that I was constantly moving so I had to make friends quick. I can safely say and give examples of moments where I’ve walked into people’s lives and seen the potential in them that they don’t. I spark a light and set them on their path. Most people are scared of expression and I think as an artist, it’s important to inspire.
I also I have a vision for things like I’m a visionary. What pops up in my mind, I create and put out into the world because it’s fun and why we’re here. We’re creators at the end of the day, every one of us and I wanna remind people of that. I make music to heal but it’s also very real. With Vice City Love, I create a safe space for women whilst putting on local talent. With La Casa Mia, I host a networking event every Tuesday at the Spot in Wynwood.
I think I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve helped so many people find themselves yo like even with all of my accomplishments, I think just knowing someone else is also doing with the love and believes in themselves is just fire.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Our city is a great place for anyone to bout their hustle. Like I say in one of my songs; “Feel like God’s greatest gift, cause the hustles all I know.”
Drink your colada y cafecito in the morning and get out there. We’re such a vibrant city where the minority are the majority and it brings a sense of comfort, so yeah, I would recommend it. We’re straight up and you’re gonna meet a lot of fake people out here but that’s part of life, I think. Once you weed them out, you’ll realize there’s only a few people doing a lot at the top and everyone knows each other. It’s a small-town vibe in a big city. It’s also one of the epicenters for nightlife and entertainment so definitely for someone who’s into music. This is where you want to be. Mark my words, Miami will have some of the greatest artists of my generation.
Contact Info:
- Address: La Casa MiaThe Spot Wynwood
3201 NW 7th Ave - Email: yagirldpr@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/pablito.305
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/PablitoGrand
Image Credit:
Drowsy God, Ya Girl D, Sparks Photography
Suggest a story: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
