Vytal MC Opens Up About His Come-Up Story & Sharing His Faith Through Art
Intro:
Vytal MC is a highly impressive artist who just released his new album “Grace Plus Truth”. The Maryland/D.C. native even has a book of the same title that goes along with the project for fans to further digest. Now residing in New York, Vytal continues to promote literacy in the world of Hip-Hop through this unique & creative campaign. He also does an excellent job injecting his Christian faith into his music in an authentic & entertaining. Before reading our full conversation & learning more about Vytal MC below, you should follow him on Instagram, TikTok & YouTube today.
Meet: Vytal MC
Me: At the beginning of your journey, what inspired you to start making music early on?
Vytal: I’ve always loved creating. Whether that is creating music, or writing short stories, anything that allows me to dream and create is my lane. I recorded my first four-track EP under the name Vytal MC when I was 16 years old. It was called the Crazy 4 Christ EP. I consider that to be my first professional recording even though I had recorded hundreds of other songs and freestyles years prior to that starting in middle school. I really started to get more serious about music when I was in eighth grade.
At that time I wanted to be a DJ and I asked my dad if he could get me some turntables for Christmas and he did. I would create instrumental loops from vinyl and record them onto cassette tapes and then I would freestyle over them. I used to bring my mixtapes to school to let my classmates hear them and I would battle other rappers in the lunchroom. In high school when Grindin’ by the Clipse came out, that was the standard lunch table beat. It was mandatory for all rappers to rhyme over LOL.
That’s a dope story! And, what made you choose your stage name at the time when you made that initial EP?
When I first started recording music I went by the name Live Wire. After becoming a follower of Jesus, I changed my name to Vytal. I added MC to the name two years later to distinguish myself from any other artists calling themselves Vital. The name Vytal, now Vytal MC, was chosen because my artistic approach always incorporates the message of the Gospel, which is the foundational truth that one cannot live without. The word “vital” literally means necessary to the continuation of life.
Very interesting! How would you describe your current style of music & approach? Especially with how you incorporate your faith.
My style is a combination of East Coast hip-hop and Southern style trap music. When I first started making music my sound had more of a New York vibe but I’ve always had a combination of musical influences. My East Coast influences when I was younger were mainstream rappers like Nas and even some Christian rappers like the Cross Movement, which I allude to in my song, “Celebrate Me.” Over the last few years, I’ve leaned more into my Southern rap roots. I grew up listening to Southern artists like Three 6 Mafia and Master P and also Midwestern artists such as Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Twista, and Eminem.
Sonically, I like a lot of the vocal experimentation of newer artists like Future and Travis Scott. I like how they have used technology to stretch the limits of what their voices can do. My sound is similar as I also like using autotune but I take more of an R&B or rock approach to the way I sing my vocals. For example, compare my vocals in songs like “Rejoice in Our Salvation” “Cast All Your Cares” and “Living the Dream.”
Who are some of your favorite engineers & producers to collaborate with while working in the studio?
On my newest album, Grace Plus Truth, I really enjoyed collaborating with TwanBeatmaker. I only wanted to work with one producer to give it a more cohesive and cinematic sound. I spoke with Twan about doing this album in early 2020 right before the pandemic. He heard my previous EP, “Is Christ Enough?” and was excited to work with me. I told him I wanted him to exclusively handle the production and he provided some bangers! It took a while for me to decide how I wanted to approach this album, but after listening to the music for four years and coming up with nothing concrete, everything started to come together this past Fall. I wrote and recorded everything within a span of two or three weeks.
I worked with a couple of great engineers on the mixing/mastering of this project, but the majority of the mixing on my recent project was done by Neemias T. I love the way everything turned out. On my last project, “Is Christ Enough?” the mixing was handled exclusively by the 2x Grammy-nominated singer, DaLomonze and his team. I really enjoyed working with them as well. I’ve also got some great results by working with Inswain who mixed a few of my singles, including one of my most recent ones, “Feed the Sheep.”
It sounds like there are some great ears & musicians in your circle! It’s always nice working with people you can trust to deliver. Off-topic, but how was the experience of making your first song?
The first song I ever recorded professionally was the first track off the Crazy 4 Christ EP that I recorded in high school. The song is called “All Hail the King.” I made a remix of that song three years later. Compared to my music now, I can see how much I’ve grown, but one thing that has not changed is my passion and intensity. Now I just know how to wield it a little bit better.
Nice! Outside of music, what are some other hobbies or talents you have?
As I mentioned, I thrive in all things creative. One service I provide is audiobook narration for authors. I’ve recorded my own audiobooks as I did for the book that goes with this music album called Grace Plus Truth: How to Walk in Faith and Freedom by Exploring the Last Adam's Impact on Salvation, Holiness, and the Christian Life. Although I have only published nonfiction books, my favorite genre is fiction and I have written two manuscripts that will be released in the near future. One of the ones I’m most excited about is a novel called Sub-Urban. The dash between sub and urban is intentional.
Once you read the book the title will make more sense. I love fiction because I think you can teach incredible lessons without it feeling like schoolwork. I’ve greatly enjoyed reading works of fiction by authors like CS Lewis and John Bunyan who are very intentional and the messages they were conveying through their books. I’m also a film producer and I will soon be releasing my debut documentary. It's Called He Speaks On the Beat: Where Hip Hop Meets Scripture.
That’s wonderful! On the topic of music again, how would you describe the perfect studio setting & experience for the readers?
For me, a perfect studio session is one where I know the sound that I’m going for before I get there so I don’t have to waste any time figuring it out. Especially when recording with other people. I don’t like to waste anyone’s time so I’d like to know exactly what I’m going for before pressing record. The same goes with working with a mixing engineer. I’ve had opportunities to work with engineers in person and remotely.
I’ve had the most productive studio sessions in person by knowing exactly how I wanted something to sound. If I want echoes on certain vocals or reverb or something to be down-tuned I have all of that figured out before I get there. I like to communicate these things with the mixing engineer ahead of time so that they understand why I’m doing what I’m doing when I’m in the booth and they can offer suggestions if they know of a better way to do it. When working remotely, I take a lot of time writing down exactly what I want to minimize confusion.
What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far during your journey?
One of the most challenging things for me has been navigating the changes in the music industry. When I first started out I was selling CDs on the street. Barely any of my music was digital even though I had it on a few platforms that existed at the time. For example, I had songs on SoundClick, MySpace, and similar places. However, I never imagined that streaming services would be as powerful as they are today. When it seemed like the CD and vinyl era was over, I was concerned about how to earn a living with music.
As I’ve grown and understand more about marketing though, I see that the digital music boom is one of the greatest things that could’ve ever happened to independent artists. The upfront production cost is way less and the cool thing is I can have an idea in my head today, record it, and before the end of the day tomorrow it has the potential to reach millions of listeners. That’s something that would take way longer to accomplish selling CDs on foot in the streets like how I used to do. However, I still see the value of physical music products and I think more independent artists are tapping into this market because it is beginning to pick up steam again.
That’s a great point as there are key pros & cons no matter which approach an artist chooses. Additionally, is there any advice you would give to someone else considering getting into music?
Don’t get into music just because you think it’s a cool thing to do. There are plenty of people who just wanna be something. That makes them wannabees. Don’t be a wannabe. Be yourself! If you really love music and no matter how hard you try you can’t imagine your life without writing and recording songs for the world to hear then music is for you. If that’s the case then you’re already ahead because you know exactly what you want to do.
The biggest thing I would say to someone who has a genuine passion for creating music is don’t follow the trends but be your true and authentic self. Cue my song, “No Fakes Allowed.” You may not get as big of a following at first but people will appreciate you much more for it in the long run and you will not feel like you sold your soul just to sell some records.
And finally, any last words on what’s next for you that readers should expect?
My biggest release right now is my current album Grace Plus Truth and the book that goes along with it. Anyone who wants to listen to the music and download the ebook for free should visit my website at https://vytalmusic.com. As soon as you get there you will see the option to download the free ebook. Any new projects I release (more coming in 2025) will be announced there so check out my site to be the first to know. One other project I’ll share about is Chopped & Screwed Vol. 1 which contains screwed remixes of many of my songs. I plan to drop at least two or three volumes within the next year.
