TM: I was a pro wrestler for a long time. I got so many injuries and dealt with so many politics in pro wrestling that I took a leave of absence. I had been writing songs and poetry in my binders at school for as long as I can remember and wasn't doing anything with those songs and poems. When I took my leave of absence from wrestling, I had an opportunity to focus my creativity elsewhere. I started taking all of those songs and poems and turning them into Rock and Rap songs.
MP: You obviously leaned into the Rap end of things. What led you down that path?
TM: I hate to be the cliche white rapper origin story, but I was on a yellow school bus one day heading home from school, and this kid was sitting next to me with a Sony Discman, and he was like, "You gotta hear this guy. He's a white rapper. His name's Eminem. And I was like, 'What? No way.'" Prior to that, my dad had taken me to a pawn shop and gave me $5 to buy anything I wanted. I'm digging around and I find a milk crate full of CDs. They're all $5, and I find Tupac's All Eyez On Me and it's a double CD set. I'd never heard of Tupac and didn't know who he was, but I'm just looking at it from an economic standpoint. I can
spend $5 and get one CD, or I can buy this Tupac album and get two CDs, and that seemed like a good idea. I totally fell in love with Tupac and Hip Hop from the moment I put that CD in.
MP: So Tupac drew you in and then Eminem made you realize you could do it as well?
TM: There's a certain disconnect that exists between Tupac, a grown man, gangster rapper, and a small little white kid from the suburbs. When that kid on the school bus showed me Eminem, that bridged the gap for me. A light bulb went off and I started writing a lot of songs, so when I took my leave of absence from wrestling, I knew this was my opportunity to do the music thing and I started doing it. I've been making music for 11 years and in 2017, my first song went viral. "Dear Rappers" got a million views in three days.