Meet Proph a.k.a. Michael in South Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Proph a.k.a. Michael.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Proph. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Well, I guess my first time finally appreciating rap music was my sophomore year in high school when I finally learned about poetry. Dr. St. Michel opened my eyes to the whole other world of metaphors and similes and haiku’s and this crazy one called onomatopoeia haha I was hooked right away.

I was always a lover of music since I could sing along to it with my mom in her kitchen while she cooked, on this little radio that was just loud enough for the small little apartment we lived in at the time. Even waking up at 4 am to take my dad to work me and my mom would sing my favorite song “You dropped the bomb on me baby!” (If you know you know) on the way back home are very fond memories of my love for music and the power it has.

Fast forward to college and I’m introduced to a whole different world of independence and culture. I get introduced to rap and the power it has to connect to people on not just a musically way, but a personal connection, that touches the listener.

So I started the journey and attempted to rap myself with some close friends. It started in a car driving to school, then lead to skipping class and going home to freestyle and battle one of my friends daily, then one day getting a RadioShack mic and a laptop with a basic recording program and give it a go. I remember rapping outside on a couch holding the mic and just freestyling on a beat and just letting it all out. It felt great, it was like a rush, like that feeling I got when I would pass a test in class or just get my final grade knowing it was an A. It felt right. Then finally hearing myself on the speakers just blew my mind making me realize I also had a voice and a message.

My message is clear I like to think that anything is possible and you can be great too if you work hard and dedicate yourself to something you truly believe, that it can happen and dreams do come true.

Ten years later now and I have dropped numerous projects and countless singles. You can honestly hear the growth from the first projects to my most recent album #MICHVEL and how the message and tone have stayed the same just wiser with age.

Has it been a smooth road?
It has been the hardest thing I’ve had to do my whole life. Being so certain growing up what you want to be is nothing compared to finally answering that question and going for it. I wanted to be a lawyer growing up. I stuck to that all through high school and was able to receive a scholarship to ASU to further my studies.

In the midst of that, I changed my major to Bioengineering and wanted to become a surgeon because of my passion for science. Then two years into the school being introduced to music and changing my whole career path and not wanting to even finish school because of everything I was able to witness in a short amount of time. That’s when it got really hard.

My family didn’t understand it fully. I was a first-generation college student and I was turning it down to pursue rap? It didn’t make sense to a lot of people. I was so sure though, it took a long time to make that decision. Conversed with my parents and some really close brothers of mine to really get all sides of things down and a good counselor of mine from school asked, “where is school going?” And I didn’t quite grasp the question at that moment.

The school wasn’t going anywhere, if and when I chose to go back, I can at any time, like literally any time in my life. I was just so sure going to college right after high school was the thing to do and what I HAD TO DO. Realizing my dream during the process was a bonus.

Pursuing rap is by far one of the hardest professions to encounter. Besides the talent, there’s a skill and business side of things that really a lot of people have no idea about, and just making a song and the process that comes with that is unknown to frankly many people that listen to music daily.

Financially it’s been a roller coaster, to say the least. EVERYTHING costs money in the music industry and to get the attention you deserve, investing with no profit guarantee is something you have to do all the time. Faith is what I call it. Then add a family to the equations and priorities and time

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I’m born and raised in Phoenix Arizona and I love this city with all my heart. I grew up in south Phoenix and went to elementary and high school there, but as big as my family is we live all over.

I’ve always loved Phoenix for its culture, when I was young I used to ride the valley metro all over, I mean younger that I rode the bike all over with my friends, but regardless we had to explore the city. From the train tracks to the mountains to downtown it’s always something to just get lost in. There’s so much opportunity here and it’s honestly the most slept on city waiting to be heard. There’s so much great talent here it’s incredible and always motivating to see.

I plan to see the world and definitely live else where but Phoenix will always be home. There’s nothing I don’t like about the city as well, flaws and all I wouldn’t trade Phoenix for no other city. I can’t wait until they know what we sound like. What Arizona sounds like.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ampl.ink/Wn0aQ
• Phone: 6025102925
• Email: thisisproph@gmail.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/thisisproph
• Facebook: facebook.com/thisisproph
• Twitter: twitter.com/thisisproph

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