They Call Me Mista Yu
“They Call Me Mista Yu” is a Christian podcast whose topics include: family, faith, relationships, gardening, and even sports and pop culture! We're the All Purpose Pod for an All Purpose Life discussing topics that affect the whole person. And we want the whole person to be fully engaged with the creative, collaborative, life-changing presence of the Creator! At the core of all we do is Jesus Christ!
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They Call Me Mista Yu
Embracing Faith: Andrew McCarter's Musical Journey
Have a question for Mista Yu? Text the show and he’ll answer it personally.
Andrew McCarter, an emerging talent in the Christian hip-hop scene, joins us to share his journey of resilience and faith. We uncover how influential male role models shaped his character and provided the guidance he needed to navigate life’s complexities. This episode invites listeners to become part of our community by sharing their own experiences and questions, fostering a sense of shared growth and understanding.
We explore the profound impact of forgiveness and purpose, reflecting on how even humble beginnings can lay the foundation for fulfilling one's passions. Drawing from personal experiences, we discuss the significance of maintaining stable employment to support creative pursuits. This conversation delves into the entrepreneurial spirit and the courage to overcome life’s obstacles, inspiring listeners to remain grounded in reality while chasing their dreams. Alabama serves as a backdrop for a dialogue on authenticity and the need for innovation in gospel music, encouraging a fresh perspective that resonates with the younger generation.
The episode takes you through Andrew’s ambitions within the Christian music industry, including the excitement surrounding his new single, "Clear Skies." We examine the challenges and rewards of the music business, highlighting the importance of touring and merchandise in an era dominated by streaming. The journey is framed by a divine calling, with music as a ministry aimed at drawing people closer to God. As we wrap up, the conversation emphasizes the power of faith, preparation, and wise counsel, offering insights for those seeking to follow their own path with courage and conviction. Join us as we continue to support Andrew's inspiring journey, encouraging you to stay connected and engaged with his evolving story.
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Welcome back to one on one with Mr you. We are live and in person. Welcome back to One on One with Mr U. We are live and in person. We got a new and fresh face in Christian hip-hop in the house. Andrew McCarty is in the building. How's it going, sir? Great to see you in here.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Speaker 1:Same here, brother, same here, like we always do. We're going to have a candid Conversation, a little bit under the weather, but we're pushing through because Andrew and I need to have a chat and we want you guys to be a part of it. So we're pushing our way through all the stuff that we got going on in life, but we're excited about what's happening today and we just have a candid conversation, just kind of just talking. If you guys have an opportunity to hear of this episode as it's live and you have questions and comments for Andrew or myself, by all means please drop them in the comments section. We'd love to hear your thoughts on what you're hearing so far. But aside from that, let's go ahead and jump right in. So hope all is well.
Speaker 1:But we had a great discussion during our pre-production meeting. I wanted to kind of let everybody kind of get a glimpse of what we were talking about. So kind of share a little bit of your upbringing. Being from Alabama, you know, raised in the church, got two sisters and a brother, single mom, lots of going on, kind of break down for us a little bit about who you are as it pertains to your upbringing man.
Speaker 2:Man. So I was raised up in the church at a very young age, pretty much from a baby on up to a teenager, and raised up my mom. She pretty much raised me. My dad was in my life, I would say, on up to my teenage years, raised up in the faith. We had those upbringings of staying grounded, and staying rooted a little bit by my music is I got that from my mom being a poet, so that's really how my music capabilities came as well is just seeing that passion that she had for poetry and me taking that and forming it into music.
Speaker 1:Okay, I love that. Now, when you said poetry, flesh it out for me, because I grew up writing poetry. A lot of folks don't know that. I just revealed it on the show. After all these years, Nobody even knew that I grew up writing poetry. But was she doing spoken word? Was she writing poetry? What was she doing exactly? Break it down if you can share it.
Speaker 2:So with poetry. So pretty much my mom was. She write a lot of stories about characters and like people, like having real live stories about that character and actually what they're going through, and so that's how her poetry was just stories about real live people. She was good at making up stories and telling the background of that person.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. So she never got into writing children's books and that kind of stuff, because she'd be a perfect fit for that.
Speaker 2:That was never her desire yeah, I um, I know my mom. She's mostly, uh, poetry with mostly just stories. I don't think um that kids like stories or anything. Definitely feel like she could do it though if she wanted to. That passion is there, that desire is there. I do believe she could do it if she, if she wanted to.
Speaker 1:Oh, I don't doubt it at all, man. We got some faithful listeners jumping in west coast when she's been riding with my show for quite a while. One of our most faithful listeners or she's in here. Check you out, andrew. Listen to you, man, so shout out to win. Thanks for joining us. When you have any questions for andrew or myself, by all means please jump in. Thanks for joining us. When and if you have any questions for Andrew or myself, by all means please jump in. Thanks for joining us.
Speaker 1:All right, so we share some stuff in our background. I want to kind of get into a little bit. You know, having a single mom situation and the father, you know, either being around or not being around much, it really hits hard when you look at that because as a man, I think we discount the role of the father in the household so we kind of think we can get by without it and a lot of people do good in life and they go on and make great successes of themselves, but it's always something missing. So it's always a battle that we have to fight. So I kind of want to hear how you've navigated that situation. If you can't go into a lot of details about your dad and stuff. That's fine. My main point is just kind of just talk about the struggle and how you've overcome the challenge and how you're continuing to overcome the challenge and still see that success on the horizon and you're not losing focus. You know, does that make sense, right? Right, if you can kind of get into it a little bit.
Speaker 2:So, uh, for me, um, there were a lot of great men I know, um, when my dad kind of wasn't in the picture, there were a lot of great men that uh came in and imparted wisdom into me. Um, some of them I still know to this day. Not having a father there, that's definitely an important piece of every young man. I truly believe that it does take that father to raise a young man, you know the proper way, of course, and really instilling that, instilling those morals in him as a young man, what a man's supposed to be like. And so for me, staying on that right course, not really having my dad, you know, most of my teenage years I just had a lot of men around me, you know who I met through other people and just day-to-day life, who was really a major blessing, like father figures, honestly, who parted wisdom, would share life stories with me. That really helped me to stay on track.
Speaker 1:No, I love that. I love that. It's something I can relate to for sure. I shared my story quite a bit on episodes of this show going back to the past I guess the first three seasons of the podcast, so I won't take your time to do that now, but I definitely understand that. When did you feel like you understood the need to show love and forgiveness? That's really important when somebody that's supposed to have you. They drop you. How do you reconcile that? And when did you realize that love and forgiveness was necessary for not for a person, but for you?
Speaker 2:I could truly say for me I didn't really start showing it until my late, my late 20s like I should in that, and showing that love, like I should in spite of in spite of not having that, having that love and that upbringing of you know that father, the proper way, I just know, for me moving forward, I had to forgive, you know. I had to say, hey, this is, this is what I'm choosing to do, because if I hold on to that it's going to poison me as a young man and I don't want to pass it on to my son if that happens. You know, having that young man raising him, you know, because generational curses are real. So I'm just learning we have to forgive, and so I know I had to do that with my pops to be able to move forward.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's just a salient point, man. Just sound wisdom, man. People think that forgiveness is for the other person. I'm like no, it's for you, because if you don't do that, you're the one that stays sick and you're the one that stays in a little prison of your own, making the other person don't even know what you're dealing with. They don't have a problem because they went on living their life and you're still mad because they threw that rock at you. But you got the pain, they moved on. You know what I'm saying. So that's pretty deep, man.
Speaker 1:But we're going to talk about your music shortly. But let's get get into what you're doing right now, because I know, as a former musician and we talked about that a little bit in our pre-production meeting I shared that also in the pocket. Like I said, the podcast is open book for me. My whole life is on this podcast. Go back to the beginning. You can hear everything about me. There's no secrets really. But uh, I started off, you know, kind of in the music realm myself. Uh, I was working at the same time and trying to do gigs and late nights in the studio, late nights doing gigs at clubs and stuff. But what's your vocation right now. What do you have your hands on right now outside of the music? What are you into? What are you doing?
Speaker 2:um, outside of the music right now, actually, um, currently, actually, I do work day to day. Um, I'm actually a custodian. I keep buildings clean, so doing that as well as my day to day process, I love to be able to write music as well when I am off of work.
Speaker 1:Alright, got some other listeners jumping in. Another one of our faithful listeners, carissa's been riding with us for a little bit too, so she's here to hear your story, man, and and hear what you got going on. So, carissa, thank you again for joining us. Got a new listener on with us today. Awesome to meet you. Thank you again. I'm really good at names, but I ain't going to try to get your name on the show while we're live. I don't want to mess it up, but thank you again for joining us. We really appreciate it. All right.
Speaker 1:So when you're talking about your vocation, you're talking about industrial work and you were talking about house cleaning, stuff on the side and stuff. Those are all trades that we need to be. You know that we need in life, but your focus has always been on the music. But I want to ask you about why did you start doing that? Why did you start doing industrial stuff and cleaning the houses and stuff? I know a lot of people who have done that. Matter of fact, I've done it when I lived in Florida. Why did you decide to start doing that? It's not actually the. You know you're not in the studio, you're not singing and writing music, but you need to do something to augment that income. Why did in that income? Why did you decide that, as opposed to other areas that you could have gone to, our guess has disappeared. Oh, I love technology. All right, so you're back with us. Can you hear me?
Speaker 1:yes okay, I can hear you.
Speaker 2:I think we broke up a little bit, but I'm here my signal's good.
Speaker 1:Hopefully yours is too. All right, so I'll just repeat that question for you. What made you decide to do industrial work and cleaning houses as opposed to kind of going full all in, putting all your cards at the center of the table and just doing music as opposed to side gigs? Why did you decide to do house cleaning and things like that?
Speaker 2:so, um, when I was younger, my mom she's really gifted and was doing that well like house cleaning. So I know me I was younger me and my brother would be with her. Uh, from time to time we grew up watching her doing that, and so over the years I realized that I was gifted in that area as well, because I grew up seeing my mom doing it. I will help her out from time to time, and so I also realized that while we are working on our gifts and our talents and moving into that thing that we really are inspired to do full time one day, I also understand as reality that we have to have something sustaining what we love doing. So I know that cleaning for me, that's something I'm really good at and gifted at, so that's what really made me get into that field.
Speaker 1:I love that People might look at that role as something that's demeaning, or think about the role of David as a shepherd. You can't glamorize that role as something that's demeaning or think about. Think about the role of David as a shepherd. You can't glamorize that role, man, there's nothing glamorous about being the shepherd nothing glamorous about it. It's a dirty, messy, even dangerous job, but God used it to make a king. So what you're doing in the cleaning business, trust me, there's a, there's a spiritual aspect to it. I hope you can catch it as you move along in that area. Outside of your music, one of the things that we also talked about was entrepreneurship. We will get into a little bit later on. But do you believe that there's an entrepreneur inside of you waiting to come out, or do you feel as though it's just music that's your thing?
Speaker 2:Nothing else. I do feel like there is a lot of entrepreneurship inside of me. I'm inspired. I know it has been placed on my heart. I don't know when God will release me to do it yet, but writing a book about my story that was also spoken over me as well about a year ago. You know that there were some other gifts inside of me as well, but I do believe that there will be a book in the near future. Don't know when, but I have a powerful testimony with going through bullying as well. Why is it powerful? In school? So I can relate to those kids that you know deal with bullying. I lost a good friend that committed suicide with the school, with him in middle school, and so there will be a book.
Speaker 2:Going through high school, all my life being in special education, I was never in a normal class. Being in special education, I was never in a normal class. I could never really understand math, a lot of subjects. I was good at reading, good at language, but math and some other things I was very like. My reading and my mindset was on a kindergarten level when it came to me actually, and and so, um, I went graduating from high school in 09 years passed by um I I went back and got my high school diploma in 2019.
Speaker 2:So now I can go to any major university that I choose because I was able to go back and get my high school diploma, graduate with an occupational diploma, and what that is is it's a certificate just saying you pretty much went through high school, but it's not an actual credited diploma. So I was able to go back and accomplish that was one big thing for me to be able to move forward as well in my life, because those jobs and careers are going to require some type of education at least that diploma. They want you to have that.
Speaker 2:So that's another part of my story that I definitely feel like I'll be talking about in the book as well.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. I really hope that when you read this book you come back on the show so we can talk about it. I'd love to help you get some more eyes on that, because every topic you named that's going to be in that book potentially is important. Man. People don't talk about it as much as they should. So I would love to kind of help out with another platform. I'm sure you have plenty of platforms, but I'll at least offer one more to help you out with your book once it's written, so excited about that one.
Speaker 1:Now, one thing I learned too in doing what and I say we because we kind of went a similar path doing music and other stuff vocationally. So, being bi-vocational, it's not easy to do that. It's not easy to be in a place where you're working, even for a paycheck, whatever it is, and you're not really doing the thing that you love. How does it feel to be in a place where you're working in an area where you're not passionate about, and how do you manage to keep your focus on what you are passionate about when you're not actually there? How do you handle that? That question made sense, hopefully.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So learning is like. I know that what we do every day, day-to-day life to sustain that's that part that we realize that we have to do. And yet, while we realize that we have to do that, where we have to work, we still got to have that, still having that passion in the forefront to say, hey, I know I may be working here, I know this is for this amount of time, but I do believe one day I will be fully moving in that purpose that God has gifted me.
Speaker 2:So for me, I always have that time management to, even though while I'm working, I know that I go to work this time and when I get off I always just set those goals, even if it's an hour a day, to say, hey, I'm going to spend this time writing my music, I'm going to spend this time working on melodies for the music, I'm going to spend this time looking at something on the music business, so that I always have that vision of what I'm going to spend this time looking at something on the music business, so that I always have that vision of what I'm supposed to be doing and I don't lose focus on that, just really having that time management. Besides everything that time management is really what's key.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, oh yeah. I want to start getting into that music. But before we do that, I just want to say to everybody who's listening and watching right now, this young man is doing something that many of us probably wouldn't even venture to do. We probably would avoid taking the risks that he's taking. So if you guys got questions for Andrew about his music maybe some questions that we can ask him right here on a live interview or if you want to just give him some encouragement, what he's doing is not easy. A lot of people give up their dreams and put them on the shelf and they just do whatever is safe. So this young man is an inspiration. So if you've got a question for him or you want to share a quick testimony of your own that we can share here, be happy to do it. But send your questions and comments right here in the comments section to us. We'd love to share those with Andrew just to encourage him on this incredible journey.
Speaker 1:I watched some of your videos, man, and it's clear you're gifted to do music. There's no question about that part. Where did the love of music come from? Where would you say that it came from? If you were able to share that today. Where would it come from?
Speaker 2:I would say that definitely came from being around my mom being in the church, hearing music a lot as well. When we would be home, music was always around us Also, just being able to to go forth, and when we would, when I would perform at nursing homes, me and my brother, we had a group uh, just being to steal music in us at a young age, that's where that passion really came from you know doing quartet music.
Speaker 2:Uh well, a lot of times what we would do, me and my brothers it's pretty funny man we would be being on tables and making beats.
Speaker 1:That's how we started, brother. We ain't got no drums. That makes sense.
Speaker 2:That's how we started, man, we would be writing. This is what this song will be called. It's going to come out on this date and this is the name of the album. Going to be A dream builder, man. Man, that's good. I remember times when me and my brother with uh, we would like have this island board and we would kind of be like preaching and like rapping, to just with us and our mom be in the room. We'll just be practicing, man, and so you know, we, that music, the love for music it just was, was forming around all those things church, performing at nursing homes, being around my mom's poetry, all of those things would really instill that gift inside of me, that passion for it.
Speaker 1:No, I love that. She's a whole different world, or the private versus the public, when you're out there performing in front of people, I can tell some stories about that too, some good, some not so good. So what did you learn about you from the public performances, from your being in front of people? You can share some stories if you have some, but what did you learn about you? Taking what you're doing privately at home, in the comfort of your own home, to take it out to the world, so to speak? What'd you learn about yourself?
Speaker 2:What I learned is uh, what I carry out in public should be the same way that I. What I do behind closed doors. What I should carry out in public, the way that you carry yourself on that stage, people know if it's real and if it's authentic. Especially with doing that we do now a gospel Christian. You know Christian rap. People know they feel they feel the spirit. You know Christian rap uh, people know they feel they feel the spirit. You know they feel the Holy spirit, like God really using you.
Speaker 2:I had a recently I'll share this with you guys as well. Man, I had, um, just I just came back from Atlanta. I did a, did a performance, uh, for refined, defined, a big community event, and so this lady was just encouraging me. Man, she was like, you know, when you was up there, I felt the anointing on your life. You know I felt this morning.
Speaker 2:I felt, you know, god is going to do some powerful things, and I do believe what she was saying is true, because I've heard that spoken so many times. But a lot of times God will keep reminding us like, hey, stay on that narrow path, stay doing what you're doing. You remember what I spoke to you through that person years ago. A lot of times, that's God reminding us that we are on the right path, that he's still going to do those things that he told us, because God's word does not lie and what God promises, he doesn't lie on us. He don't take his word back, and so I've just learned to. Just what I do behind closed doors is to be the same way in public. Be authentic, be yourself, but be that true man and woman of God.
Speaker 1:That's some good stuff right there. That's a life lesson for all of us. People leave out of their house and they put on a mask and they become somebody else. I'm like, no, we need to be authentic. No, publicly and privately, it matters. I don't care what your vocation is and what you do, I don't care if you're even in the church, it matters, because we're in a place where the world is changing. In some ways. That's good, in some ways not so great, and authenticities will be all looking for. So I'd love to hear this and got some, uh, that are really glad to hear your story. Mr mccarter comes across as a very fine man and should accomplish great things. Mr McCarter comes across as a very fine man and should accomplish great things. That's awesome. I love this.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we talked about where you're from, which is Alabama. I got some friends that have lived there and moved away, and some of them still live there, and I've heard some interesting descriptions of the area. I haven't been there personally myself. I just heard from my friends. How would you describe Alabama in a few words or so? How would you describe Alabama In a few words or so? How would you describe it? We talked about it in pre-production. But I'd love to hear you kind of share that and kind of flesh it out a little bit for us, because it's.
Speaker 1:I'm asking this for a reason, because myself, being from New York, I hear a lot of criticism about what New York is like or what people think it's like that I have never been, or people have been there for a short visit and they have assumptions about what it's like, not really knowing. But whenever you're home and you are trying to build something big, home has a way of reaching out and trying to grab. You know what I mean yeah, kind of kind of reminding you is to stay in a certain place, don't go too far or don't forget where you came from in and say that in a negative way. Like you know, don't forget where you came from. You ain't never been more than this. Your family is here, so it's hard to branch out and do and do you in a big way and really walk in that purpose when you're at home.
Speaker 1:I want to hear your thoughts on how you see alabama. I mean, this is home for you. I get that that's a great description, but what else do you see beside that? You can share what we talked about in our pre-production meeting, or maybe a new idea of how you see Alabama.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I definitely say anywhere you go is what you make it, but I do know Alabama is very boxed in. Okay, what does that mean when I say that if you don't have a great amount of thinking, it can really cause your mind to think one way, like being outside the box, as they say?
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Especially when you have a gift or you have something passionate that you want to do, being inside of Alabama, not stepping outside of your comfort zone, it can have you inside of a box. I will say, as far as opportunities as that go, there are limited opportunities here that go.
Speaker 2:There are limited opportunities here as well. I feel like there are more opportunities, you know, in other states and other places. So those are some of the things that I do notice. That about Alabama and I do feel like a lot of things here as well is like one way of thinking is not really. It's really even when it, when it comes to music, I would say it's kind of very southern, even with the gospel music. Ok, I'm saying like having that new flavor of Christian hip hop or, you know, playing the same songs, you know like it needs to be be a new level of gospel. You know, having with the, I would say with the young people that we have today, young people that we have today. We know that because this is a different generation, we know that you got the older generation, you got the young generation. If we keep playing the same older songs, the young people, how can we relate to them if we can't get to their level? You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:I do feel like just just being outside the box, even when it comes to ideas or, you know, when it comes to music okay, is anybody that's in your circle, in your uh, in your, in your groups, that kind of feel the same way you do and are starting to kind of branch out and bring a new, refreshing look at music in your area, your groups that kind of feel the same way you do and are starting to kind of branch out and bring a new refreshing look at music in your area, or do you feel like it's kind of just you and you don't really know anybody that's doing that? Do you kind of which one applies to where you are, you know, yeah I do feel like there are.
Speaker 2:There are some people that that feels the same way, um, feel the same way that I feel. So, yeah, I would definitely say that.
Speaker 1:Are they doing anything like you are or what it kind of just?
Speaker 2:Well, there are some other Christian hip hop artists, and there are a lot of gospel singers as well, from this area, that's good Okay. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay. So what would you say and this is something that we talked about also in pre-production but what would you say is the biggest life lesson you've learned in the past year? I know it's a big question, but you can take a couple of seconds to think about it. But what would you say is your biggest life lesson in the past year? I'm asking that because I consider myself a thoughtful person and I like to evaluate where I am. I don't want to just keep rolling and just look up and look around and be like, oh man, how did I get here? I'm not where I was planning to go. So I'd love for you to kind of be a little thoughtful and see where you find yourself and what you think about where you are and what you learned in this past year.
Speaker 2:Don't get too comfortable. Don't get too comfortable. I feel like that's something for me for this year Take chances and don't wait for no one. When I say that if you know it's something you're supposed to be doing, I feel like some of us you know not really entitlement of other people when there's something we know we're supposed to be doing, or if you go somewhere, you're waiting on other people to go with you and then now your plans or your goals are canceled. So I would say for me, those are some things that I've learned this year Just being too comfortable. You know, don't be too comfortable, take chances and don't wait for no one.
Speaker 1:Okay, Now we're going to come back to that. That's really important. I hope you heard what you said. We're going to come back to that one in a little bit. That's really important. It was really good. As a matter of fact, it is spot on. But we're going to come back to that. What kind of goals and aspirations do you have for your music, man? What are you trying to accomplish? What's the end goal for you? What do you want to see happen?
Speaker 2:Man. For me, I would definitely say definitely working on new music. I definitely want to see a tour happen. That's. One of my biggest goals is touring, but the overall goal, because I know there's a realization that you know, we do get older. I want to pave that way for other artists coming behind me as well and telling them hey, and showing them them, giving them advice, so they don't have to make the same mistakes that I make or go through those hard, uh, those hard trials in the industry or uh, if I can give them wisdom on some advice on this, on a certain type of situation or what type of contract they have, or you know, just giving them wisdom, I feel like that would be a big blessing to them.
Speaker 1:That's really good. We got a listener question about some singles. Are you promoting any?
Speaker 2:singles. I do have a single I'm working on currently that's coming out really soon. It's called Clear Skies, clear.
Speaker 1:Skies, okay, really soon.
Speaker 2:Uh, it's called clear skies, clear skies, Okay, and pretty much the concept of that song is talking about what a word says that? Uh, I think is in her backup, it's not. I think that's how you say that with says right the vision and make it plain. And so that's, that's the concept of that song and I really feel like, uh, a lot of you guys are going to like it is upbeat, very versatile, but it's powerful and I do feel like people are going to love it. It's a great song.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm excited about it already. I can't wait to hear this. Ok, great question listener. Thank you very much.
Speaker 1:Ok, so we talked a little bit about the music business and I think this was a private conversation that we were having when we were doing pre-production. But I'm going to pull the curtain back just a little bit. I had a brief stint in the music business. I see a lot of things, even up to date, up to now, If you look around. I mean, if you don't listen to the news or watch the news or anything, that's fine, keep doing you. But there's a lot going on in the music business that's very eye-opening right now. We're seeing a lot of things. We're seeing a lot of the so-called kingpins fall for a lot of different reasons. We're seeing a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that we wondered about, rumored about, and now we realize these things were really happening. So it sheds a really negative light on the music business For me personally.
Speaker 1:I still write music. I still perform music in certain circles. If I was tasked with going back into the music business, I think I'd be very hesitant, just because of what I'm seeing. But I want to look at you to share what you think is the impact of the music business right now. The impact of the music business right now and especially from the Christian aspect. How do you feel like the music business is growing, how are you seeing it? And then couple that with eventually stepping into it, and how you intend to handle that, how you want to approach it. Did that make sense? Deep question, but I want to hear that from you. Good stuff, go for it. Yeah, make sense? Deep question, but I want to kind of hear that from you. Okay, good stuff, go for it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so for the way I see, from my point of view, the Christian music, we know that that's not really, it's not a really big money-making genre when it comes to, you know, as far as the living, you know, our hearts should always be for to do it comes to you know, as far as the living, you know, our hearts should always be for to do it for God.
Speaker 2:But we do understand, we realize God is going to bless it. For me, it's just knowing that streaming is not a big thing. So, you know, having those, you know, knowing that touring and also merch is a big part of the industry, with the gospel music, with the industry, with everything going streaming now it's totally different from what it was back then years ago. And for me, coming in as an artist, I understand that what I'm up against, um, not just when it comes to the, the artistry part or, um, the business aspect, but the spiritual aspect as well. Um, you know, knowing that this is, if you're stepping out and doing this, definitely gotta be some of your call to do something, your purpose to do, and it's important that you have those people around you that can pray for you, that can hold you accountable, and to those people that you can really reach out to.
Speaker 1:We talked about having a strong support system. So I guess that part of that answer is definitely coming out of that conversation for sure, because you got to have that, especially in that area where people are going to say that for you, but they have agendas, they have things that they're looking to see you do that benefit them, but it may not benefit you. So they're just definitely to talk about that. But what would you say you would credit for your being on this music journey for this amount of time? Because a lot of times life happens. People have to a need to take care of life stuff like bills and finances, and sometimes putting the time and investment into something like music isn't always, uh, easy or even profitable at the time. Maybe in in the future, but at the time it's not. What do you credit for your staying in the music journey for so long?
Speaker 2:Man. Just knowing it's something God calling me to do, I feel like it's it's. It's bigger than just music, it's, it's a ministry, and so my, my heart has always been, if there's something I know that God can use me for, to draw people, of course the Holy Spirit is doing it through me. I'm just a vessel, but I know that music is a great gift that God has definitely given me to draw souls to the kingdom of God.
Speaker 2:And so for me, that's what's really kept me on track, with it not being profitable, you know, even without you know, of course it takes time, so not seeing the success even as quick as some other artists, really just knowing that it's bigger than just music, you know, if you're not doing it for souls, if you're doing it for just the money, if you're doing it for just the fame, if you're doing it to just get the bag, then you're doing it for the wrong reason, because when all those things, hey, what else are you going to stand on? What are you going to do? What are you going to do it for? So I think for me it's just really been, it's been a gift that God has given me, and it's bigger than music. I've always had that concept, that mindset. Just it's bigger than music and at the end of the day you got to use this gift and draw souls to the kingdom of God.
Speaker 1:I love that. That's really good, because I just feel like we I know people who are used to hanging out or doing music they didn't have the kind of mindset that you have and I can recollect that very, very clearly. They had a different mindset. It was about getting paid, getting as much as you can get buying mama, a house, having cars with wheels and spinners I mean this is the kind of stuff that I've heard about so much. Spinners, I mean this is the kind of stuff that I've heard about so much. And it's like it's refreshing to hear somebody who gets to the point that this picture is bigger than you and that you use a puzzle piece and you play a part in something a lot greater, a lot more significant. So I love hearing this.
Speaker 1:We had a tough conversation during the pre-production meeting and we talked about you know, something that I had to experience in leaving New York, leaving my home and my family. One thing you said a little while ago. You said one of your biggest takeaways was to not get too comfortable. So it's rare to have a big dream and still remain at home. Honestly, I can't think of one person that has invented something, launched a music career, did a startup business that didn't leave home. It feels almost like it has to happen for you to, in a way, find yourself.
Speaker 1:You look in Genesis 12, chapter and see Abraham. Well, abraham, at the time before his name was changed by God, he had way find yourself. You look in Genesis 12 chapter and see Abraham. Well, abraham, at the time before his name was changed by God, he had to leave his home. I mean, I'm sure that was very uncomfortable.
Speaker 1:His family was there, his father, terrell, was there. I mean, everything he knew was there, and God had him leave to go to a place. He didn't even tell him where it was, couldn't even put it in the GPS. He said it was, couldn't even put it in the gps. You said go here, I'll tell you where you go when you get there. You keep following my direction, step by step, you know. But it it created a situation where he found his destiny, when he walked in purpose and became not just a father of some but a father of many nations. So we talked about that a little bit. Why have you remained at home, in your opinion, knowing that you have some goals or some dreams that are bigger than Alabama, like you already stated a little while earlier in the episode. What makes you stay at home when you know that it's boxed in and, creatively, you can't get where you want to get to? Why have you stayed home up to this point?
Speaker 2:So I will say, I will say this I have actually moved to Atlanta. I had a journey to where I did move to Atlanta, but I did things the wrong way. I kind of just jumped. I kind of jumped ship. So I learned from my experience that the grass is not always green on the other side.
Speaker 2:Not even in Atlanta, green on the other side, and I and I learned in that season this is about two years ago, um that if you don't have a plan, yes, you have that goal, you have that that big dream, but if you move down there and you don't have no job, you don't have nothing planned, no backup plan. That's what I experienced. That's what I experienced At the time. Me going down there, I ended up losing a home.
Speaker 2:Wow, being able to say I never wanted to look back and say Atlanta was a place I've always wanted to go to and I never even took the chance to even go. So I moved down there for a little bit. I didn't stay long, so I did actually experience of moving away from home, but I do feel like eventually so it's going to happen again, but I feel like I'll be more prepared this time because of that experience that taught me a valuable lesson that's awesome, and we talked about a place where you think you know what, in order to kind of take a huge leap of faith and build my music career, you would think about a different location rather than resident Atlanta.
Speaker 1:What were you thinking about? If you could share that, nashville would definitely be that place.
Speaker 2:Resident atlanta, what were you thinking about? Could you can show that um, um, nashville would definitely be that place man nashville is is? I've actually had a chance to go there a few times. Um, a while back I did a. It was like an independent gospel award show. This is when I was promoting the song image, one of my songs, um, and me and one of my friends, devin Boswell he's actually on the songs called image Um, went out to Nashville. We performed a song, um, and our mothers went with us, and so just the, the hospitality of Nashville, uh, nashville has a market for gospel music and it's just the, the unity with music in Nashville. Like, everybody supports everybody you know like, and so that's just the area. I just know that I'm in love with man. Like I like Atlanta, but I'm hearing it. Man, like I like Atlanta, but I'm hearing it, man, I'm hearing it. Nashville is definitely my self-living, for sure.
Speaker 1:I hear a lot about Nashville. I hear it a lot, so this is like. This is pretty exciting. I look to see how this move turns out. Man, we just have a few more questions, but if you're listening to our show today, if you got any questions for mr micardo or you have any questions for us as a whole, I want to share any comments, encouragement. Please drop them in the comments section.
Speaker 1:We're almost near the end of our episode for today, but we also talked about, uh, the importance of being called before you go. You mentioned it a little bit ago, but so many folks get a part of their vision or their dream and they don't fully engage, they kind of just roll. They don't wait for the rest of the instruction, they just roll and they go out there unprepared. I know you and I probably have both done that in our life at some point in time, but it's awesome to see a young person like yourself with such big aspirations. Man, it's really encouraging to see that man commend you on. You know, learning from your mistakes and taking the time to consider things before you go forward. What steps are you taking to make sure you don't move too fast or head into area that you shouldn't head into. What kind of stuff are you taking? Are you taking that may help somebody that's listening, that may be in a similar situation? What are you doing that can help them?
Speaker 2:I would definitely, definitely say you want to plan, man, I'm planning, also in prayer and fasting, you can never go wrong and seeking wise counsel. That's correct, seeking counsel. You got to have people around you because a lot of times, you know, god speaks to us in many different ways and he may just use that person around you to confirm some things to you and what you pray and fast and when you're giving it to him. But then you may get that last confirmation from God and that person may give you the answer what you was already praying for and what you was hearing from God. So that's that's what I do. You was already praying for and what you was hearing from God, so that's that's what I do. Um, and I seek counsel prayer and fasting and and really just putting those things for for God and just really giving him, giving him your heart's desires and what you want to accomplish and things you want to. You can never go wrong doing it that way.
Speaker 1:Wise counsel, that that part's understood. I wish I could have spend some time on that, because that's so deep, man, because a lot of people they just kind of figure out figure like you know what. I don't want to involve anybody in my dream or I don't want anybody in my business, and they try to go out there and do something on their own and they just crash and burn. You'd be like man if only you stopped talking to somebody who may have had some wisdom about this. Maybe they've been there before, maybe they've just been around enough life experience that maybe they can kind of give you some perspective. You know, maybe they hear from God about your situation, maybe they're praying for you. I mean, it's like there's so many opportunities for wise counsel that we can use that might help us avoid some pitfall. I wish I could go back some of my lower moments and be able to pull some of that wise counsel. Who knows what I would have done had I done that? But just a few. I'm sure you can relate, man. Excuse me.
Speaker 1:Just a few more questions and then we'll close the episode out for today, but this is a big one. I want you to think about this one really hard man, because this is something I always ask anybody who comes on our show that's into entrepreneurship music, who comes on our show that's into entrepreneurship music. I interview musicians and real estate moguls. I've interviewed a lot of different kind of people, people in industry and industrial, like yourself. Here's a question for you If, for some reason now this is not to speak anything over you, I'm just saying if for some reason, you could no longer do music, god forbid what would you do instead and why?
Speaker 2:Man, what would you do instead, and why, man I would be. I would be doing something with mentoring men, mentoring young men. I would be teaching them life skills, budgeting, dressing, you know, you know how to how to carry yourself as their young man, because that's it's truly important. You got to grab them while they're young, not to say it won't be as good when they're older as well, but you got to grab them while they're young. So that's something I really could see, what I would see myself doing. And the reason why is because I do feel like there are a lot of fatherless young men. Um, it, that's out there, it takes a village, as they always say, uh. But then when you, when you have that person who can come in and just and just impart that wisdom, and then, you know, just guide that young man or give them advice and just really walk with that young person, that young man, it really makes a lot of a difference.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I mean, you know I can relate to that. I love that. I have a friend that's wanting to start a foundation along that same line, so I love that people have a similar vision. Thinking about it, I hope you do it. Whether you're doing music or not, I hope you still do it, because it has that level of value, man. It's really worth something. What would you say to the young music artists that's listening to this show right now or may hear the replay later on, that is, thinking about taking some of the same steps you're taking? What would you say to them? Thinking about all your experience with Atlanta, all you're thinking about with Nashville and even what you're dealing with at home in Alabama, what would you say to the young music artists? What one or two pieces of advice would you give to them?
Speaker 2:I would definitely say always have somebody around you that's going to keep it real with you, whether you want to hear it or not. And what I mean by that is, you know, if you do have a goal, everybody ain't always trying to discourage what you're trying to do. I've had to learn that. Learn that myself, because I thought people are always mean, but a lot of times, a lot of people do have your best interests at heart. So, having that advice, that person that can give you that advice, that person that can hold you accountable, get around people that are doing the same thing as you. So it's unity in that. That's how you're going to grow as an artist. You got to have people that are going the same path as you're going. If you want to be one of the greats in basketball, you need that person that's already either been there or that person that's going there, so you guys can build and grow from each other and even give each other feedback. And I would say, man, just take risks, take chances.
Speaker 2:Okay, that's all I'm going to say I don't know what you're going to say, when I say, take risks, go for opportunities, I would have done this, you don't want to have those sayings of I wish I would have done this. You know you don't want to have those sayings about I wish I would have done this. So take advantage of opportunities and always allow people to give you constructive criticism, because that's the only way you're going to grow as an artist as well. There's always room to grow, even when you get older. You're going to be constantly learning stuff. That's my advice.
Speaker 1:I love this man. That's good stuff, man. These are not hard concepts. These are things that we probably heard off and on throughout our lifetime, but they're so simple. It's a simple thing to trip us up, because that's what we don't do. As easy as it is to do it, it's also easy to not do it. So that's the kind of stuff that we need to hear.
Speaker 1:Thank you for sharing that man and thank you for taking the time to join us on a one-on-one with Mr U. I believe your music is awesome. I believe you are a new and fresh face on the Christian hip-hop scene. I believe you're going to do great things. I really hope you do that foundation for the young men. That's going to be amazing. Please do that.
Speaker 1:And Andrew is going to drop his links on all of our social media platforms, and especially on our YouTube channel in the episode description, so you can find his music, find some of his previous work and, hopefully, his future work along with his book. He's going to be sharing as much as he has available in the episode description on our YouTube channel. Please follow the links and subscribe to our YouTube channel as well, as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can hear all of our seasons of our show, all the way back to the year 2020. So we thank you again for supporting us. Thank you, andrew, for jumping in here, man, and any closing thoughts for the people who are listening that are out here supporting you, man. Any thoughts for them or for our listeners all together, any thoughts?
Speaker 2:for them or for our listeners all together, Any thoughts? I want to say thank y'all for joining in, Thank you for tuning in with us, man Also, man, if you got dreams and passion, something you want to do, man, never let nobody tell you there's nothing that you can't do or that you can't do it. With God, all things are possible. So always remember that and just keep going forward. Don't let nothing get to you, Don't let the naysayers anybody get to you. Just always remember keep God first and with God all things are possible.
Speaker 1:I love it. Thank you, sir, for your time. I look forward to hearing more from you. We're going to definitely stay in touch. Anyway, I'm definitely here for you, outside of what we were doing today. But proud of you, man, proud of you for thinking about writing your story. I wrote my first book. I shared it with you in our pre-production. My first book. It changed my whole life, took my family down a rabbit hole, but the story had to be put out there. So be bold and brave to share your story, man. So I'm excited for you, excited for your new music coming out Clear skies. Can't wait to hear about this, man. But thanks again for joining us. Keep us updated on what's going on with you, man, but wherever you are and how you're hearing the one-on-one with Mr U, thanks again for listening to our show. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts and our YouTube channel at TheyCallMeMrU. Love to hear you guys and your comments on this episode and Andrew, and keep us informed about what's going on with True Brother. We're excited for you, man. We're proud of you, bro.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:My pleasure. Have a great day, guys. We out of here Enjoy the music. We out of here, we out of here. We out of here, we out of here.
