Music Meets Fashion 2018 Bryan Michael Cox

By : Chris Lewis
WHY YOU SHOULD
KNOW MILAN HIGHTOWER
D
ifferent,creative, bold, a creation of
his own; Milan Hightower began as an
actor when he at just five years old. Since
then, he has entertained the masses with
his upbeat and carefree demeanor. He has
big dreams and aspirations, Inspiring
many with his captivating music and art.
We were able to catch up with him to get a
more in-depth look into his experiences as
a hip hop artist and creative vision.
Tell our readers how you got your st art
in t he m usic indust ry.
I was in acting first. I started acting at the
age of five in Off Broadway plays in New
York City. My mom kind of threw me in the
game early. It was really around the whole
?Lil Bow Wow, Lil Romeo? era. It was cool
to see someone around my age doing
something other than football or
basketball, so I kind of gravitated towards
that. I started rapping and I?ve been into
the whole industry from a young age,
music, fashion, acting, everything. I really
don?t know anything, but the
entertainment world.
Who are your biggest m usical
influences?
It would have to be Michael Jackson,
number one. You?ve got to say the King of
Pop. He?s creative and he?s able to take
things to the next level. Secondly, I would
say Tupac. He didn?t hold his tongue; he
spoke his mind. I feel like with music
you?ve got to be able to do that. I can go as
far back as the Temptations, Whitney
Houston. I?ll also say Drake, Janet Jackson,
Chris Brown, I have a big list. I?m open to
so much that the sky?s the limit when it
comes to my music.
LEVEL21 MAGAZINE-PG.38
Describe your experience perform ing at
t he Sauce Gala here in Charlot t e.
It was interesting because the Sauce Gala
came from being my EP release event, but
then it became even bigger. It was like
someone having a baby; it was like my
baby. Seeing everything come to life, it was
a feeling like no other. I was like a proud
dad.
Since you are w ell know n for m erging
ext ravagant visual art s w it h m usic in an
int riguing w ay, can you explain w hat
your process is w hen you are creat ing
new m usic and shoot ing videos?
I?m not a typical artist where I can sit down
and write music all day. I don?t do that. I
have to go to the studio with the producer
who makes the beat. I let the music talk to
me and I ask myself ?What does the beat
want me to say? What is the feeling?? I
haven?t really sat down and written
anything in so long, but it works because I
know what kind of artist I am. I allow the
music to play and then I come up with the
lyrics and the hook. After I finish each
song, I?m thinking of the visuals. I guess it
goes back to my acting days because I love
creating visuals that give people a run for
their money and crossing boundaries. The
majority of the videos I do, I write my own
treatments, cast my own people, and I
plan on doing my own stunts.
Which m usic video of yours w as t he
m ost challenging or required t he m ost
resources t o
shoot and w hy?
The most challenging was the video for
?Leaning.? We went to New York, and we
worked with a director named Fresh Press.
I told him that I wanted the video to be like
Gotham City and the world is crazy. He
doesn?t tell me the whole time that at the
time it was New York Fashion Week, but
we?re going to a club to shoot the video.
We get to the club and it?s a little different
than the type of club that I normally go to,
bear in mind that I had no idea that it was
also NYFW. I eventually asked him ?What
kind of club is this?? and he says ?Oh, this
is a gay club.? And I?m like, ?Oh, okay, cool,
so you tell me this now?? That was
probably the most challenging only
because I didn?t know what to expect. It
was a new world for me. But I have to say
that video was so cool because everyone
was so creative, no one was afraid to be in
front of the camera, everything was just
fun. What also made that night challenging
was the fact that my brother was too
young to get in the club and he was on the
song. So he had to use someone else?s ID,
but he still couldn?t get in because the ID
said that person was 6?2? and my brother
is only 5?7?. So, we ended up trying our
hardest to persuade the security guard to
let us in. We honestly went through so
much to try to get this video shot, but we
eventually made it work.
Nam e a m usic genre, if any, t hat people
w ould be surprised you list en t o or
nam e a genre you w ould like t o explore
in t he fut ure.
I guess I would say the whole John Mayer,
Ed Sheeran folk music route. What?s funny