So International Independent Entertainment Promoter & Journalist, K-Will sat down with Blaze Hunter to conduct an interview with the intentions of giving the world a closer look into the man behind the machine we know as 9thWunder Music & Entertainment.
First off, how are you doing Mr. 9thWunder of the Universe lol Thank you for making time for the little people?
First of all, have you seen your legs? You are anything but little lol I am doing amazing especially being the first guest on the Interrogation room. I'm ready. Let's get into it.
Well let's dig right in. What mainstream artists have you worked with?
I’ve performed with, opened up for, or did studio work with a variety of mainstream artist such as Nelly, Flo Rida, Mario, Trina, T-Pain, Ludacris, Day 26, Akon, Bone Crusha, Ying Yang Twins, Triple Image, Jojo, Greg Raposo, Aaron Carter, 112, Pretty Ricky, just name a few.
What labels have you worked with?
Bad Boy, Poe Boy, Universal Music, Slip N Slide, Wire Records, Shady Aftermath, Interscope.
What inspired you to be a musician?
So I am a HUGE wrestling fan. So much that as a kid, my siblings and the kids from the neighborhood started our own wrestling group and put on matches in our yard. A neighbor from down the road named Sergio Flores, saw us one day and called us to his yard. He expressed how we could really hurt ourselves wrestling so of we wanted to be physical we should do something a lot safer but just as fun. He pulled out his boxing gloves and showed us how to spar. So each day we went to hi yard and boxed. So one day while we were out there he was outside with his guitar and was singing his own original song called “Mrs. Hollywood”. For fun, i wanted to surprise him by writing a rap to his song. So one day at the park i showed my mom the rap. As i was rapping it to her, other people who was at the park came and listened to. They were all impressed. Especially my mom. It was then i realized i had a gift in writing raps. She knew a friend of the family who had a studio so she took me there immediately and the rest is history.
What are your most memorable moments in your music career?
My God there are so many. I would say the most memorable was in the beginning of my career, within that 1st year, I was mainly rapping for the fun of it and to get rich quick to be honest. One day my moms best friends sister had an aneurysm and was put in a coma. My grandmother had died a few years back of that same thing so my mom asked if i could write her a song. So i gathered the info on her life and made a song and recorded it. IT was called Keep Your Head up. I wrote to the daughter of the woman who was in the coma. A week after hearing the song she woke outta her coma and i was told her hearing the song made her fight to wake up. IT BLEW ME AWAY. To know my music was able to impact lives and from that moment on, i decided to take music serious. That was most memorable for me.
What names do you go by?
Man i had my share of nicknames which is weird now that i think about it because my actual name is cool enough to where i shouldn’t have needed one lol. So different people from different points of my career call me diff things. Here are all of them. Y2B (short for Y2Blaze) because i was supposed to be the NEXT BIG RAPPER OF THE MILLENNIUM lol Then there is The Other M&M, (Millennium Man), Mr. Only for Tonight (because of a popular song i featured on called Only for Tonight sung by Jay Smoove (Josh Moreland) Then came the 9thWunder. My clients thought it was amazing the things i did in the studio so i was called the 9th Wonder of the world. It stuck so i used it.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years as far as your music career goes?
This question has changed so much cuz 10yrs ago i was naive to the music business so i thought in 2020 i’d be rich with multiple grammies lol Now that i’ve grown and matured in this business, I see me being a pioneer for Independent Talent all over. I see my platforms making it possible for undiscovered talent to be making a REALLY great living off of their music.
What instruments do you play?
Piano, Clarinet, and the Drums.
What do you feel like are your greatest strengths musically?
Creativity. Being able to think outside the box is my greatest strength i believe. My mind is always moving and trying to figure out new ways to do things to cater to EVERYONE. Lyrically, Production wise, Performance wise all of it.
What do you feel like are your greatest weaknesses?
My weaknesses was always the non talent side of music. The copyrighting, publishing, proper promoting, all of the things that didn’t consist of my musical talents but was vital to making the talent shine. I tried relying on my talent to get me through instead of early on putting in the time and work the other things required.
How many shows do you believe you have performed?
easily over 1000 shows. Ive done SO MANY shows. I’ve toured overseas. I’ve performed in diff parts of the United States. I’ve won countless talent shows, performed at so many open mics, award shows, High Schools, Churches man I’ve performed ALOT. The Stage is considered my home away from home.
Who have you had the honor of performing with?
This is a tough one because i’ve been blessed to perform with alotta people. Mainstream and Independent. But one of my favorite artist i’ve hit the stage with has to be Josh Moreland. He is easily one of the greatest performers I’ve ever had the privilege to rock the stage with. Because when I performed with Jay, I knew he was as creative minded as me when it came to putting on an award show type performance EVERY TIME. I mean, we rehearsed, had back up dancers, pyro, props, amazing intros, cool show mixes and we complimented each other so much.
Who have you toured with?
1st tour was the DUB Tour with Ludacris, Shawty Low, Willie Northpole and Josh Moreland. and tour was in Europe with Mario, Anthem Banger and Josh Moreland.
You were almost signed with death row?
Hell nah lol I was signed to Interscope/Aftermath owned by Dr. Dre. The deal never was able to grow because negligence by the manager i had at the time. It’s a long story to tell at another time.
What are your latest releases as far as music goes?
In 2019 I released 4 singles ,”I Feel Good”, “In Love with You feat Jeremy Odjo, B.A.R.S. feat Spida, 831 feat Mike Kris and a collab Ep with E the MC called “Take Off Your Shoes and Watch Car Tunez Vol.1” In 2020 i am releasing an album called Nu Flava 2.0 as a member of BTG with Omar Leslie.
Latest single?
Latest single is called Watch Me by BTG. As far as solo singles, the world will find out on 5/6/2020! In the words of Forrest Gump, That's All I have to say about that lol.
Current projects?
The Blaze It Up Radio Station is my current baby. This platform to me is the way I break the glass ceiling the mainstream has placed on unsigned talent like myself. I feel since they wouldn’t give us an opportunity, i’d create my own for not just me but for any hungry artist with a dream and a gift. Also, my other project is the Signature Seriez Network, which is a channel on Roku. I'm in business with the owner of Signature Seriez Entertainment, Mr Cooper and we plan on launching the network this summer.
What can we expect from the Signature Seriez Network?
Just think old school MTV & BET. The days of TRL and 106 & Park. We wanna bring that type of entertainment back but with Independent Talent.
Dreams?
My dream is to be able to create a platform that make mine and other dreams a reality.
Goals?
To create an a world where overlooked and undiscovered talent have a fair chance to showcase and make a living off of their God given gifts. I wanna create Entertainment schools, where people could learn EVERY facet of music and entertainment. Film making, acting, rapping, singing, producing, dancing All of it.
What do you want your legacy to be?
I want 50 years after I’m dead and gone, my name to mean something inspirational in the minds EVERY TIME its brought up.
Well thank you for giving me your time and I can't wait to see what the future has in store.
Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure and you can interrogate me WHENEVER you want lol