Mr. Moko on line, listen to his track

 Hello, welcome to my blog dear reader, today on my interview, I bring you a very special person Mr. Mvüko Koza , a real geek in music. He is a rapper and a song writer as well. When you tune into his music; he sounded more like a Naga Eminem. Well you can always listen to his songs if you don’t trust me. He is a person who has so much of love for music, his story is filled with dream, but yes one can only relief those dreams when you follow it.

Read on to know more about Mr Moko.......

Let’s begin with your intro.

To begin with, I’m Mvüko Koza but usually people call me Moko because they find it kinda challenging to pronounce my real name unless you're a Tenyimia. I'm from Chakhesang tribe and I have 3 brothers and a younger sister including my mom and dad.

Currently, I am doing my bachelor finals in Anthropology at Kohima Science College, Jotsoma. I'm also a member of a Naga hip-hop group, Naga Homeboiz.

Moko, How is Music connected to your daily life?

I don’t have a specific time, whether it'd be on a free time or you get bored from a lecture's explanation, you just plugged in your earphone. And it takes you to another dimension of time.

When it comes to music, i automatically switch into a nerd. I’m very concerned about with what I’m listening and what genre I’m listening to. Just because I like to write raps doesn't mean I only listen to rap music. I'm a big fan of genres like rock, metal, alternative, country, folk music, indies, soul rnb etc. The list goes on. Basically, if I were to calculate the time on how much I spend tuning to music would hypothetically be around 8-9 hours of the 24 hours based on daily basis.

Do you write your own script?

Yes, I write my own lyrics. It started out with me as a young kid writing lyrics of the famous rappers and lip syncing along with them. And it slowly engulgated myself in writing my own. You know, one of the best moments when you're writing a song and a dope phrase hit your mind and you'll be like, 'Goddamn it, Moko. That is some genius shit'. Songwriters will know what i mean.

When and how did you become interested in music?

How I got into rapping. It’s still crystal clear in my thoughts. It was back in 2005. I and my dad went to a CD store to check out some country songs because my dad was a country listener. My dad was there picking up some collections of ABBA and Smokies collection, I was there, just browsing through and I came across this Hip-Hop music collections. I stumbled onto an Eminem CD. Back then I knew he was a rapper. So, I just took that and bought it home. I bumped that CD into the DVD player...and the first song was his Oscar winning song 'Lose Yourself'. That song moved me like literally it did. And i don’t know if it was fate but the next day, one of my classmates bought the lyrics “Lose Yourself”. I borrowed from him and guess what; I bumped on my DVD player and started rapping.

What are your musical influences?

Eminem inspired me to rap. That I would say without hesitation. But as I start to go deeper and started to research about the history of hip-hop. I found more eminent personalities such as Ice cube, Rakim, Nas, Biggie, 2pac etc. And underground rappers like Mac lethal, Immortal technique, Louis Logic, Hopsin, etc...

Does anyone in your family play music?

All my siblings in my family got different taste in music. My elder bro, he is a rock fan and he is crazy with the guitars. My two smaller brothers are basically huge fans of pop music, RnBs & EDMs.

How do you manage to get rid of the stage fright?

Whenever I get to stage, of course I get a little bit of not myself. But what I do, before I step into the stage. I take a deep breath and slowly exhale out the uneasy and cheesy feeling. But now, I guess I’m used to it. I feel comfortable.

What do you think about Naga music industry?

Personally, I think the music industry in Nagaland is developing. And when i say it’s developing, I mean it because I’m a keen observer. Music website like Indi hut is doing a lot for the upcoming artists. Shout out to the whole team on Indihut.

In my own point of view, a major drawback of the naga music industry is the lack of well-established record labels and the promotion of certain genres in music. I’m not saying, the naga music industry is shit but what I feel is that there should be separate labels for different genres in music so that the record labels can promote their own artists separately on the basis on their genres. But i understand in order to do that we need more funds and supports and links. Gradually, I know Nagaland will soon establish its musical grounds. (No offence to anyone)

Do you get enough support from the people?

Yes, I get a lotta love and support from people around. They feel my music and lyrics, how they would hit me up and tell me they relate to me and my songs. That keeps me inspired and motivated and makes me wanna write more and more.

What is your dream as a rapper/ musician?

I wouldn't refer myself as a rapper now because I’m still not established yet. But as a person who likes to rap, the only reason I still like to rap is how I can relate myself with everybody. What I feel, they feel it too. It’s like we share the same state of mind. So, my dream is to be an artist, that voice when you wanna speak but you can't. When you wanna express something but you can’t show. I want to be their voice and expression because what’s in my thoughts, it’s there in their thoughts too.

How the life of a musician looks liked?

I think a musician have a different mindset. They like to look at the world in a different perspective. When I’m most inspired, writing a song is when I’m out in the world. Like hanging out, running for errands...words just hit my mind. I brainstorm and genius words just hit me. Then I go back home and jot those words in my pad. What I feel, musicians are the most sensitive people because they are aware of the real world and that’s how you'll find it in their songs too.

What are your struggles and challenges?

My struggles and challenges I face normally is how I try to cope with my college life and the music thing. I said earlier that I keep music as my hobby but sometimes I’m so into my hobby that I forget the other important things in my life. But now, gradually I’m learning to manage myself.

Your message to the readers?

My message to the readers, well, I’m not a guy with big words but...you and I are the same. Don't ever think yourself as inferior. You know you are special in your own cool way. Nobody can ever do it like you nor can nobody ever be you. You know what, our Creator is a genius. For real, He created everybody in their own special way. You just need to find that out.

Peace!

You can follow him on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mokokoza/