Phoenix Rapper, Big Mav, Poised To Introduce Arizona's Hip Hop Scene To National Audience

Online, April 30, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Mention Rap or Hip Hop and New York and Los Angeles both likely spring to mind. What you are certainly not likely to think about, at least if you are not from Arizona, is Phoenix. But that may be changing soon, especially if one local artist has anything to say about it. And apparently he does, as his music is already getting attention in places like L.A., San Francisco, Las Vegas and other key markets. The artist is Big Mav, and he is not only a fast-rising rapper, he is also an astute business man who is thinking well beyond his own career. Having been witness personally to the very rich Hip Hop scene in Phoenix, the artist is determined to make sure the whole country comes to know the talent that is here in the desert. His plans include a unique online Hip Hop portal and web-TV show, called "Music & Mischief," that will showcase Phoenix and Arizona-based musicians, comedians and other talent, as well as his own Hip Hop influenced merchandise and clothing. He is a man on a mission and based on the things he's overcome in his life, it wouldn't be smart to bet against him.

Big Mav, short for Big Maverick, has pretty much grown up in Phoenix. But not unlike so many other people in the Rap game, he did lead a dangerous and troubled life when he was young and a teenager, finding himself in trouble a lot more than was normal. In fact, this current album, "Memories Of A Hustla," is actually about being on the wrong side of things growing up. But unlike those other rappers, Big Mav is not about trying to glorify that life and those choices. While he clearly has the "street cred," or credentials that qualify him as the real deal, Big Mav's music and lyrics are more about making it out of that lifestyle and what he has learned from it. So those memories referenced to in the album's title are part of a story he is telling about surviving all that and getting to the other side. Songs like "I'm From The Streets," and "Shame On Us," while easy to dance to and listen to, are also deep stories about making it and doing what's right.

"I've been there, done that, as far as all that crazy stuff," Big Mav said. "I don't need to prove anything to anybody. I can relate to all that and I know how to make the music that appeals to that crowd. But I have a bigger crowd now and want to make a bigger message."

What changed life for Big Mav was the Marine Corps and subsequently college. Those institutions gave him the framework for turning his life around, and thereby avoiding another institution called prison that he may well have ended up in had he not changed course. And in the process, a perspective that few others in the Rap world are able to bring to the table. Part of getting the bigger message out that is so critical to Big Mav involves doing it in ways beyond the music. Big Mav is launching on June 1st the official "Music & Mischief" website, which will simply be www.musicandmischief.com. Music & Mischief was something he came up with partly to give a name to the group of people who he associated with in the Phoenix music scene. But pretty soon, he saw an opportunity to formalize the concept and grow it into something bigger.

"I come across a lot of really talented people in Phoenix and Arizona," he explained. "And our Hip Hop scene is actually way more vibrant than most people realize. So I want to make this place a mecca for Hip Hop musicians and artists, kind of the way Atlanta, New York and L.A. are. I know we have the talent here for it. And I want to draw more people here, more recognition."

Thus the idea to expand the concept of "Music & Mischief" to an online portal to the world of Arizona Hip hop and comedy. The site will feature an online "TV" show, hosted by Big Mav, that will offer interviews with artists and other key people on the scene, have an online comedians showcase, feature music, information about what's going on in the scene and much more. The goal is for this site to become for Hip Hop, what "Austin City Limits" did for independent and alternative music.

So the journey to this first album has been long and interesting, and it has certainly involved some bumps along the way. But it is here now and there is no stopping it or the artist, who is already well known in the scene here in Phoenix. And considering the radio play that his first single, "I Wanna Be With You," is already getting, without a label's backing and without a major push on his part, it is clear Big Mav is destined to make his mark. And in the process, he is likely to make a mark for Phoenix and Arizona as well. If this former Marine succeeds as planned, maybe when people say Hip Hop and Rap, they will indeed think of the desert in the same instant as they do the West and East Coasts.

For more on Big Mav, check out www.bigmav.com.