Myke Towers talks about creating his new album, ‘El Pantera Negra,’ his North American tour that ties into the album, working on “ADIVINO” with Bad Bunny, collaborating with Peso Pluma and Benny Blanco on his new album and more!
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00:00There's a level of writing, you know, of writers, so I want to be one of them.
00:05I want to create my legacy.
00:07Hi, this is Mike Towers, and this is Billboard News.
00:20It's Tetris hanging out with our Billboard cover star, Mike Towers.
00:24How's it going, man?
00:24What's good, bro?
00:25So we got to talk about it.
00:28Or, as I can say it better, Black Panther.
00:30Yeah, but you did it well, you did it well.
00:31Oh, thank you. I try, I try.
00:32So tell me why the album Black Panther.
00:34Why the name?
00:36First of all, I feel like I'm a superhero.
00:38Whenever I'm performing or in the studio,
00:41like when it's time to do what I do, it's like putting on the suit.
00:45I mean, you said when you did our cover that this album kind of like
00:49was a return back to who you are musically.
00:51So what do you feel like you kind of like left that you're bringing back here?
00:55I think I left a little bit the
00:58the lyricist corner.
01:00That's what I like to do.
01:01But I was like trying to grow up as an artist
01:06and show the fans what else can I do.
01:09But, you know, sometimes you got to go back to the bottom
01:12and you feel like, let's go start again.
01:15I feel like you always do stay true to your roots,
01:16whether it's like reggaeton, rap, obviously, other genres.
01:19But you do experiment a lot as well.
01:21So how do you feel like you played around a little bit on this album?
01:25I always like to do different things.
01:28So I did like a reggaeroot vibe
01:32like a Bob Marley flow.
01:34I did it in the album.
01:36It's called En el Mal, like in the ocean.
01:39It's like reggaeton.
01:40Of course, hip hop, trap.
01:42That's the culture that made me get the love that I have for the music.
01:47But I always try to do like I want to see
01:50the people dancing in my show.
01:52How they sing every lyric.
01:55But I like to make them sing melodies, too.
01:59I mean, you dropped the Divino with Bad Bunny.
02:08So tell me about that collab.
02:09How did that come together?
02:10We have made music before, but we never did something like for the woman.
02:15So I played a couple of records
02:19and he was not that's the one.
02:21And I just when he listening,
02:24he told me, like, I really got what I want to say.
02:27So, you know, he's a genius making music.
02:31There is no doubt.
02:32And I'm other one, too.
02:34So it's like two greats together.
02:37And what do you feel like?
02:38Because you guys have done other music together.
02:40So what do you feel about Charles chemistry that works away?
02:43You know, he he always come with the A1 game.
02:47I always like to do the A1 game, too.
02:49So he he got love for the music.
02:52You know what was hot.
02:54So it's going to be always fire.
02:56You also work with Peso Puma.
02:58And I love that man.
02:59He's so genuine, man.
03:00So so down to earth.
03:01And tell me how it was to, like,
03:03mix reggaeton with like his whole regional Mexicana sound.
03:06You know, I'm a fan of his music of his.
03:09When I when I discovered his music, I was like, what's this?
03:12It's like a revolution of what they they was making.
03:17And of course, I got love for for like his music, like Corridos.
03:22It's like I started like therapy early in the morning, like,
03:26you know, going going on and listening to that type of music.
03:31But he made reggaeton, too.
03:33So it's like I know what he's trying to do.
03:38So he's making like a crossover, but in the right way.
03:43I played a couple of records for him in his studio.
03:45He was like, I love this one.
03:46He really love it.
03:48So he's genuine.
03:50Yeah, I like that you do that.
03:51You said that about Bad Bunny, too.
03:52So you always like have a couple of records that you go in with somebody
03:56so they can kind of feel what they want to jump on.
03:57Yeah, because I want to when I when I do like a song of mine for an artist,
04:02I want him to feel comfortable and that he can relate in the song.
04:08I make a lot of songs.
04:09So I study the artists that I'm going to see and show him a couple of records.
04:15And I mean, you've worked with so many great people on this.
04:17Benny Blanco as well.
04:18So tell me how it was.
04:19I mean, his production is flawless.
04:21So how was that part of the studio recording?
04:24We were in a studio in L.A.
04:27like a dope studio, like big studio.
04:30I'm like, damn, Benny Blanco is over there.
04:34He's like another day at the office.
04:35So we did three songs that day and the three songs are fire.
04:39But the one in the album, you know, when something is dope,
04:43the time pass and you play it at the same time.
04:46Yeah. So that's what happened with that song.
04:49And Benny is like, his vibe is crazy.
04:52Like whenever I'm around him, he's like laughing around.
05:01Is there a track that you're expecting like they're going to be shocked by?
05:04Like what track do you like?
05:05The fans are ready for this one.
05:06You know, now I'm making the albums and I have to think
05:10in the different categories of fans that I have.
05:14I have fans that love the hardcore music and they don't listen to any other songs.
05:20Only hardcore like bangers, street bangers.
05:22So I have music for them.
05:25But of course, I have music for the women, the girls like
05:29I love my towers, my flowers.
05:33It's my tower for the street and my flowers.
05:35For the ladies.
05:36So is that hard to like balance?
05:38Like all these people, like do they come up to you fans and like,
05:40oh, do more of this, do more of this?
05:41Yeah, of course.
05:43They will never be like, oh, I got to like a hundred percent.
05:47They're going to be always like people talking, you know, shit.
05:52But the thing is that I can
05:56please everybody at the same time.
05:58So little by little, I know
06:01I know you got to be in love with one of the songs for sure.
06:05And you wrote everything on the album?
06:07Yeah, of course I got.
06:09Let's say if you bring me an idea and I really love it
06:13and I think it makes sense, I'm up.
06:16I'm open to to work it.
06:18But I do all my lyrics.
06:20Yeah. Yeah.
06:21And I've heard that you've got like notebooks and notebooks of lyrics.
06:24So tell me, how do you get that inspiration?
06:27Like, where do you find the inspiration?
06:29I've been studying a lot of big artists
06:32and I think for the future, when they
06:36when they see, you know, the notebooks, they're going to say like,
06:38you know, this song you write over here, then they're going to see that
06:42how big the song was.
06:44And I just do it to inspire like the new generation.
06:47Did you challenge yourself on the songwriting to write a little different
06:50this time?
06:51Of course, because I think there's a level of writing,
06:56you know, of writers.
06:57So I want to be one of them.
06:59I want to be I want to create my legacy.
07:02I study all of them, but I have my story to tell, too.
07:11What was the challenge in the game of making this album?
07:14The challenge is daily, you know, always is a new challenge.
07:18There's a lot of new generation
07:21dropping music and their heart.
07:23So I like to study the game and whatever I can do for a new artist.
07:28Like, I like to help them, because when I started,
07:31it was a little difficult.
07:33So I know how how that feels.
07:40If you could put together, just bear with me like a collaboration album,
07:44you can work with anybody else who would be on your like ultimate next collab
07:48album.
07:50That's difficult because I got like chemistry, I feel
07:54with a lot of big artists, but one
07:57that I love to do, like for the culture is going to be like
08:02John C, like one of the you said, I use one of from Puerto Rico.
08:06And I like if we make a collab album,
08:09you're also going to be going on your North American leg for your tour
08:12to support the album.
08:13So tell me about that.
08:14Tell me what the visuals are going to look like,
08:16how the visuals been for the album and how you're going to help them
08:18match the tour.
08:19This is a new, a whole another vibe.
08:22And when I saw like the intro a couple of days ago, I was like,
08:26damn, because I never watched like the show from from the fan perspective.
08:31I'm always like on the stage, but I didn't like them.
08:36I'm like the fans going to going to see the difference
08:40because they they will mean that we've been with me in this journey.
08:45So whenever I do step of the game, they feel like proud of me.
08:50So they're going to whenever they see me again.
08:53So I'm going to be in your city.
08:55That's super cool.
08:56I never even thought about that, though.
08:58So like you get to like how involved are you in that process?
09:01You get to like sit back and like watch the lighting and watch the screens.
09:04Of course, you're going to be you're going to be doing that.
09:07But I did. I do not pay too much attention.
09:11I'm always like, I got my mind.
09:13I got to perform.
09:14But when you see like everything together, you say like,
09:18damn, it's going to look like raw.
09:22And now that you got this new music to perform,
09:24what song are you most excited to get on stage here in the States
09:27and like show off for everybody?
09:29It depends the city, but the intro.
09:33I'm always like focusing on how
09:37that's the moment that they're going to.
09:39Because, you know, they're waiting for me.
09:41They play music.
09:42They're going to get hype up.
09:43But when I go out, they get, you know, goosebumps.
09:48I'll do that. It's got to feel incredible.
09:50Is there a song that you feel like your fans always like?
09:52The one, you know, everybody's always going to go ham for.
09:55I have ten songs that whenever I play them,
10:00one of them is like Diosa or La Playa.
10:03Whenever I play them in the crowd, I don't even have to sing them.
10:07You know why?
10:08They're going to sing them for you.
10:09Of course, I do it because I like it, but they do it.
10:11Yeah, that's so awesome.
10:20Do you have that connection with your fans?
10:21I feel like you are also really private.
10:23You're somebody that kind of keeps your life to yourself,
10:25but you also have the connection with them online.
10:27So how do you kind of find that balance?
10:30You have to have your private life, too, because it is like crazy
10:34having everything like every time, like cameras in every place.
10:38It's like I don't like that.
10:40I just make music.
10:41If it was for me, even in real,
10:45they don't even know me as a person.
10:47It's like, you like my music? Listen to it.
10:50But I really love what I do.
10:53So what do you want to say to your fans?
10:55I want them to know that I was born to make music
10:59and that we have more stacks of music ready to blow out, you know.
11:07And whenever they see me, it doesn't matter.
11:10Like I'm ready to go.
11:13Like I'm ready to make this music.
11:16They're going to see me like every time harder.
11:19Dope, man. Well, I got to make it out to one of the shows.
11:21Thanks for stopping by.