Melo by name, making music that’s beautifully mellow by nature. The Chicago native talks to VIPER about style and cross-genre creations…

Who is Melo Makes Music?

Melo Makes Music is me. Melo from Chicago, born and raised. I’m a recording artist, I’m just kind of a creative person in general. I dabble in a lot of different mediums, but most important of them all is music. The most focus goes towards music, making all sorts of genres of music and being able to express myself in all those ways. 

What are a few things that inspired you to become an artist?

Honestly, I think it was always something that was interesting to me. I’ve always been called to do something creative my whole life, like the arts were always a hobby. I started getting into music when I was 13, I didn’t think that I could seriously do it for real as a career choice or lifestyle choice until I was 19 or 20. That’s when I was kind of inspired by myself to pursue it, because I had made a lot of leaps as far as my ability in a short amount of time. I double-downed on myself, I really bet on myself and it’s been working out thus far. I’ve been inspired by all the artists that come before me, all of my contemporaries. People that I have seen growing up that have been able to make names for themselves. Everything is inspiring, I think that’s one of the beautiful things about being an artist, that you can be inspired by anything and everything. 

Thinking back to the beginning of your music career to now, what has influenced your change in style?

I think in the beginning it was all about rapping to me and being able to hone in on that skill and highlight that ability. But at the same time, I’ve always been really influenced by alternative music in general, especially Grunge and Rock music. As early as 2015 when I was putting out my first songs you can hear a lot of that influence in the music. I honestly feel like the change in my sound is really just kind of an evolution. Anybody who is really paying attention the whole time will be able to find the similarities between then and now. It’s all like an evolution, a growth from where I started. Now I think I have more of a focus on making a catchy song and making something that’s very expressive to how I feel, but also at the same time very captivating, attractive and familiar. I definitely still have Rap songs for people who love me for rapping and I definitely have songs that are way more Pop-oriented and less focused on Rap. I think there is something for everybody, that’s what the name is supposed to imply too. I make music which is the obvious thing, but I make all kinds of music, which would be the subtext of my name; Melo makes all kinds of music.

To read the rest of this interview, purchase a copy of our Summer 2021 issue.

Words: EvieTheCool

Photographer: Bianca Garcia

Creative Director/Stylist: EvieTheCool 

Studio: Congruent Space