Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Konohia.
Hi Matthew, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Started out very young as just a fan like everyone else, I liked what I liked. Gogo, Gospel, R&B, Electronic, Hip-Hop, you name it. I liked it. I was literally a sponge. It eventually became a necessity to discover some new music or a music video to watch on my own as I got more freedom. At home on Music Choice or MTV, at school in the computer labs, my busted phone, or just being around my brothers, I just couldn’t stop obsessing over the visuals I was watching and music I was listening to. In retrospect, I definitely was developing my influences that I have today. Haha- I’m still shocked I knew what Soundcloud and DatPiff were at my age back then. Literally turned into a mini savant for it at my age.
Despite that exposure, I grew up wanting to go to school to be an architectural engineer, but overtime in High School, I started to get that urge to just give music a shot. Not necessarily throw architecture out the door as a goal, but to see if my desire was more than just being an avid listener that respected the craft. I’d have to give credit to both of my music teachers in Middle and High School, especially Dr. Harley. He made a music career seem tangible and laid out several opportunities for all of us to be something in it. Always brought in folks from different fields and schools. He wanted us to know that it’s not only a real profession, but we could have that for ourselves despite where we were from if we wanted it bad enough.
Fast forward to the end of 2019, I bought Ableton, which I still use to this day, on a Dell Desktop Computer and start creating. 95% of them beats were likely trash, but I remember the rush I got from just doing it. Just trying to replicate and understand what the artists that came before me did, so I could do something for myself. Eventually, I made a decision to fully pursue music, but since it was COVID by that point, I had to do Zoom classes and I’m a tactile learner, so I hated those classes. Every last one of them. One good thing it gave me though was more time to make music. More and more time went on and I downright hated school and decided to put an end to try working it out my own way.
During my gap year, I worked in DC and made music for the most part until my mom convinced me to go back to school. So, I went to school in Connecticut for four years. My freshman year, I finally bought an MPC one because I was tired of staring at a Laptop screen. I started to figure out what style of production I wanted to do by this point. My favorite producers that I derived from stylistically were The Alchemist, Madlib and Dilla, So, I always rocked with the MPCs and the SPs they used. Overtime, I started to evolve the ideas I liked during COVID/High School and it started to blossom in college. Sophomore year, I ended up in Nashville, TN. in the spring and that changed my life. I had already known that the competition was vast, but seeing it in person to that magnitude was different and I decided to work harder.
From then until now, I graduated, dropped a project with one of my good friends from college titled “Casino”, and I’ve solely been focused on building connections with creatives I respect and want to grow with whether it’s through music or in life, sometimes even both. Finally starting to take bigger risks and just put myself out there to do that also and that’s pretty much that.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Absolutely not. I’ll tell you right now, you will likely only hear like 15% of the music I’ve ever made. I won’t allow you to hear the other 85% and it’s for good reason. That’s still me being generous. Constant revisions. Sometimes life happens. You start to second guess yourself at times especially when you feel like you’ve plateaued. Creative conflicts with other people that go against your vision. Having to deal with almost 7 years of mostly hearing “No.” before you finally get a “Yes.” There’s tons of them that every creative faces. Shoot, everyone faces it. Special people live special lives, so you just gotta accept the doubts, the rejections and everything else in between.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m primarily a Hip-Hop producer from PG County, MD, but I also work in R&B. I’m known for sample-based production from crate digging to making instrumentals on my MPC. I have a collage-style of approach to producing. Taking small pieces from different places and putting them together as something new. It’s a unique challenge, but I get a thrill from it. I released my first project with Mr. Kain, a brother of mine from college and I can say in confidence I got more in store going forward.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Luck is just a combination of preparation and opportunity. You won’t get much luck if you’re not putting yourself in the spaces to even get a chance. You certainly won’t get lucky if you don’t even work towards your goals. For myself, I did what I needed to do and even with the rejection I’ve got, I also found my people in the process so far.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mako.wish/
- Other: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/makowish/1868798114
