A Kansas City 5th grader is making rap music for her fellow middle schoolers: ‘This ain’t baby shark’ | KCUR 89.3

Macyn “Mac Sauce” McMillian was only five years old when he wrote his first rap. She still remembers that day clearly. She told her father that she could rap and that she had written songs, but her father did not believe her. Still, she asked him to listen.

“He was like, ‘You don’t know how to rap,’ and I was like, ‘Yes, I do. I rap,'” McMillian says.

After her father relented and she sang her song, she says he still couldn’t believe it.

“He said, ‘Okay, let’s go to the studio. Like, you got it,'” McMillian says beamingly.

Nearly six years later, McMillian is making headlines. She is on a mission to make her rap music more suitable for children her age.

“I’ve always loved music and I love dancing, so it’s always been a passion,” says McMillian.

Brianna Gates, McMillian’s mother, says her passion lies in her family.

“I’m in my car, I’m in the shower, I’m home. As soon as I walk in, I say, ‘Hey Alexa, play this,'” Gates says. “She’s always surrounded by music, so it doesn’t surprise her at all. But yeah, the music was hers.”

hot sauce

McMillian went viral on twitter In 2019, a video of her YMCA back-to-school performance received over 1 million views. In the video, McMillian, who is even younger and petite, has brightly colored beads in her hair and wears her set of matching athletic shorts. She dances around the stage and enlivens the crowd of children surrounding the stage.

The following year she won Kansas City People’s Choice Awards Best Youth Entertainer Award. In October, McMillian said she was a guest on AfroTv. sissandra show.

But McMillian wants to achieve more than popularity. She calls herself a “playground voice,” and she says she wants to cheer up other children who may be struggling at home or at school.

“Don’t let it get you down,” she says. “Be yourself and don’t change yourself for anyone.”

Her message also comes through in her music. It doesn’t sound like it was made for kids – that’s the point, McMillian wants her parents to enjoy the music, too.

“This is not a baby shark,” she raps.stupid remix”

she songs with a theme Like friendship, be a good student and stand up for yourself. She wants other children to feel empowered and to stand up to her bullying.

Brandon Charleston, McMillian’s longtime mentor and producer, says she clearly knows what she’s doing. She says she learns her lyrics with ease and takes her guidance and criticism seriously.

“I brag about her all the time,” he says. “Sometimes I ask my clients, ‘Have you ever heard of Mac Sauce?

owned by Charleston Studio B Music Studio at Raytown. He says he has worked with artists such as Tech N9ne, who has sold over two million albums, and NoCap, a popular rapper in Alabama’s relatively new scene. He says McMillian still has a lot of time to grow and improve, but she’s ahead of many adults.

During the summer, Charleston hosted a 12-bar challenge. Participants submitted their video entries by rapping 12 verses of him to an instrumental track provided by Studio B and posting on social media. People across the country posted content and were scored based on the amount of likes and comments the post received. McMillian won first place.

“One of the big things is that she’s confident and confident in the industry, and that’s a long way to go,” Charleston says. “Sometimes it’s not… what you say, it’s how you say it.”

“Power”

McMillian says the lyrics are easy to memorize. She recorded her lyrics on a voice memo on her cell phone and listened to the recording over and over. Or she says she sleeps on it.

“I feel like it’s a power, because it’s really frustrating when you trip over not knowing rap and you don’t know anything at all,” says McMillian. “But it’s like I fall asleep, and all the time I’m asleep, I’m just saying it in my head and doing it. , I know it.

McMillian has a lot of potential beyond music, her mother says. She’s getting ready to launch her line of lip glosses and nail polishes, and she’s even written a children’s book.

“I love what she does for herself. You can see.

Whatever McMillian does, she’ll probably be writing songs, dropping bars, and inspiring other kids.

“After school, on weekends, on summer vacation,” she says. “You can do it while on the bus or in the car on the way to school,” she says of the 11-year-old girl. “I have a lot of time to do that.”