Mack Davis

INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: MACK DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HER NEW SINGLE “ISSUES”

HALEEMAKHAN MAY 25, 2015
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Mack Davis, Toronto-based songstress, is finally letting go of her first single titled “Issues” and she has a story to tell. Her soulful vocals and song writing are obviously polished as she uses every word to power her melodic approach. Mack Davis’s story is as intriguing as her music. Along with the song you get to see her first visuals that paint a vivid picture of the city at night. “Issues” sets the tone perfectly for her upcoming project 6°. Mack Davis sits down with us to speak on what it means to be a girl in 2015.

The Source: What’s the story behind Mack Davis?

Mack Davis: In highschool my friends started calling me Tasha Mack when the show “The Game” was popular. “Mack” caught on and it just stuck. I don’t think I’m a player but I’m always mackin’, so-to-speak. I don’t hold back, I play the game.

How long have you been making music for?

I always loved to sing and make up songs, but it wasn’t until I left highschool that I really got behind the mic seriously. I started recording music as part of a female crew called Blck Coffee, and we would perform at various venues in Toronto. That was about two years ago.

Is this something you always wanted to do?

I was in University without really knowing what I was doing and I wasn’t happy. I decided I couldn’t live that way anymore, I needed to pursue what I love. My music started as a very private thing, but then I realized I had all these crazy ideas that I didn’t want to keep to myself anymore. It’s vulnerable sharing your personal work.

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What is the story behind your single “Issues”?

“Issues” describes my experience on the scene. The Toronto party scene and music scene intertwine on so many levels. There are a lot of politics involved. There’s so many surface judgements that acquaintances will make about you. I’m a pretty introverted individual, so putting myself out there hasn’t always been easy. Not to mention the handfuls of shady people that I have encountered along the way. People have wasted my time and money, and “borrowed” my ideas throughout this process.

Tell us about 6° (Pronounced Six Degrees).

6° is my first project. It takes on different meanings. There’s the temperature aspect; I want the words you’ll hear to bring you chills like when you step outside in six degree weather without a coat on. I tried to be as raw as possible, it’s cold. I think a lot of people in Toronto especially are gonna be able to relate to that. You’re gonna hear crazy sounds and crazy moods.

What does it mean to be a girl in 2015?

Girls can be whatever we want to be and I think it’s our time to recognize this. We have all these girls on TV and Instagram being praised solely for their looks and booty. I’m not opposed to showing off female beauty, but there’s so much more than that. I interact with so many boss-ass women on a regular basis, of all shapes, sizes and colours who take charge of their business and take risks. These girls are in control of their life and they’re not afraid to speak up, even if it makes them seem less “lady-like”. To me, that’s real beauty and empowerment.

Do you feel your music speaks for a lot of today’s younger girls whether it’s Toronto or anywhere else?

Absolutely. I’m all about girl power. We are bombarded with sexist and contradictory messages everyday. I want to address certain double standards and encourage young girls to speak their minds. Girls are constantly told how to look and dress and I think it causes many of us to feel insecure at times. There’s so much pressure to look hot and then there’s so much shaming girls for being “hoes”.

Ultimatley what is that youd like to achieve in your career?

Success, really. I want to be able to experiment and learn as much as possible. Money and fame are intriguing, but I care more about sustainability. I want to be respected for my creativity and the message I’m sending out. I’d love to be able to song write for other artists that I respect as well.

5 goals in 2015:

Release my first project.
Do some epic collaborations.
Travel and tour outside of Toronto
I want my name to be recognized. I don’t want to have to introduce myself to the same person twice.
Quit or at least cut back on my day job. - The Source

Mack Davis makes her HNHH debut with the "Issues" video.

Mack Davis is an up-and-coming Toronto R&B singer, and she's making her HNHH debut today with her new video for "Issues". The record starts off fairly traditionally, but we're soon hit with a series of curveballs on the production side of things, turning the song into something of an obstacle course for Davis to run her vocals through and prove her prowess.

She manages to show a great deal of versatility within one track, which has us very excited about her future prospects. Word is she's been in the studio with MOSTHIGH (the co-producer of Drake's "*67"), who should be a great match for her. Look out for new music soon. - Hot New Hip Hop

Toronto-based Mack Davis songstress/song writer releases her first single titled “Issues” produced by Gavin Bradley & Kaz Matic. It comes with an equally swaggy video which gives you an insight to Toronto’s underground music scene. The video is directed by Meron Gaudet and creative direction handled by Mack Davis and DATA-X. This comes off her up coming project 6°. Watch the video below and stay tned for more music from her. - Boi1da

After a full house show on August 6th at the Hard Rock Cafe for G 98.7 FM, Mack Davis sat down with me to discuss her come up in Toronto’s urban scene, the business behind the pleasure, and the gender politics that make her strive for greatness in a male dominated field.

“I was so excited to perform for G 98.7 FM, because they are one of my favourite Toronto radio stations,” said Davis. “They play a lot of underground stuff that doesn’t play on mainstream radio. I was happy to be a part of that, and as a new artist, I was grateful they would let me perform.”

At an early age, she began writing poetry and songs, and imitated the artists she heard around the house, like Mariah Carey’s album Rainbow, and thinking to herself that she too could be like Mimi. It wasn’t until she began to truly understand the power behind her voice and lyrics that she realized this could be her calling. Her older brother was also involved in the industry, making beats on his computer and rapping, and with an early access to that, she began utilizing his techniques herself. From this, she co-founded a girl group called Black Coffee with two of her girlfriends, who performed around Toronto and gaining steam within the urban scene downtown. Eventually breaking off to focus on their own individual projects, Mack says then that was when everything for her began to take off, which is when she met her in-house producer and engineer, Gavin Bradley.

“I was at this vocal studio, and Gavin was teaching a course on song writing,” Davis explains. “As soon as I had that first day with him, I knew I had to work with him. It happened organically, because I would ask him to elaborate on ideas or ask questions about what he had said. We ended up experimenting and working on some songs, and he became a mentor to me. He’s amazing at what he does, whether it is production or collaborating, and has a very good musical ear from jazz to hip-hop to dance music. He has been instrumental for me being able to get my music out there. He’s one of the most unique, versatile and thorough producers I’ve ever met; he is so detail oriented, he will spend an hour on one sound just to make sure it’s perfect. His work speaks for itself.”

Her first single, Issues, premiered in the Source Magazine, as well as Hot New Hip-Hop and Boy Wonder Productions. Besides the music video for Issues, Davis is working on the music video for her second single, After Dark, and on her new project, Six Degrees, which is set to be released this fall. Gavin Bradley has engineered everything on the project, producing or co-producing alongside her other producer, Lefty (who goes by Lef7y). Davis has her hands in her work as well, as she is co-producing and co-directing her videos, something she strives to do with all her work. At this time, Mack Davis is completely independent, and she says that is what works at this time, until she finds something she wants to put her signature on.

“There is so much going on right now,” she said. “I am just heavily focusing on the project and getting that completed. I am hoping to do some collaborations within the next year, but the goal is to boost the project.”

Issues is about the music scene, as well as gender politics, and examines the body image issues, the pressure to keep up appearances, and the harsh ideals society gears young women to work towards. She says these expectations are so fake, but everyone feels the pressure to live up to it, and the track highlights on the highs and lows of the industry, including the friends, enemies, drugs, drinking and fights. She discusses the hardships she encountered upon entering the music scene, from the lies and berating, to the vanity and ignorance. These politics, she feels, are irrelevant, and Issues is about how she has sifted her way through that world, while being hyper aware of what is going on around her.
“Gavin and Lefty understand my process, and I know theirs, so we feed off each others energies,” she says pointedly. “Music for me is an outlet, so whether I’m frustrated, excited, confused, or sad, it’s first instinct for me to just write it all down. I’ve always been influenced by artists, especially female artists, who write their own music, because I think that there is a lot of fake things that girls see and are consumed by. But when they come across an artist who speaks her true feelings, and represents that female perspective, it’s important and it changes everything. That is something that has brought me through hard times. Sometimes I don’t even know what I am feeling until I have written it down and turn it into something. It’s really about finding a way to express yourself in a world where we are told to express ourselves in very limiting ways. Music gives me the chance to explain myself in a very creative way, that can be interpreted in more than one sense. I want to be someone who women can look at and think ‘I’ve been through that, I know that feeling’.”

When asked about how she creates, Davis says it all starts with a singular idea, whether it is a lyrics or a message, which she will scribble down frantically on a napkin, in her phone, or in whatever journal she has at her disposal. From that point, she will tear it apart and recreate each piece, several times over, before bringing it to Lefty. After explaining how she wants to convey this piece, the duo will collaborate on the piece together, with Lefty creating beats as Davis sings until they find the beat that fits. From here, she will bring the rough template to Gavin Bradley, and they will do a quick demo recording, which will shortly thereafter be ripped apart completely. She says that the lyrics, for the most part, remain intact, but Bradley will help Davis reshape the melodies and fine tune the beat, until they feel that they have completed the process.

“The good thing right now is that there are a lot of eyes on Toronto,” she said. “In past years, Toronto’s hip-hop scene wasn’t really taken seriously. Everyone is looking for that hot new thing from Toronto, so it’s good for that. But there is also a lot of pressure. The biggest thing about coming out of Toronto is that people don’t really support each other until they have a co-sign from a big artist, so that is difficult. As well, I am in a male lane, in terms of what style of music I do, so there’s a lot of sexism involved, and I feel like I have to come across as a bitch for someone to take me seriously. I am not just here to be a pretty face, I am here to promote my music. The competition is honestly so tough in Toronto right now because there is a lot of talented Toronto artists, but there’s not a lot of support, so it comes down to a popularity contest. People don’t care as much about the music as they do about the persona around the person.”

She circles back to Gavin Bradley, and how he is able to accept her and her sound for what it is, and he does not try to make her sound like someone else or a certain sound to follow a trend. Her sound is refreshingly unique, and she refrains from categorization of one definite genre, as she meanders through and melds together many types to create a separate sound. Whereas in the past, Davis has tried to work with engineers or producers who discouraged this creativity, Bradley has been there to encourage this growth and help infuse her work produce the grandeur who is Mack Davis.

“I couldn’t do without writing my own music,” she says, without missing a beat. “As much as I love singing and rapping, I always go back to the writing aspect. I need to be able to feel like I am connected to what I am saying for it to be authentic at all. I will always, always, always write. I love to dip my fingers into other creative outlets, but writing will always be that one thing for me, because it has to come from my heart, from my own experiences, my own thoughts, and my own feelings. That’s what an artist is.” - Novella Mag