You Will “Fall” In Love with MkX’s New Music Video

The louder the personality, the louder the music.

Inspired by the era of frosted tips, boybands, and Britney Spears, pop powerhouse MkX recently released the retro-futuristic video for his latest single “Fall.” Wrestling with the stages of falling in love, this pop bop pays homage to the 90s and 2000s we all have nostalgia for. “Fall” follows on the heels of “Down,” MkX’s sweat-slicked collaboration with rap sensation cupcakKe.

Architecting every nuance of his vision to blend R & B with high-tech, industrial sound design to create glossy, pop gems, MkX uses his music to empower both himself and his listeners, encouraging them to dare to be different. Independently racking up close to five million Spotify streams, MkX uses his encyclopedic understanding of pop music to craft his own world.

OUT FRONT had the opportunity to chat more with MkX about “Fall,” his unique look and sound, and his recent, hyperpop cover of the Black Eyed Pea’s “Don’t Phunk With My Heart.”

Hello! Thank you for taking some time to chat with me. How are you doing during these unprecedented times?
It has been kind of a bittersweet thing. I was supposed to move to Los Angeles in August; I just graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston, and I kind of put those plans on hold. I am staying with my parents at the moment. I am probably going to move out there in 2021, like in January, but in the meantime, I have just been staying creative and making a bunch of stuff. I got to really focus on finishing the video for “Fall,” which I am so excited about. So, I have been making a lot of music and doing my thing.

Yes, congrats on the video release for your single “Fall!” Can you tell us more about the concept and inspiration behind both the song and video?
Yes, definitely! The song is kind of about the three stages of falling for someone. The first part is about saying, ‘I don’t want to fall,’ like having my guard up and being scared of being hurt again. The second part of the song is admitting to myself, ‘OK, I am starting to fall for this person; it’s starting to get real.’ Then, by the end, I am like, ‘OK, I fell for this person, but now I am going to switch the roles and make them fall for me.’

It was a fun one to do. It was the first song I have done where the chorus has different lyrics each chorus. I wanted to represent the progression and plot of the song. I would say the video is more of what was going on in my brain while I was writing the song, like more of the visual. Like the analogies. When I was talking about falling for someone, of course I wasn’t physically talking about falling off a building, but those are the visuals that came to mind based off of the lyrics I wrote.

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Of what I have seen and heard of your music, you go for a very unique sound and look. Can you talk more about your aesthetic?
I am super inspired by early 2000s pop music. It’s what I grew up on. As, like, a four-year-old child, I was just listening to, like, all of the Top 40 music, and I had, like, a gigantic CD collection. It was just what I loved when growing up. That music really holds a special place in my heart, and it definitely comes through from not just the music side, but also the branding and visual side.

I am a huge fan of the concept of retro futurism. I feel like in the 2000s, there was this whole thing where everyone wanted to be futuristic, but it was what people thought the future was in the 2000s. All these cheesy special effects and hyper-future stuff like that. So, I really wanted to bring that vibe back with a nostalgic chase to it.

Then, just graduating from Berklee, I studied electronic music production and sound design. So, I have been super inspired by all of the crazy sound designer producers in the electronic world as well. They have totally opened my mind from just making pop music to making more of the electronic, glitchy, hyper-pop kind of stuff.

What do you hope listeners take away from “Fall?”
When I write music, my goal is to write songs that people can relate to and have gone through those experiences in their own lives because that is what music has done for me growing up. Even now, it is one of the main things that help me get through life. Same with a lot of people. So, I wanted to be that artist who makes that music for people. I mean, a lot of people have fallen for people, and people have fallen them. I just wanted to write a record that really resonated with people that they can kind of put in the context of what they are going through.Would you say that is kind of the overall message you try to convey with your music?
That is definitely one of them. That, and another one of my main messages is just having people to not be afraid to express themselves. Whether they make music, whether make other kind of art, whether they work in an office. Fashion is also very important to me. If it were up to me, everyone in the world would be dressed crazy, however they want to dress and no one would be conforming to what society expects you to wear or how to present yourself. I just want to inspire people to be themselves to the fullest. Crank it up to 100.

Have you always had a passion for singing and songwriting?
Yes. I was doing shows and performances since I was 8. I started playing the guitar, singing, and doing cover songs. The more shows I did, people would see me and want to book me for other places. Eventually, I was touring around the country. I was in a deal with my sister; she played the drums; I played guitar, and we both sang. It was a lot of fun. We went from just doing show on the back of a truck to opening for Ariana Grande. Like, huge, different contrasts between just doing it for years and years. It was a lot of fun. Creating music and performing has always been a gigantic passion of mine.

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What are some future goals you would like to accomplish as a LGBTQ artist?
Hm, that is a difficult question. I would say, I want to kind of normalize the concept of LGBTQ. Whether you are kind of straight, not straight at all, questioning—I just want there to be less of a label kind of thing. I want people to be themselves and not be like ‘Oh, I have to fit into a label.’

I want to bring that to the forefront of people’s brains. Everyone likes music; everyone has music in their lives, and I feel like music is a great platform to kind of show people how they should live their lives and how they should be more accepting towards sexuality, race, and anything that people are prejudiced against. I am for everyone being equal and supporting each other. That is one of the main messages I want to bring to the forefront of my music, too. Everyone should bring each other up. The weird thing people would say about you, use that as your superpower.

In addition to “Fall,” you also recently flexed your pop producer muscles by surprise-dropping a hyperpop cover of the Black Eyed Pea’s “Don’t Phunk With My Heart.” Can you tell us more about that?
That was a fun one! I was in the shower, and I had my Spotify library on shuffle. It’s just all my songs that I have liked throughout the years, and that song came on. I was like yo, I forgot how hard this song went. I want to do my own, hyperpop version of it. So, I just did it. I recorded it in my basement; I did all the production myself. I just put it out and hoped for the best, and the Black Eyed Peas liked my Instagram post with the cover.

It was the craziest thing. I was experiencing such a surreal moment. I have been such a huge fan of them since I was, like, 5 years old. I remember begging my mom to bring me to Walmart the day Monkey Business came out so I can buy the CD before school. I am a hue fan of theirs, and it was crazy to get their seal of approval.

Before we wrap up, is there anything else you would like to mention or any other upcoming projects we should be on the lookout for?
I have been working on a bunch of songs, and I wrote some with some really cool friends of mine. Some of them may be by myself, but I have a bunch of stuff that I am excited to put out before the year ends. It’s going to be fun. I can’t wait!

Photos by Anthony Grasetti

To stay-up-to-date with MkX, follow him on Instagram, or visit his website. You can stream and listen to his music on YouTube and Spotify.

Photos Courtesy of Anthony Grasetti