Mayday is a lot more than your average Hip-Hop group with keyboards, bass guitars, turntables, and mic-stands. The duo can deliver thought-provoking rhymes and danceable, head-noddin’ rhythms accepted by both regular nine-to-fivers and buttoned-up bottle poppers. A feat that many try to accomplish but few succeed; and rumor has it that they have plenty of groupies too.
Made up of MC Bernbiz and (the nearly silent) producer Plex Luthor, Mayday has been involved in Miami, Florida’s underground scene from its inception, respectively with groups Evolver and Algorithm, and are now leading the charge for the Sunshine State much in thanks to a recently released stellar, self-titled debut album, Mayday! and its lead single/video “Groundhog Day” featuring Cee-Lo on the hook with DJ Craze on the cuts, that received more play on the internet than the latest Kim Kardashian home video. Get to know this creative crew that are breaking new ground on the daily.
AllHipHop.com: To those who don’t know, how would you describe your original sound and style?
Bernbiz: Rock bottom Rock.
AllHipHop.com: What’s the significance of the Mayday name, is it connected to the historic events back in the 1800s?
Bernbiz: Actually, it’s a bit more personal for us…somewhat of a distress call, I guess.
AllHipHop.com: Your video for “Groundhog Day” set a record for YouTube views in 24 hours, and took you from a local Hip-Hop group in South Florida to the front pages of the New York Times overnight, how did that happen?
Mayday: It was a good combination of timing and talent. Everything concerning this project has had that kind of magic attached to it. The song is great. Cee-Lo killed it on the hook and the video was excellent. We basically handed it over to the label [Southbeat Records] and they did the rest. One day we come in and someone tells us The New York Times and ABC are waiting for interviews. You can imagine, we bugged out.
AllHipHop.com: With that great amount of exposure, what have you been doing since to keep things moving?
Plex: Touring and gigging like crazy, plus gearing up to record a new album. Hopefully hitting Australia this summer, if not Europe for sure.
AllHipHop.com: The movement in Miami with Pitbull, Rick Ross and others over the past few years has definitely been major, where does Mayday fit in amongst these artists?
Bernbiz: We’ve been here since the start, man, my partner and I Plex. Basically, it makes us proud that we’re doing something people like because for a long time we felt like outsiders looking in.
AllHipHop.com: Whose next as far as the groups coming out of Miami?
Bernbiz: Wow! So many…Wrekonize, Shonie, Jim Jonsin, Garcia, Se7en Star…
AllHipHop.com: Coming up in the cultural melting pot of South Florida, how has that shaped the type of music you do?
Bernbiz: Miami is strange place. It’s too Southern to be East Coast, too East Coast to be Southern, and too Latin to be American. I think our music is real indicative of that mash up.
AllHipHop.com: For anyone that hasn’t seen Mayday live, you don’t put on a “traditional” Hip-Hop show, but come equipped with a live band, complete with your producer on the keys, bassist, drummer and DJ. How important is that live element to your music and how have you been received by different audiences?
Bernbiz: It’s how we [survive]! So we come with heat! We’ve gotten to a point musically where we really don’t give a f**k how any one genre receives us. We’re past just being Hip-Hop, Rock, blah blah blah. We’re just doing us…new world, new sound.
AllHipHop.com: How did you get to work with artists such as Cee-Lo and Devin the Dude on the album?
Bernbiz: A lot of times people don’t realize that the answers to their own success are right in front of them, you have to just connect the dots.
AllHipHop.com: What are your favorite tracks on the album and why?
Bernbiz: “Chasing Ghosts” for its overall vibe and speed, and “Beef,” because it’s a sleeper, but it grabs you by the throat when it finally hits.
AllHipHop.com: How did both you and Plex meet up and start working together?
Bernbiz: We’ve been friends since kids, bought our first beat machine together [an SP1200] and everything.
AllHipHop.com: Both of you started out in more social-conscious type groups, how did your sound and content grow into what it is now?
Bernbiz: Wisdom of life. We’ve been through the whole spectrum of emotions and styles.
AllHipHop.com: Musically, with explorations so far into up-tempo club joints, slow jams, and boom-bap Hip-Hop, what can we expect next from Mayday, anymore record-setting videos on the way?
Bernbiz: Bigger things. Every record we are making is getting larger in scope. We’re shooting two different videos in the next two months so that should be fun. Stay tuned…
AllHipHop.com: What about getting Uncle Luke or some Miami Bass legends on a record?
Bernbiz: That’s definitely an idea Plex and I have talked about in the past. Working with producer Jim Jonsin who’s also a Bass legend has started to open those doors for us. So hopefully in the near future we can make that happen.
AllHipHop.com: For all the tourists that come down to Miami with South Beach being the only thing on the itinerary, can you recommend any other extra-curricular activities?
Bernbiz: Nah man…the beach is where the trouble is!
AllHipHop.com: What are the Miami Heat’s chances for repeating as NBA champs this year?
Mayday: Not much without Dwayne Wade…and from what I’m hearing, he’ll be back so let’s hope so.
AllHipHop.com: Lastly, Plex, what inspired the beard?
Plex: My girl likes it.
