Twenty-seven-year-old Prosper Muna, also known as P. Muna, is a rising artist from Albany, New York that currently resides in Harlem.  You may recognize him from Season 4 of MTVâs Are You The One?  He is gaining an abundance of attention in the music industry.  His amazing story filled with positivity, perseverance, and passion can be seen as an inspiration to us all.  I recently had the pleasure of speaking with him over FaceTime to get a better understanding of who he is as as person and an artist, as well as the amazing message he works everyday to communicate to the world.
Image courtesy of P. Muna
Asha: Who is P. Muna? Â How do you define yourself?
P. Muna: P. Muna started off as my alter ego. Â When I was in high school a lot of my homeboys gave me the name P. Muna so I used it as my confidence. Â I saw it as my alter identity and something like Batman and Bruce Wayne. So Prosper is like Bruce Wayne and P. Muna is like Batman in this cave just like scoping the city of Gotham trying to fight the evil. Â
A: How do you define yourself as an individual and an artist? Â Do you separate the two?
PM: I do separate the two to a certain extent.  Like I said, P. Muna is like the music artist, the hip-hop artist, the one thatâs about all the ladies, in the club with all the DJâsâŠthe one thatâs doing the shows.  Heâs the one thatâs just killin it. He has a little edge to him, a little chip on his shoulder. Heâs rockin the shades, heâs âthe man.â Prosper is more âthe nice guy.â  Prosper may sing to you, and P. Muna may talk that sh*t to you.
A: You were on a show on MTV, would you say you used that experience as a platform to launch your music? Â If so, how?
PM: Yeah, that was one of the biggest reasons I went on the show. Â Another reason was to just get my face out there. It was a great opportunity to show my music and I was able to promote myself as an artist. Â I had a lot of time before the show to figure out how to promote myself, so I had marketing strategies and I did some meet and greets. So I tried to do anything that was strategic and made sense to help promote my music, during the show. Â I was able to use it as a platform to get into certain events to get my name out there. The experience helped me learn the business side of being a star.
A: How long have you been creating music?
PM: Iâve been making music my whole life.  For as long as I can remember, even if it wasnât actually like rapping, but the first time I heard R&B music and hip hop I was just in love with it.  I just new I was creative from that point. I really started rapping when I was like 6 or 7. I have a line in one of my songs in my album, itâs called âNew Jack City,â the first line is âI learned to cook crack from my step pops, he introduced me to this R&B and hip hop.â  You know being from the bottom, you know the rough neighborhoods, people may think âwait what? Thatâs crazy!â But in hip hop terminology and the music industry âthat dopeâ means âthat musicââŠthose tunes that you would love. He basically taught me at a young age he would introduce me to dope artists and give me their CDâs.  My mom did as well, so at a young age I learned the foundation of hip hop and R&B and I was always such a fan. Iâm such a student of the game. So thatâs what 1991 is about, showcasing all my influences and me as an artist.
A: What inspired you to get into the music industry?
PM: The music industry definitely started when I was in high school, even before that I knew I could sing.  I always felt like I could rap, but I was very terrified and timid to sing. A lot of people donât even believe I was shy, but certain parts of me are still like that.  So I transferred to a private school my senior year in high school and it really just got me away from the public school social pressure of getting fly everyday. When I went to a new school I was away from everyone and everything, and no one could judge me.  I ended up joining the chorus and really gained my confidence from my teacher. And then I did a musical, this one girl talked me into trying out for it and by default I was like the best singer there. So Iâm like the captain of the football team, you know, macho Black dude at an all white school and Iâm on stage dancing in tights in a play called âInto The WoodsââŠit just looked crazy.  But at the same time, thatâs when I really fell in love with performing. When I saw the crowdâs reaction to everything I was like, âyo, I wanna do this forever.â
At that point, I met a guy Lucas, heâs still my boy till this day. Â I started putting out mixtapes and selling them, and they were moving. Â I realized then that this is what I want to do. When I got into college, I put out my first official mixtape and I started promoting it online and then my first show ever in 2009 was with Mac Miller in Pittsburgh. Â I performed and gained a fan base from there and realized this is where I want to be. I want to be performing, I want to go on tour. I ended up doing like four more shows with mac Miller, and did like a mini tour. But yeah, from there, I realized this is what I want. Â I just want to make music.
A: What were some hardships you faced or face while being in this business?
PM: I guess a hardship, just being an artist, is getting people to listen. Trying to market yourself in a way thatâs not annoying or spamming. Â It can be tough when youâre promoting yourself and putting yourself out there and you feel like nobodyâs listening. The main thing was building the team aspect of everything, and right now itâs great because Iâm slowly developing my team. Â So the main part is just marketing myself, trying to figure out what it is I need to break into the industry. I think another struggle was in the beginning I would care too much about what people thought about my music and it wasnât fun. After, I just stopped giving a f**k, and decided Iâm gonna make my music because I love it and itâs almost like my coping mechanism. Â I know if I keep doing that Iâll run into the right people or person or situation or post that could go viral and the rest is history.
A: Does your music have a common theme?
PM: My music is very diverse in terms of concepts or sounds, but it all comes back to âthe real.â  I always try to rap or sing about the realist sh*t, something you can take something from. I always channel my inner soul, and thatâs what helps me do that.  I consider myself a conscious artist, but Iâm versatile and always try to put out a message. Like the song âPull Up,â itâs like a club song but the lyrics are real and about coming upâŠitâs like a celebration song.
A: A lot of your songs include discussion about poverty and issues within the Black community, what is your purpose about discussing such topics?
PM:  Iâm just a story teller, Iâm a reporter so I just want to tell the story of âthe real,â everything thatâs going on.  Especially nowadays, you know, everything thatâs being put on the radio or promoted is drugs, sex, and materialismâŠand it is what it is but when it comes down to my content everything I see everyday and what I believe in, everything I wanna make a difference in is all for the people.  I feel like Iâm the peopleâs champ so Iâm gonna tell you whatâs going on in the streets of New York or around the U.S. with police brutality or how thereâs real people out here starvinâ. I know a lot of people that are in the position to help and theyâre not and Iâm just gonna talk about the peopleâs struggles cause thatâs where Iâm from.  Iâm just trying to show people that where Iâm at right now you know Iâm grindin, Iâm in a better place, but at the same time itâs an everyday struggle for everybody no matter where youâre from. Even if youâre on and it may look good from the outside, people look at you like âdamn,â but in reality everybody is battling or fighting with something so I always try to put that in my music because itâll resonate with someone.  I want to develop that ârealâ fan base where people can look and be like P. Muna is âthat real, that inspiration.â
A: You just came out with a new album! Â What exactly is 1991âs main purpose?
PM:  1991âs main purpose is to just show anyone that you can do anything that you wanna do, but you gotta work hard for it and you gotta be careful of whatâs going on in the world.  Like for me as an artist and as a person, you knowâŠI just turned 27 so like a lot of people my age and people I went to college with, people that work these 9-5 jobs just doing this normal norm sh*t, they sometimes get caught up.  The 1991 album is just an art piece about a kid that was lost and finds purpose, and I feel like everybody has a purpose but it takes time for everybody to really go out and find itâŠyou almost have to lose yourself to find it. 1991, one side is going out there and doing what you love.  The other side is about my generation, the millennials, and my influencesâŠhow we know technology but we also have our morals that are traditional. I feel like the millennials are a unique generation, we relate to the older and newer generations, we are like the best of both worlds. I feel like it is our duty to keep the traditions alive.
A: Â What are some of your favorite songs from 1991?
PM:  My favorite song to listen to is âLove Me Not,â itâs number 10 on the album.  That song just wraps up what 1991 is about, itâs about my struggle with loveâŠwhether if itâs love with a woman or if itâs love with whatever Iâm doing.  In the end of the song it paints a picture and shows that Iâm still hopeful. The song is about this imaginary woman/love that I long for. Every time I struggle or Iâm going through a tough time with love or a relationship or I just need to feel good, I just put that song on because it just touches my soul.
A: You recently began a clothing line called 1991, what exactly does â1991â represent? Is this a movement?
PM: 1991 the clothing line represents the generation, the millennials, but also when I first started itâŠwhen I first started creating the album, I was like I want everything 1991.  Headbands, jackets, everything is 1991 because thatâs the year I was born, thatâs where Iâm from. I love our generation and I feel like we have so much to offer so I wanted to put that on something that people can wear to make it more like a movement and about being a leader, knowing that you stand for them.  It means you know your purpose and if not youâre on your way to figuring it out.
P. Muna dons a dad hat from his 1991 clothing collection.
A: Â Why do you believe that Howard students would enjoy watching you perform?
PM: Â I feel like I just bring this relatable aspect, especially for a historically Black college. Â My musical content is very real for every Black kid, we have relatable experiences with everyday struggles. Â Thereâs so many relatable aspects that I feel like I could connect with the student audience at Howard University. Â I feel like I could leave something that they could take with them.
A: What message would you like to put out there for other young people of color that are striving to be successful in the music industry?
PM:  Just know everything is about networking.  I always understood, from where I came from, it was huge to really know how to talk to people.  I feel like that was one of my ways outâŠknowing how to hold a conversation with someone. In the end you never know whoâs who and who is willing to help you.  Really, just being nice to people is what got me where Iâm at today, and introducing yourself to people. Step out your comfort zone.
A: Â Who are some of your role models or inspiration?
PM:  My mom, watching her from when I was a kidâŠtaking care of six kids.  She never had an excuse, just got everything done. Thatâs how I operate, I never slack, just get the job done and work hard.  Other influences were like, Will Smith was a huge role model for me as a kid and like a father figure. Hip hop figures like Biggie and Nas were my role models growing up music wise.  I would say hip hop artists in general, thereâs so many, and even R&B.
So whatâs next for P. Muna? Â HU homecoming? Summer Jam? The Grammyâs? Â Only time can tell, but as of now his future is looking pretty bright. Â Keep an eye on him, check out his brand new album, or even purchase some of that fire 1991 attire we discussed, all available at www.iampmuna.com
*This interview has been edited and condensed.*