Today we’d like to introduce you to Jecksan Santiago.
Hi Jecksan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was Born in St. Petersburg, Florida. I didn’t have many friends, just Family. When I was 10 years old, I heard my uncle playing music from the trunk of his car. It immediately caught my attention. I never heard anything like it. It was Rugged and Raw. The Voice was so Unique and I couldn’t help but wonder. It was DMX’s Debut Album, “It’s Dark and Hell is Hot.” The very next day, my Uncle brought me the cassette tape and I popped it in my Dad’s tape deck player. I played it front to back for days. That’s when I fell in Love with Hip Hop.
Fast forward a year later and it was 1999. That’s the year I became a huge fan of Eminem and my parents moved to Sunset Park in Brooklyn New York. There I developed a very close relationship with my cousins who were huge Hip-Hop fans. They put me on to Artists such as Big Pun, Biggie, Big L, Canibus, Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane and many others. I grew up during the Golden Era of Rap Music. I soaked in all the lyrics and all the instrumentals they rapped on. I not only became a fan of Hip-Hop but of Music itself. The melodies. The singing. How words were put together. How some words were bent in order to sound a different way. How they were used to match the rhyme pattern. I paid close attention to lyrical and non-lyrical raps. Regardless of where it came from. It all intrigued me. I was around 13 years old when I decided to make it a hobby of mine. I started writing raps. It was fun for me. I got creative in my down time. I would text battle with one of my cousins just to see if I could come up with some witty raps on the spot. It was more of a test for me. He would say to me, “Quit being so shy and really think about pursuing this as a career.” His words would ultimately fall on deaf ears and I looked at it as just a hobby. My cousin had a computer at home. He also had a Microphone connected and a DAW called “Mixcraft”. We began recording. With no audio interface or high quality equipment to work with. Our music sounded terrible. But it didn’t diminish my desire and passion to push forward. So I moved back to Tampa, Florida in 2010. Fast forward to 2023 and I get a phone call. It was my cousin again. He tells me about this mobile app called “BandLab”. It’s pretty much an on-the-go DAW/Social Media App. He explained to me how easy it was to create and upload music on it. We were both excited and began writing raps again. I went from creating music on a mobile app to investing in a compression microphone with an audio interface to match. With over 50 songs and features via the app. I gained a following and a pretty sizeable fan base. I began networking and making new friends on BandLab. In 2024 while working my usual 9 to 5 job. I met my soon to be manager, Jesse Stoudt. I had him listen to some of my music and that’s when his face lit up. He said to me, “Why aren’t you doing this full time?” I shrugged my shoulders and said “Eh! I don’t know Man.” He then told me that he used to work at Strange Music Inc. The Home of Kansas City Missouri’s own Tech N9ne. He helped with music videos and photography. He said if I was willing to invest in myself, that he would put in a good word for me. He’d help me lock down a feature with a well known artist at the Label. I replied with a resounding, “Yes!” A couple of days later, I get a text from Jesse. It read, “I showcased your song to King Iso. He would love to work with you.” The Song King Iso heard was called “The Machine”. I was taken back with excitement. I agreed to move forward and hoped for the best. I hit up my long time friend, “ATI BEATZ” who’s been producing beats for over 15 years now. He lives in Massachusetts and creates incredible instrumentals. I asked him for an original beat and one that would fit both mine and King Iso’s rap styles. He sent me the instrumental the same day. So I got to work. I wrote and laid down my verse from the comfort of my own home. It took me only a few days. I sent what I had to Jesse who then sent it to King Iso. Within a few days, I got a reply from Iso and it was official.
I now had a legit feature with a Major Indie Artist at Strange Music. This was the beginning of my soon to be Rap Career as a Music Artist. A well known and established artist was willing enough to give me a chance and that meant the world to me. It reassured me that as an artist, my talent didn’t fall on deaf ears. That so many strangers, including my cousin, had encouraged me to pursue this full time. They believed in me enough to help me believe in myself. Take this journey with Me. Because the destination is unknown. It’s all or nothing now.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth road? I don’t think I ever seen a smooth road. There’s always obstacles, construction, and potholes that make the drive a bit slower and uncomfortable. I’ve had my fair share, Family and close friends not believing in my craft, overthinking, my father passing away, and just a mental break from it all. It put a stop in my creativity, I believe everyone needs a mental break to recharge. Whether it’s a vacation, doing what you love, or being in silence for a while. I learned, from personal experience, when it comes to the big leap of faith for your career choice it doesn’t matter which career you choose. Big or small, about 95% of your closest friends and family members will judge and not believe in you. Only about 1 or 2, maybe even 3 of your day ones will continue along this road with you. The rest of the love will come from strangers, even hate, which in itself is a comforting feeling. The hate and the love sit on the same plain, it shows they’re both paying attention to you. With all the challenges I faced, I decided to come up with a stage name to embrace the let downs and pain I encountered, ThaMostHATED. Whether you love me or hate me, the mission is always forward. Success is the biggest reward to yourself and the perfect revenge to the ones who were supposed to believe in you but didn’t.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am an up-and-coming Music Artist/Songwriter/Lyricist that specializes in Hip-Hop music. I like dabbling in other genres such as R&B, Pop, Rock, and whatever catches my ear. My biggest accomplishment to date and what I’m most proud of is my song “P.A.S.S.I.O.N.” which features Strange Music’s artist King Iso. It’s one of my biggest features as an up-and-coming artist. As for setting me apart from others, one word that describes my art is versatility. I can do a rugged song with heavy lyricism one day and turn around and do a slow jam the next. I’ll go multisyllabic on one song and take all the time in the world on the next one. It all depends on my mood and if it makes sense to me. Honestly, I don’t know how I write to instrumentals. How I find the right pockets to say certain words, or how I begin to change up the cadence within a song. It’s all at random, I feel like Sylvester Stallone in “Over The Top” when he flips his hat backwards and all of a sudden he wins all those arm-wrestling matches. He doesn’t know why, he just wins. In My case, I don’t know why, once I hear a beat I just go. I learned that the greats are all versatile in their own way, which is why I love music. I have the freedom to create anything from nothing and have the whole world vibe with my energy.
How do you think about luck?
Bad luck in my life, has led me to personal change in my character. Still the same person but more knowledgeable when it comes to making decisions and seeing people for who they are. Good luck I can say, it’s almost like divine intervention, was when I met my manager Jesse Stoudt while I was working my regular 9-5 job. Him not knowing I make music and me not knowing he has connections within the industry. A Major curve ball of good luck, He’s been a major part in elevating my journey.
Pricing:
- Features are $80
- For the Hook alone is $50
- A complete song Ghost-written is $150
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/thamosthated
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tha_mosthated
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@thamosthated718
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tha_mosthated
