[Interview] Mindless Behavior Talks ‘#OfficialMBMusic,’ Being A New Trio, Their Thoughts About Police Brutality & More (Plus Watch ‘#SongCry’ Video)

2016 is the year Mindless Behavior returned with their album #OfficialMBMusic after a few ears off the radar. With their comeback, fans noticed the group went from being a quartet to being a trio with two new members EJ and Mike, who join original member, Princeton.

In April, they dropped their Young Cali single “#iWANTDAT” and sexy visual for  “#OverNightBag,” proving they’re no longer the cute teen-boppers anymore, and they’re read to show their musical growth as grown men. They still have their killer dance moves, but now they’re ready for the world as men who want to prove they’re here to stay.

They chatted with Singersroom about growth in their music and showcasing their more-mature content in their new music, staying strong as a group, and the fellas even gave their two cents about the rising tensions between police and black and brown communities.

Check out our interview below!

How have you guys been doing since you put out your first single, “#IWANTDat.”

Princeton: It’s been good, we’ve been very busy trying to promote the album “I WantDat,” our first single featuring Problem and Bad Lucc came out a day after my 20th birthday, April 22nd, so it’s been doing great. It has 4 million views on Youtube and we were able to release the second music video, and the fans love the record.

How has your music changed since you first came out as younger teens? Do you think your music has changed? 

Princeton: Definitely, I feel like what makes artists great is growth… growth and consistency. That’s what our brand has. A lot of our fans who have been with us since day one were also 14 and now they’re 20 [years old], so just the growth in our fans and the growth in our music.

Do you guys have an take on what’s going on in the country regarding African American men and the police situation?

Mike: It’s crazy, it’s definitely crazy. I feel like as a people, what we have to focus on is our we have to focus on is our approach towards things. I feel like a lot of people wanna go out and get even so to speak, but I don’t think that’s the way to go about it at all. As a people, we just gotta stand together in a more less-violent way.

EJ: I think we need to make sure our voice is heard, I think that we get silenced a lot. Things happened, they tweet about it, the post about it, but it gets looked over after a while. So we really need to ban together and not let these names just be hastaged after a while. We need to make a change and do something about it.

What would be your advice to young male artists who look up to you guys? 

Princeton: I would say focused, stay humble, and work hard because the noise around artist, or people who are just famous in general, noise can get really crazy, and as long as you have a great team around you, stay focused on the dream, and the sky’s the limit.

Who have you guys worked with that you’ve enjoyed working with?

Mike: Bad Lucc and Problem are on the first single #IWANTDat” so they were really dope, we wanted a west coast feel and they hit us up, and everything was a perfect fit for them to be on the track, it really worked out.

Princeton: And to perform with them live is really dope.

Who are some artists you’d want to work with? 

EJ: I would say Pharrell, I love his energy.

Princeton: I was just about to say that, Pharrell would be dope, and….I don’t know, if we ever do a Pop record, I would like to work with Calvin Harris.

Mike: Yooo! Actually, Joe Jonas is in a group called DNCE, their records are crazy, I wouldn’t mind working with them either.

What would you say would be the hardest thing to keep you guys together and staying strong?

Princeton: I think the hardest thing, to be honest, was trying to convince people that we are brothers, we ARE a group, and this IS a new group, because we know all the hard work we’ve put into this and we know everything we’ve done. But you know, some people have their assumptions, the just wanna make their own conclusions. But the hardest thing would be just to convince everyone else that it’s a new group, a new brand.

Mike: I’d say one of the hardest things is convincing people that we actually are grown now, we’re actually adults. A lot of people think we’re still little, and that’s not the case at all. Everthing that we sing about on #OfficialMBMusic, if you listen to the album, it speaks for itself, we’re grown.

Which one of the songs on the album would each of you say are your favorites?

EJ: I would say my favorite is “#Better,” I just love the vibe of that record. That was one that as kinda challenging, not vocally, but just getting the right mood for that record, it had a very laid-back feel. I was kinda challenging to get into that type of character, but yeah, it was really lit.

Mike: My favorite record is definitely “#Muzik,” just cause I can relate to it, and I feel like everybody can relate to it that’s the whole point of the record.

Princeton: For me it always changes, but right now, it’s “#FreaksOnly,” I’ve been listening to it lately in my car and I really like that record.

Do you guy things have changed in R&B guy groups today compared to R&B guy groups from back in the day like Boyz II Men?

Mike: I feel like there’s a lot of stuff that changes just with time; the way people approach music, the way people approach live performing, I think everything has changed. But I think it’s progressed also, that what R&B has been lacking is what MB is about to bring to the whole genre of music.

What’s next for Mindless Behavior? What are your goals?

EJ: I would like to see us on a world tour. I think the music reaches an audience that we haven’t really tapped into yet, so I would love to see that.

Princeton: I think what would be dope would be like how B2K had “You Got Served,” just like, a group movie. Not necessarily a movie dance movie, but a movie that all of us are in.

EJ: Yeah, that would be dope. Anything like a TV show or something like that, something that people won’t expect from an R&B group to do.

If you could open for someone, who would you want to open for? 

Princeton: Chris Brown.

Mike: Chris Brown would be dope, or maybe co-headlining with somebody like Rae Sremmurd, somebody our age.

EJ: Yeah, that’d be super dope.

Princeton: Celine Dion! I’m just kidding, I’m just kidding (Laughs)

Do you guys have any projects coming soon?

Mike: That’s for asking that. We’re gonna drop our video for #SongCry as soon as we get 100k Instagram followers, so to all the fans, make sure you go follow us @OfficialMBMusic.

Ok awesome! Well thanks for taking the time to interview you guys!

MB: No problem, thanks for having us.

At the time of this post, MB reached their targeted 100k followers on IG and dropped their video for #SongCry. Watch below and pick up their album #OfficialMBMusic on iTunes HERE!

Keyona Butler