Every so often, a young rapper emerges out of nowhere with a forward-thinking sound that gets everyone talking about how they’re “next up.” Right now, that rapper is Maylon Millions.
If you ask him to explain how he’s earned all the buzz, he’ll attribute it to being a kid at heart. And that much is true. The Pittsburgh/ Miami rapper has vivid memories of middle and high school, he has some trouble recalling the title of Usher’s single “Yeah!” off the top of his head. Plus, he may or may not have slept past his alarm for our scheduled interview time, but you can’t blame someone who has watched their whole world shift in the past year.
A loyal internet following of over 140,000 on Instagram and 100,000 TikTok fans is something to be proud of at only a still young age —especially when those numbers were only something to dream about a few months back—but Maylon knows he’s only laid the groundwork for even bigger things in the future. He insists that what separates him and his peers is that he’s just “being himself,” so it only makes sense that he represents a new generation of musicians whose main goal is to make fun music and enjoy themselves. His sound is carefree, his melodies are addictive, and the party-ready 808s provide a sense of escape.
When Maylon, born Malon Howell, hops on a Friday phone call for one of his first interviews ever, he sounds noticeably excited. We’re clearly in the very early stages of his career, and he promises he’s “nowhere near” where he wants to be. He’s still carving out a path of his own as listeners jump to comparisons, many likening his music to that of Playboi Carti. And to be fair, there’s a lot one can attribute in Maylon’s music to artists like Carti and Lil Uzi Vert, both of whom he says he has great admiration for. But Faygo knows that once listeners really give him a try, any and all comparisons will quiet.
“It doesn’t impact anything I do,” he says. “It doesn’t. It doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t change how I make money. People always want to compare you when they don’t know who the f**k you are. I’m saying, like, walk into school. You could be a new student at school and everybody’s gonna compare you to whoever they know.”
Maylon is one of hip-hop’s newest students, and his aspirations are vast. He’s got plans that reach far outside of music: creating an anime, pursuing acting, and forging generational wealth for his family after growing up with parents who struggled to put food on the table. That’s where his passion derives from. “All that sh*t, bro,” he notes. “That’s what motivated me to go and get my own, so I could build an empire. You know what I’m saying? Take care of my people.”
Now he’s following that passion to hopefully earn his place as someone whose presence can be felt the moment he enters a room.
Maylon feels like that might be a long way off, but with his unrelenting ambition, he might soon find himself at the opposite end of any comparisons.
