I grew up in Ann Arbor, about 25 miles west of Detroit. And when you grow up in that area, you get a healthy dose of Motown automatically.

My intentions with any of my music is to keep it futuristic and updated and be experimental and try new things.

Nowhere on earth has more soul than Detroit.

A lot of people think I live in a soul bubble.

I was a hip-hop head. When I really found my own lane in music, it was hip-hop. I wanted to make hip-hop music. And I did, I made a lot of hip-hop music.

I don't want kids listening to my music thinking it's for their parents. I want them to feel it's theirs.

I think that what happens is that all of my modern influences blend together with the older soul influences and you get Mayer Hawthorne.