by Asya Mukhamedrakhimova
MKH digital plubication © 2025
by Asya Mkh
Category Music
Published December 4, 2024
Walking the Road to Redemption with Mukhy

Landscape near Rome during a Storm, by Simon Denis

The reception during our phone call was a little spotty at first, but after we both settled in, I was ready to walk the redemption road, this time with the artist who laid the path himself. Mukhy’s new mixtape, ‘Road to Redemption,’ reintroduces the artist to the world with no reservations and such complete honesty that it breaks down the walls and forces the listener to resonate.

In preparation for the call, I listened to the mixtape on my own, seeking out what parts of the artist I could uncover from his work. Along with the mixtape, Mukhy sent me a book detailing each track’s backstory. The pages of the book added another layer to the music. They made me feel like I was in conversation with the artist, reading deep, personal thoughts mixed in with captivating life stories and lighthearted comments. From the book’s first letter and the track’s first note, it was clear that Mukhy was not messing around. He is ready to be completely transparent with the audience. Every track on the mixtape embodies a different part of the artist. Tracks one through five showed me Mukhy’s multifaceted identity as a performer and human being, and tracks six through nine revealed his surroundings, inspirations and relationships. A mark of all tracks without exception was a confidently unapologetic authenticity. In Mukhy’s own words: “When I put a project together, I know exactly what it is. And I no longer have imposter syndrome. Because it’s the truth, and it’s easier to sell.”

Although the mixtape’s main subjects are rooted in redemption and rebirth, it also clearly conveys the message of determination to create and push yourself to reach new heights continuously. This unwavering resolve has been a part of Mukhy’s artistic journey since the moment he decided to pursue a career in music. “I was in a meeting with Accenture. I was living in my parents’ house, and there was a small microphone I would put up to use during my meetings. I looked at it and thought about how hard I worked at Accenture. And then I thought, finally, my UK residency is coming in, and I no longer have to worry about my job. So what if I start making music today and put as much effort into it as I did into my work? Surely, whatever I do is going to be better than this boring meeting I am in. So, in a split second, I made a decision. From that day, I never looked back.”

This decision kicked off a journey filled with life-changing highs and disheartening lows. It’s that same journey that Mukhy invites every listener of his new mixtape to join him on. “The album is the journey of me looking at the track from the sidelines and thinking, should I get back to it? You get back, and when you start running this time, you know that’s it. This time, it’s not the same person that was running last time.”

As we take the first steps down the road Mukhy laid down, we are welcomed with Track 1: “Show Me”. The track introduces us to the artist’s determination while touching on parts of his life when that determination was tested. The lyric “I don’t know if I’ll ever see £50k for a show, I probably need more, for every single second I was broke” is further expanded upon in the pages of Mukhy’s book as a reflection on the time when his earlier song “Posh Life” did not do as well as he had hoped.

“As artists, we attach ourselves to our music. How can you detach? I didn’t quite learn how to do that yet. I learned to have a lot of patience, though, which means I can sit on songs as long as I need to. I also learned that it’s just a song and to remind myself that if 100 different people listened to it, that’s good. Because of social media, as artists, we stopped appreciating the first steps of streaming. When you look at it as 150 individual people, it’s different.” Mukhy comments on what he learned from his experience releasing music.

From a heartfelt encouragement to follow your passion, we jump to Track 2: “Sky Walker”. I won’t attempt to describe this track with words since there are some things you just need to hear. The heart-rending lyrics that unfortunately have true events inspiring them are best to be experienced on an intimate level. In Mukhy’s own words: “Sky Walker is the only one you should cry to. The point of Sky Walker was let’s get it out of the way, let’s be sad, but then from track three, we’re not going to be sad anymore.”

Track 3: “Karuphonia” takes a turn. While staying on the message of dedication, it also discusses the conscious choice an artist makes to pursue a music career again and again. Although it’s a message every artist can resonate with, it has often been romanticised. When discussing a struggling artist finally making it, people frequently brush over the ‘struggling’ part of it all. That is why I was so relieved to hear Mukhy be honest about the years he spent trying to put his music out. “Let me not sit here and lie and say I didn’t apply for jobs. I got a lot of rejections. This was just what the world wanted. I was broke and needed money, and there were moments of breakdown when I sent out 50 job applications. This is real life; I needed to eat. Hopefully, in four years, people will look back and say I’m their champion. So people need to know that I went through it. It was up and down.”

We continue our path, reaching Track 4: “Chosen”. The track’s name first misled me to believe that it would follow a familiar subject of being chosen by the public or a higher power that many artists like to use in their verses. But just like with every other track in Mukhy’s mixtape, there is no bullshit. Instead, the lyrics discuss choosing yourself. The idea of constantly rooting for yourself is an important message to every artist and every human being. I think that’s why Track 4 touched me. It gave me a gentle reminder to always bet on myself.

All the tracks we experienced on our journey until now were glimpses into Mukhy’s thoughts and motivations, but we won’t be able to truly get to know the artist without seeing a bit of his silly side. And Track 5: “Chicken Weings (Let’s Go)” does just that. It adds just the right amount of fun, turning our walk down the road of redemption into a dance. “It’s such an important song because it’s just joy. It’s like, please remember we are good; we are chilling out here,” Mukhy cheerfully tells me.

Recharged, we continue our trip and come face to face with Mukhy’s personal life and all the people in it who supported him over the years. Track 6: “Toxic Love PT II” is a perfect example of making fresh and juicy lemonade out of some toxic lemons. The song, reworked from its original version to include more moments of genuine love and support, does not deny the negative experiences; it just colours them in with positive ones.

The next step we take is Track 7: “FYA”. This track has fun with itself while contemplating personal relationships and exploring the birth of Mukhy’s rebellious spirit. These lyrics give us a deeper look into Mukhy’s family and upbringing, specifically his relationship with his father. “When you are doing something different, fathers will always be difficult if they are not creative. When I was not doing well, he was the furthest away from supportive, but now I am out of the pit, and I know it wasn’t coming from a bad place,” Mukhy comments on how his relationship with his father has grown over the years.

With Track 8: “Medicine”, we look at Mukhy’s future while still unveiling more of his influences. The track’s main subject does not shy away from the duality of making music. It tells us how music can often be the source of many worries and struggles while also being the only salvation from those struggles. Every artist often feels at ease after releasing their emotions through their art, even when those emotions are about the art itself. “This is why music is a vicious cycle and why you have to have lightheartedness in your music,” says Mukhy.

We finish our journey, with Mukhy by our side, at Track 9: “My Race”. My Race represents who Mukhy is at his core and rounds up the road we walked with him. “My Race has meaning to me. Before it, I didn’t care what they said about other songs because I was playing around. That was the first time I understood the real artist’s problem. When you put your soul into something and don’t get the reaction you wanted, it gets to you,” Mukhy explains. A song that he previously removed from streaming due to negative reviews now proudly returns as the final track on his mixtape, with Mukhy standing by its side, showing that from now on, there is no doubt, only honesty. “Be confident in the music you put out, but when you put it out, do not give a fuck.”

Now that the road has been travelled, we take a final look back and hear Mukhy’s words send us off. “This album is so cliche because people in their late 20s need to hear cliche quotes. We need to hear these quotes and relive them. Cliche-ness is important.”

The only question I had left to ask after talking through each step of Redemption Road was, ‘What next?’ To that, Mukhy replied: “I’ve only scratched the surface of the things I want to address. I have written the next two albums. They’re ready. I am working on five projects and one EP. I got the plans, and I got the titles. The art will keep on telling you my story. I will find more unique ways to do it, working and collaborating with people from around the world. I am a hip-hop artist, but this album had a lot of Afro-fusion. The next one is going to be the feel-good energy of hip-hop. In terms of my art, it will be me expressing myself.”

There is definitely a lot to look out for. While genres and influences might differ, we now know that what we can always rely on when it comes to Mukhy and his music is a raw and passionate openness.

Mukhy’s mixtape, ‘ Road to Redemption,’ is now streaming along with his book, which describes his journey while creating the mixtape. You can find links to the mixtape and purchase the book on Mukhy’s website https://www.mukhy.world

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