This week we had the privilege of sitting down with Ryder Mann AKA Mr. LA BREA, originally from Baldwin Hills, California. Ryder Mann is a LA local and familiar with the LA area , more specifically with La Brea and prides himself on being a local La Brea enthusiast. He mentions that Ice Cube was first to style himself with the LA hat saying “With that you know—my name being Mr. La Brea, I want people to know I represent L.A…when people think of it -they think La Brea, Fairfax, Melrose, shopping district and all that but I come from the other side of La Brea, so there’s really two sides of it. So yeah that’s what I’m trying to represent.”
Mann has been making music for about five years and draws on influences such as Ice Cube, Too Short, Eazy-E, Dom Kennedy, Nipsey Hussle, K.C. Veggies, which he channels and creates his own original sound. Ryder Mann grew up listening to a variety of music, such as French Montana, Rick Ross, Outkast, and looks to Wiz Khalifa as a lyrical influence.
He is looking to create his own lane of music, but considers himself in a similar lane as Currency and Larry June.
Ryder describes his musical style as dapper and sophisticated, and his lane as calming and wavy. He’s looking to stay independent for the time being and market to having his own personal creative team, saying of record labels “I do understand that... it can expedite things and push me to a bigger platform but honestly that’s not what I’m necessarily looking for.”
Ryder says some of the pros of being independent include working with people you may not have come across otherwise, traveling, touring. He says he first started performing in 2019, for Sean Oceans, and since then has performed for Los Globos, in Hollywood, and strip clubs around the city. “It would be nice to see more L.A. native musicians, rap music should be promoted in a wider range, more positive backgrounds and messages”, Ryder explained. After recently performing at a small, familiar gathering at a friends’ home, Ryder explains he enjoyed the intimate setting, noting it was nice to perform and interact with people.
Ryder enjoys bowling and baseball in his free time, and is quite the athlete. He feels that writing is one of strengths and elevates his music. MR. LA BREA is dropping two new songs soon, one a slow ballad for the ladies titled “Company’’ and another “WestCoast Shit”, will be dropping in the next few weeks and available on all streaming platforms. Be on the lookout for these projects and make sure you tap in with MR. LA BREA as he continues putting on for his city!
Great article! Very informative