Like most of us Colorado Myrical found an escape through music as a kid. Born and raised in Denver, Colorado‘s Northeast Park Hill neighborhood, he used music as a way to deal with the everyday troubles of life. “I love music, it’s the reason I’m the man I am today, and I just want to share my love with the world,” he said.
As a teenager, he founded Soulja Fam Entertainment. The creative collective later morphed into what was known as the “Box Boyz“. The group established a home base in the local Denver circuit for each member. Their popularity cultivated a loyal following that would grossly serve their future efforts. The Box Boyz were a miscellany of different style artists. Colorado Myrical, TheyCallHimAP, Trev Rich (known then as Rockie), Pries, Lkeys, Young Tenner, and G6 all brought something unique to the table. The group of friends came together to support their counterparts who were all some of Denver’s youngest heavy-hitters of the time period. Over the last decade, each artist grew beyond any possible limitations imposed by the proverbial “box” they were born into. They each continue to build on their solid industry foundations as individual forces.
In the years since then, Myrical collaborated and performed with well-known artists like Trae Tha Truth, Yung Dro, OT Genasis, Young Buck, Scotty ATL, Twista, and Fabolous. This year, he released the EP anthology, 3 the Hard Way. The project examines three concepts, Hustle, Love, and Respect, as a linear musical storyline to binge. “…The consumption of music and television is so fast-paced nowadays,” Myrical said. “I figured, why not turn a musical release into something like a tv series release. 3 EPs 6 Videos 3 months.”
The unique structure of the serial anthology itself demonstrates some of the thoughtful artistry that goes into Myrical’s work. “In the natural form of life you have to get yourself together first,” he told 303 Magazine in an earlier interview back in September. “There is no way for you to find any type of love if you’re not already together, so you have to go through the hustle first. Then, you get the love and then respect comes after that. Respect is going to come once you have all of that together.”
Part one of the project is Hustle, which recalls the fact that the Motivated rapper is, first and foremost, a go-getter. Myrical’s work ethic and hunger are on full display in “Get My Money” which could arguably be the best song on the entire project. “I wanted it to showcase my more uptempo, street, party-like vibe, but with the message of getting to it—really buckling down and getting everything you planned on getting, then celebrating in those moments,” he said.
As the second installment, Love really explored Myrical’s soft side. He gave us some real R&B back in February with the release of his single, “More Often”, but he really honed in on his signature melodic style for this new work. “Music for me is REAL emotional so I wanted to show more of my commercial, more melodic, smooth type vibe. This project was geared more towards all the different forms of love—from fake love, to lost love, to real love—and me just really letting certain emotions go and touching on certain topics that most have never heard me touch on.”
Respect is part 3. The ambition in Colorado Myrical’s lyricism and storytelling on the series finale emphasizes his skill and reminds us that he helped build the new wave in Denver before anyone could even try to ride it. “I told myself that by the end of this chapter, I wanted people to respect me for the true artist I am.. and not jus another rapper.”
Check out the video for the song “Check” from 3 the Hard Way: Hustle by Colorado Myrical below!
