His smooth vocals stem from Southern roots and he often surprises people with his ability to serve up high quality portions of r&b with the swagger of a Hip Hop veteran. He’s the first signing under Thomas Jones’ Outta Pocket Entertainment imprint and the newest on Universal Motown/SRC. Myko took a break from writing and recording for his debut LP to chop it up with ATF’s Simone Carlene.

ATF: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Myko: Well, I’m an up and coming artist out of Atlanta, Georgia. I’m a humble guy. Grew up in the church. Right now I’m just kinda grinding. I got a lot of things going on and I’m very passionate about my music.

ATF: How did you link up with Thomas Jones?

M: We linked up about a year and a half ago through my manager. I was opening shows for Bobby Valentino, Erykah Badu, and Floetry and Trey Songz in the Tennessee, Miami and Atlanta areas and I didnt know at the time that Thomas Jones was one of his good friends and that they had grown up together. He told me a couple times that he knew a guy who was interested in doing music but he had other things going on. I think right around that time they were doing the Superbowl so he was kinda busy. It’s a blessing cuz one of my cds got to his hands somehow and he heard it and started asking about me like “Who is this guy?”. It got back to my manager. He flew us down last March to Miami and spoke with me on what he could bring to the table, how he felt about the music and maybe a couple weeks later I ended up signing under his imprint, Outta Pocket Entertainment.

ATF: What do you think sets you apart from J. Holiday and Bobby Valentino?

M: Well they do their own thing. I just feel like I’m not pigeon holed to do only one particular type of music. I’m actually naming my album ‘Options’ because my music ranges from pop to straight r&b and everything in between. I think those guys are pretty much r&b artists and I can’t say my sound is just r&b. My sound is a universal sound. No pun intended. It’s edgy. I’m a new artist so people don’t have a good feel of what kind of artist I am so it’s kind of a good thing cuz I’m able to experiment with a lot.

ATF: As a new artist, what has been the hardest thing to adjust to since you’ve been signed?

M:I would say the scheduling. A lot of things come spur of the moment. Another thing (it doesn’t really bother me though) is the doubt. A lot of people doubt the situation. I’m signed under a football player so they’re like ‘Oh he’s just another athlete tryna do something’. I love that stigma and Thomas does too. He’s actually been in the league almost ten years now so he loves people telling him he’s gonna fail at something before he even tries it and I do too because being in Atlanta every showcase you do is rap-based. To get a rep in this city, you have to be able to blaze every showcase you go to. I take pride in knowing I blazed every one of them. But scheduling, I would love for it to be a little more planned. Everything is spur of the moment but it’s a new artist thing.

ATF: What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re in New York?

M: I really enjoy seeing the city because it’s so different from Atlanta. I like the Times Square area. I’m still kinda country. We tryna get that outta me. My A&R and I we’re working on that.

ATF: Would you live anywhere else besides Atlanta?

M: I thought about Miami. The weather is like no other. I like California but I haven’t visited enough to say I’d wanna live there. I’ve been there like twice. Miami’s close to the A too, so I’d probably move there. Atlanta is my home though.

ATF: When it comes to r&b most of the content is about love and heartbreak. What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned when it comes to love?

M: It’s unchanging. It’s one of those things that if you love somebody, you love them. I’ve kinda grasped the understanding of what true love is and what lust is. I haven’t experienced a lot in that category so I’m still learning, still tapping into that.

ATF: Do you write your own music?

M: I do a lot of my writing. I’ve actually had the opportunity to work with a lot of writers in the industry like Jason Derulo a couple out of The Dream’s camp. A lot of the music I’ve written with other writers is coming out crazy but there’s nothing like my sound.

ATF: Where do you get your inspiration from?

M: Life. Other people’s lives. Everything to me, is a concept to write about. It can be raining, there can a fight… anything is a concept. It’s all in how you deliver it to make it into something people wanna hear. I just live life. If somebody ever tells you they can’t think of anything to write, something’s wrong.

ATF: Did you ever have to sing your way out of a bad situation?

M: More than once. Sometimes you come across a female and maybe you said something wrong and you have to fix the situation. Maybe there’s a female just doesnt wanna be spoken to but you can sugar coat that with something in her ear. She might smile and all you wanna do is make her smile. I had a couple of those. I would say I’m pretty much undefeated in that category.

ATF: What’s a typical day like for you?

M: If I’m back in Atlanta it would be getting up, working out and then going to the studio. That’s pretty much my whole day. I don’t get to do much else. Maybe when I get a grammy, I’ll take a vacation.

ATF: Do you see yourself changing as your popularity grows in the music industry?

M: Not really. I have a lot of different things in my life that keep me humble and grounding. I thank God for blessing me with this opporunity. One thing I found out about this industry is you can have a lot at one moment and be broke the next, right back at square one. I don’t wanna be back at square one.

ATF: Who keeps you most grounded?

M: My father was probably number one but he passed away last September. The second one would be my grandmother. She pretty much took me in and raised me. When she speaks, the ground shakes. That’s who I listen to. Right before her, I would spend a lot of time with my pops. He was a minister. The things he would tell me never led me in the wrong direction.

ATF: When is the album coming out?

M: I would say either this fall or first quarter of next year. We just finished the first single and I just got back from Miami finishing up this joint with Young Joc. He blazed it. We’re waiting another week before everything gets situated with the label and they start sending it out as far as press and all that.

ATF: Anything else our fab readers should know about you?

M: Just look out for that album and I appreciate all the fans that I do have and the ones I’m gonna have. Keep me in your prayers and check me out on myspace.

Check out Myko’s Single: Give It 2 U