Young Musician Doesn’t Let Hearing Disability Halt Music Career

By Danielle Sullivan

Despite his daunting challenges and circumstances, this young musician is preparing to
break into the competitive music industry lifestyle.

Manny Machado is a 19-year-old rap/pop artist originally from Copiague, NY. Nowadays
you can call him by his stage name, “MVM.” Machado was born with a condition called
Bilateral Microtia. His ears were deformed and he was unable to hear. This condition
has been a struggle for Machado, but he does not let that get in the way of his passion
for creating music. With the help of a hearing aid, he is able to hear partly and well
enough that he can pursue his dream.

“Being hearing impaired became my image and was joked about a lot, but I eventually
learned to embrace this difficulty and accept who I am,” said Machado.

Machado first discovered his interest in music in the 7th grade when he watched the
movie ​8 Mile.​ The film inspired him to go to a local convenience store to get a notepad
and a pen so he could start writing rap music. Within a week, he wrote his first piece of
music, titled “Rhyme Smashing” along with creating a music video for the song too. His
classmates at Edgemont Junior/Senior High School, instantly loved it and began singing
this song around the hallways, he recalled. This same thing happened when he moved
to Nanuet High School and created another song with his friends, titled “Monday
Afternoon.”

Besides the challenges of Machado’s condition, he has faced a number of other difficult
circumstances throughout his life. In his sophomore year of high school, his mother was
diagnosed with lung cancer and eventually succumbed in December 2016 after a 3-year
battle. He was taken care of by his father and step-dad, but this loss was still a
tremendous one for him to handle.

“I became depressed and hid my feelings, which led to me making terrible decisions,”
said Machado.

In October 2017, he was pulled over, arrested and charged with a DWI.

This incident served as a huge wake-up call for Machado, as he realized he needed to
put his life back in the right direction.
“I was in a really dark place and it was wrong of me to put other people’s lives at risk
even though I didn’t really care for mine. That’s a mistake I will never make again and
the repercussions have taught me I needed to start making the best out of every
situation,” said Machado.

In an effort to get his life back on track, he spent hours in the studio every week to stay
away from his problems and continues to do so. He does not want these obstacles to
get in the way of his progress as a music artist.

“I think it is inspiring how someone who has gone through so much can still keep a
positive attitude towards following their dreams,” said Michael Warren, who is a
longtime friend of Machado.

He takes pain, makes it into music and then shares it with people in hopes that they can
relate to it.

“The most rewarding thing about what I do is that people tell me that my music has
helped them get through a hard time,” said Machado. “If not holding in my feelings
anymore and turning them into music can help someone get through the pain and avoid
the same mistakes I have made, I feel accomplished.”

Most of the songs he writes are about heartbreak or getting over heartbreak. This
heartbreak includes that from girlfriends, friends and even people in his own family.

“He perfects the sound of his music until it’s exactly where he wants it to be. He takes
his time and appreciates his work. This is something you don’t see a lot with young
artists,” said Andrew Campbell, a musician that works with Machado in the studio.

Machado is a sophomore music business student at Manhattanville College and is

working on his debut album titled “How I Feel.” It is set to release on this coming
Valentine’s Day. In addition to his album, he is working on music videos for the album
and is hoping to upload one of the videos as a single soon. Machado has already
released a few singles including “6:03,” “What’s the Wave” and “Smiling” that are
available on Spotify and Apple Music. Machado continues to use social media to get his
name out there while also collaborating with other beginning artists on their songs. To
listen to him on Apple Music, go to this link:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/mvm/375065084​. If you are interested in contacting
Manny Machado, please email him at ​mvmofficialbooking@gmail.com​.