We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrew (Drew) Ochran and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Andrew (Drew), what is the most important factor behind your success?
I think the most important factor behind my own success; if you want to call it that, and the success of Mighty Gang, is the fact that we don’t get complacent. We celebrate success with more work! Just 2 months ago Haviah Mighty won the JUNO award for Best Rap Album of The Year in a stacked category with Toronto heaters Smiley, NorthsideBenji, Pressa, Belly and Nav. The afterparty was lit… but I was with Haviah in the studio the next day while she was recording her Churchill Downs freestyle and other records for what she has coming up. I feel like that type of work ethic is what embodies us at Mighty Gang and this level of work just has to be rewarded, eventually.
Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
At Mighty Gang, we pride ourselves on the fact that we are a team made of up people, with multiple skills that we share to create some of the DOPEST music, and visual art coming out of Toronto, Canada. We are a music label, production company, branding firm, choreography company, photography & videography team etc etc. the point I’m trying to make is that we all bring different skills and gifts to the table, and we share them to make magic.
It has taken a lot of grit and grind for Mighty Gang to get to where we are now. Coming out of Toronto, there is an expectation on the way the music should sound, and look, especially where hip hop/RnB are concerned. Haviah Mighty & Omega Mighty are pushing those boundaries daily, but it’s not easy. I look at it like ,”this is the reason why we have these crazy work weeks of full day photo/video shoots, followed by performances, over to the studio, many times with very little sleep. We are doing this because we have to outwork the competition, because they aren’t going to give us anything.”
One thing I have definitely learned along the way is that you pretty much always get whatever you put into a situation. By that I mean, if you work hard at something, and put it the most amount of effort, you are much more likely to be rewarded. If you don’t try your hardest, or put in the minimum… then the minimum is what you should expect.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First place you have to go is downtown Toronto right away! Of course to see the CN Tower because, you got to, but also because if you want to eat good, there are multiple areas and cultural hotspots in the city. We’d probably have to stop in Kensington Market first because there will definitely be some dope Afro/Caribbean food spots to grab jerk chicken, or plantain from. After eating here there’s shops everywhere to get the flyest gear anywhere.
If it’s your first time in Toronto you have to do the full CN tower tour experience. The ride up the exterior facing elevator up to the top of the tower overlooking the entire city will be scary if your afraid of heights… but you still have to do it! If you’re really brave you can do the full skywalk outside, but you won’t get no pics like Drake did for his Views album… only the GOAT gets that, haha!
Since it will obviously be summertime we’d have to watch a Toronto Raptors game either inside the Scotiabank Arena, or outside in Jurrasic Park, which is the fan square where you see the greatest NBA fans in the league going crazy for every game.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I definitely want to send a shoutout to 2 people! First to my wife Omega Mighty because she is the hardest working person I know, and she pushes me to strive for greatness in whatever it is I’m doing. Second I’d like to send a shoutout to my management twin Christina Cassaro. She has given me lots of insight into the world of artist management over the years, along with creating opportunities for me to shine… plus she’s my birthday twin! Shoutout to 2 BOSS Ladies!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mightydrew99/?hl=en
Image Credits
Flee Normality