Born and raised in Miami, Money Rod was drawn to music at a young age. Money Rod’s mother was his biggest motivation, and he admired her strength as he watched her prevail in the midst of poverty and domestic struggles. Her will to keep pressing forward motivated Money Rod to find his own way to impact others’ lives as positively as she affected his. Creating music became an outlet from life’s darkest moments. The tragic loss of his godbrother — one of his best friends — fueled Money Rod to work even harder to achieve his goals.
What makes you different from other artists?
I really don’t compare myself to other artists. What I can say is special about me is I’ve been doing this for 10 years on my own. Until this point, God gave me everything I needed to get here on my own. I did it myself and learned throughout the entire process, good and bad.
What led you to music?
Honestly, my brother and my cousin led me to music. They were writing and rapping before me. I would always watch them, and that inspired me to do a couple rhymes. Then one of my homeboys forced me to go to the studio. He kept asking me to go, but I never went. By the fifth or sixth time he asked me, I was like let me go to the studio. It gotta be a reason he keeps asking me. I stepped in front of the mic, recorded my first track and I said, “Oh sh– this is what I want to be in life. This is what I want to do.” I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life until I got in that d–n studio. I was pulled into this. It’s fate.
Let’s talk specifically about your latest project. What was the inspiration for it?
Money Power Respect is my latest project. Everyone on this earth has power. No matter what your job or goals are, when you find and invest in your personal power, everything else comes to you. The money and respect follow up the power and everything always comes exactly when it’s supposed to.
Name two of your top role models: one from inside your industry and one from outside of it.
Master P, for sure because he did it on his own. He was independent, he believed in himself, and he built his brand and businesses on his own. He was an entrepreneur. And Donald Trump, because I respect people who always show up as themselves regardless of what everybody else expects from them. And he’s a money man, one of the best businessmen out there.
What is next for you?
There’s no limits. There’s really no telling where you might see Rodney Mcclain or what I might be doing when you see me. You might see me on the big screen or you might see me owning different businesses.
