Today we’d like to introduce you to Martone The Emperor of House Music.
Martone, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story began early. I grew up in Lansing, Michigan, and by age 13 I was producing and hosting Video Control, a music video show that aired for more than a decade. That era shaped everything — interviewing artists like Will Smith, Queen Latifah, and En Vogue taught me the value of vision, preparation, and creating opportunities when none exist.
I’ve worn many creative hats over the years — television host, radio personality, producer, recording artist, author, and entrepreneur. IRMIX Radio became a global platform, but eventually I felt a shift. I stepped away from radio to focus on the two things that allow me to express myself most fully: music and writing.
In April 2025, my book Deep & Raw: The Erotica of Martone became a best seller — a defining moment in my career as an author. I also released The Evolution of Martone — 10th Anniversary Edition, a celebration of my journey in dance and house music. My single Chocolate (Drumapella Mix) was under consideration for Best Remixed Single, and although it didn’t receive a nomination, the recognition meant something. And while I didn’t win Album of the Year at the 2025 Josie Music Awards, the nomination itself reinforced that my work continues to make an impact.
I started laying the foundations for my upcoming album, Phoenix Rising: The Emperor’s Ascension, about a year ago. I had plans for a major November rollout — including the next wave of singles like Too Bad, So Sad, featuring Intelligent Diva, and EKSTASÉ, which had already been postponed more than once.
I was scheduled to go into the studio on October 25, 2025 to finally record EKSTASÉ, but the night before changed everything. My entire world shifted in a matter of hours — plans, timelines, expectations, all of it. I thought I was preparing for another release. Instead, I was preparing for a moment that would redefine the rest of my year and reshape the album itself.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth? No. Nothing about my journey has been smooth — especially this past year. I started laying the groundwork for Phoenix Rising: The Emperor’s Ascension about a year ago, and the original plan was for a summer 2025 release. I was preparing multiple projects at once — two additional books, Spanish and French translations for Deep & Raw, new singles, visuals, and a full rollout for the second half of the year. Everything was moving. Everything was in motion.
In April 2025, my book Deep & Raw: The Erotica of Martone became a best seller — and that same month, someone I trusted stole my car while pretending to help repair it. In May, I went through a divorce. Then, for six months, my book was suppressed, unsearchable, and pushed out of the charts despite the demand. I watched something I created with so much honesty be buried by systems I couldn’t control.
Still, I kept preparing. I pushed forward with my music. I was scheduled to go into the studio on October 25th to record EKSTASÉ. By that point, the delays were frustrating, but the momentum was still there. I was still moving.
Then, on October 24, 2025, everything changed. I got the call that my mother had passed away, and my entire world stopped. Every timeline. Every plan. Every release date. Everything I thought I was building toward suddenly felt distant and irrelevant. The loss rearranged my life in an instant, and I’m still learning how to carry it.
But even through all of this — the betrayal, the heartbreak, the suppression, the grief — there was still a flicker of light. In early November, without any promotion or push, Deep & Raw rose back to the top of the charts on its own. After six months of being silenced, it resurfaced — almost defiantly — like it refused to stay buried.
So no, my journey has not been smooth. But it has been real.
It has been painful, transformative, revealing, and strangely hopeful.
Every challenge forced clarity. Every disruption stripped away what wasn’t meant for this next chapter.
My road isn’t smooth —
it’s raw, it’s honest, and it’s preparing me for the rise I started building long before the fire came.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an artist who creates across multiple mediums — music, literature, visuals, and storytelling. I specialize in weaving truth through everything I touch, whether it’s a house track, a poem, an essay, or a conceptual photo. My work sits at the intersection of sensuality, identity, healing, grief, and liberation.
I’m known for my speak-singing style, my honesty, and the emotional layers I bring to dance and house music. I create with intention, not trend. Every project I release has a world inside it.
This year, I’m most proud of Deep & Raw: The Erotica of Martone, which became a best seller in April 2025 (https://a.co/d/2zYFtew)— and then rose again in November after six months of censorship and suppression. The fact that it resurfaced on its own speaks louder than any campaign ever could.
I’m also proud of the groundwork I laid for my upcoming album, Phoenix Rising: The Emperor’s Ascension, long before life shifted beneath my feet. The music I’m making now carries the weight of everything I’ve lived through this year — the beauty, the heartbreak, the loss, and the resurgence.
What sets me apart is that I’m independent by choice. I build my own platforms. I document my own truth. I don’t create from a place of fear or convenience — I create from lived experience. I’m not interested in chasing algorithms or formulas. I’m interested in impact, legacy, and honesty.
My work isn’t just entertainment.
It’s testimony.
It’s survival.
It’s transformation.
And it’s a reminder that no matter what life takes from me, I will always rise — in my art and in myself.
How do you think about luck?
If there was really such a thing as luck, then 2025 would definitely prove that I don’t have any — he laughs. This year has shown me that life doesn’t move because of luck; it moves because of timing, truth, and the ability to keep going even when everything around you is falling apart.
On paper, you could say I had “bad luck” — a car stolen by someone I trusted, a divorce, career delays, the sudden suppression of my book for six months, and the loss of my mother on October 24th. But I don’t frame my life through good luck or bad luck. That reduces real experiences into something random. And nothing about this year was random.
What I do believe in is alignment, resilience, and purpose.
My book, Deep & Raw, was held down and made unsearchable, but it rose back to the top of the charts in November 2025 without a single ad or push. That’s not luck — that’s truth refusing to stay buried. My music is evolving in a way it never has before. My perspective is clearer. My foundation is stronger. And every setback forced me into another level of authenticity.
So no — luck hasn’t played a role in my life or my business.
What has shaped me is clarity.
Discipline.
Survival.
Grace.
And the decision to rise every time the world tries to break me.
Luck is passive.
I am not.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://martoneonline.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/therealmartone
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealmartone
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRealMartone
- Other: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/martone/1127153006
