Growing up on the west side of Montgomery in Gibbs Village and surrounding neighborhoods, Leverdis “Moneybabiii” Mack had lyrical dreams leading him to a better path.

“I had a lot of problems,” he said. “They told me to start doing different things to ease my anger. Writing poetry was part of that.”

It grew up adding rhythms to her words, listening to and learning from older guys rapping in her neighborhood.

“I’ve been in love with it ever since,” Moneybabiii said.

Since 2018, Moneybabiii has stated that he takes his music seriously and learns the game behind the music industry so that he can more easily rely on himself.

Moneybabiii has a production company called EyevisionzFilm. He also has a new album project in the works titled Impulsive Behavior, which is slated for release on August 1.

“I feel like that represents what this game is,” Moneybabiii said. “Everything you do in this game is time sensitive and you have to act on impulse. Some are bad decisions. Others are good. But that’s the nature of the game.”

With the goal of becoming a mainstream artist, Moneybabiii said what sets him apart musically is his versatility.

“In the north, artists are known for their penchant for lyrics, but I also like to promote myself as lyrical,” Moneybabiii said. “My favorite type of music is real music, talking about things that I go through. Talking about the emotions that I feel. A lot of people get away from actually talking about their emotions. We’re all in it. We all go through them.”

Its autonomy pushes it forward. Moneybabiii records himself, and has learned to shoot and edit his own music videos. But he also works with other artists from the region.

“I work with different DJs in Georgia, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and here,” he said. “I partnered up with LiveMixtapes, Dj Killswitch (Montgomery coalition djs), Dj Dillieon (Birmingham 95.7). And I also worked on partnering with Raymond Daniels SVP A&R from Warner Records. “

He just signed a distribution agreement with livemixtape.com.

At the same time as he pushes himself, he also pushes his new label Smurfgang Music Group. He established it in Prattville and Moneybabiii said his biggest dream was to make it into a major operation. He is currently looking to build a building there.

“There is so much talent here that is really being overlooked because we have no outlet,” Moneybabiii said.

SMG is also the name of his band and his clothing line. He said the two were growing daily.

“My plan is to expand SMG globally,” Moneybabiii said.

On the live performance side, Moneybabiii is present but said it has slowed down a lot around Montgomery. He recently performed five days at Black Beach Weekend in Biloxi, Mississippi, and he has an upcoming show in Atlanta.

“I’m also working on booking shows in Florida,” he said.

Moneybabiii is also a father, with a 7 year old son and a 4 year old daughter. He said the two are already showing talent.

“They both love music,” Moneybabiii said. “I have a studio set up in my house, and when I get there they’re there with me. My son, he’s already showing interest in the engineering side of playing music.”

Follow him on Facebook @MoneyBabiii and Instagram @ moneybabiii100. His YouTube channel is Moneybabiii Official.

Contact reporter Shannon Heupel of Montgomery Advertiser at sheupel@gannett.com.