Which Indie Hip-Hop artists are similar to Mission Man?

Without comparing rhyme skills or creative abilities, Mission Man does have some stylistic similarities to artists like Atmosphere, Sage Francis, Buck 65, Astronaulis, and, to a lesser extent, Dessa and Macklemore. These similarities are mostly based on:

• Introspective, personal lyrics that focus on storytelling
• Songs that span multiple genres, moods and styles
• Melodies and live instruments
• And a majorly DIY spirit due to major labels restricting artists' creative freedom

When did Mission Man start rapping?

1992, in Orlando, FL, on the way to play basketball with his friend, BJ.  BJ told Gary Milholland to rap. Gary said, "I can't rap man." BJ insisted, "Man, just kick a rap," So Gary freestyled for 30 seconds.  He memorized that freestyle, and it became the song, "Inventor," which is the last song on his first album, "Intro To My Mind."  Gary didn't choose the moniker Mission Man until it came time to record that first album, in June of 1996.

Did Mission Man ever try to sign with a major label?

No.  Mission Man had seen too many episodes of Behind The Music on VH1 and never had a desire to sign with a major label.  Major labels had a proven track record of taking away the ability for artists to truly express themselves, and often had a record of taking advantage of artists financially. Mission Man simply loved making music and never really wanted to be truly famous either, as that comes  with a very high price as well.

When did Mission Man start playing instruments?

1998.  Mission Man was recording his second studio album, "Delve Deeper," using a home recording setup that included a Soundblaster Live card in his desktop PC.  At the time, Mission Man was using a Yamaha keyboard to make his beats by pushing a few buttons until he found a beat he liked, changing the key and tempo, and recording that beat, and then recording his vocals on a separate track.  A friend of his named Rob came over to record a heavy metal song on the same equipment, and really struggled with the setup, telling Mission Man, "this isn't working."  Mission Man replied, “It works fine for what I do.” Rob quipped, "It may work for what you do, but it won't work for music." This brutal honesty took Mission Man aback for a moment, but then he realized that Rob was correct, so Mission Man taught himself how to play instruments in order to expand his songwriting capabilities. This meant a major step back in quality and 2-3 albums worth of material that are nearly impossible to get due to that poor quality. In the long run, though, it gave Mission Man a lot more freedom and a never ending challenge to improve his musicianship and songwriting.

How many albums does Mission Man have?

As of July, 2026, Mission Man has 15 studio albums, plus a live album, and a piano improv album. He is currently working on his 16th studio album, entitled "Gary Ferrari" because his legal middle name is Ferrari.  The current album has a much more stripped back feel because after Mission Man toured Europe, he couldn't afford to live on his own, and is staying on a family member's couch while working his way back to independence.  This also means that he doesn't have his usual access to his electric drum set, and he sold one of his electric guitars to help fund his European tour.  His electric hollow body needs a new pickup, so he can only record it using a microphone, further limiting his live instrument capabilities.  So, he's been using his voice for a lot of the musical backing, resulting in a capella hip-hop, acoustic hip-hop, and a more lo-fi sound than usual.

How many instruments does Mission Man play?

Mission Man primarily plays 4 instruments: the drums, bass, guitar, and keyboard.  He's also used his voice for musical backing tracks, some random objects as acoustic elements, and played the saw on one song, as well as the xylophone on another.  He has played the electric violin briefly, but hasn't recorded with it, yet.

How many languages does Mission Man have recorded songs in?

Mission Man has recorded songs in 4 languages.  He's recorded over 220 songs in English, 5 in Spanish, 4 in Italian, and 1 in Portuguese, after a fan of his in Portugal asked him to translate one of his songs into Portuguese. His song, "Playing a Little Basketball" is available in English, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.

Where has Mission Man performed?

Mission Man has performed in 18 US states, and 9 European countries. Specific cities in Europe and the UK include Milan, Reggio-Emilia, Como Lago, Dublin (Dun Laoghire), Galway, Swansea, London, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Berlin, Winterthur (Switzerland) and Vienna. 

US states include Ohio (his home state), Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, West Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, California, and one other. 

You can see Mission Man tour dates at BandsInTown.com/missionman

What are some of Mission Man's earliest influences?

The first hip-hop album that Mission Man bought was "Low End Theory," by A Tribe Called Quest, on cassette.  In addition to A Tribe Called Quest, Mission Man's earliest hip hop influences were Will Smith, De La Soul, Outkast, the Beastie Boys, House of Pain, and others.

What Mission Man songs should I listen to first?

"Playing a Little Basketball" is probably the best song to start with.  It's from Mission Man's first album, "Intro To My Mind," and is still probably his most popular song.  From there, I'd watch either the Top 10 Mission Man Videos on YouTube, or the Official Music Video playlist, or the Mission Man Best of playlist, depending on how much time you have.

How fast can Mission Man rap?

There's a funny video of Mission Man attempting to rap at 230 BPM.  He hits a top speed of about 12 syllables per second in the video, but it isn't really a song at that point, even though he sped up the beat for "Playing a Little Basketball" to 230 BPM and rapped along with it.  It was more of an experiment than anything else.

Where is Mission Man from?

Mission Man was born in Dayton, Ohio, and spent most of his life in Oxford, Ohio, from the time he was 5 until he was 35, except for 2 years in Orlando in high school, where he first started rapping, and a year in Chicago as an adult.  He has since spent 5 years in Cincinnati and 6 years in North Carolina.

How can I support Mission Man?

There are multiple ways to help Mission Man make a living from his music.  Here are some options, some of which are free:

• subscribe to Mission Man's YouTube channel, and watch a bunch of his videos, sharing, liking and commenting on your favorite videos, which helps persuade YouTube's algorithm to push Mission Man's videos to new fans 
• add Mission Man's music to your playlists on your favorite streaming services: Mission Man gets about 3/10 of a penny for every stream on average, so 350 streams earns about 1 USD for Mission Man, and 350,000 streams per month would pay his rent
• buy Mission Man's music on Bandcamp, whether it's a song for $1 or his complete discography for $33.35. Bandcamp keeps a percentage, but Mission Man does keep the vast majority of the sale
• leave a tip at missionman.net/tip
• buy merch at missionman.net/store

Is Mission Man still touring?

Mission Man will tour again, but after adding about $9,000 in credit card debt from touring Europe, he is now recovering financially.  Once his finances have stabilized a bit more, Mission Man will tour again.