Melo SG Is Brooklyn’s Next Up on His Own Terms

At street level, the Brooklyn borough is where many legends we know and love were born. That’s why it’s probably no surprise that 19-year-old Melo SG took a page out of the Brooklyn playbook to sketch his own line on the borough’s timeline.

Growing up in East New York, Melo SG’s childhood belonged to the sounds of Boot Camp Clik and Buckshot. Like many young artists, Melo was inspired by old-school 50 Cent and newer voices like XXXTentacion and Playboi Carti—but it was Pop Smoke’s evolution from drill to different genres of hip hop that lit the fuse. “Seeing somebody come up from my neighborhood and be as global as he was, was like, yo, we don’t gotta just do drill to get it poppin,” he says. It was a turning point that reshaped how Melo saw his own path, and proof that you could evolve, refine your sound, and still make it big.

Melo SG describes his own music as a kind of UK hood trap, also known as jerk drill. “I found these types of beats and I was trying to get out of the drill-type beats, so I wanted to do something different,” he explains. But it’s not just genre-blending for the sake of aesthetics. Melo anchors his music in instinct rather than formula, as many of his songs begin as a freestyle before he shapes the final sound: “As soon as the beats came on, I just freestyled for like 10 minutes,” he says, after playing a track.

For Melo SG, music is a family affair—and his brother Ray Rav is his most trusted ear. One of his strongest tracks nearly stayed in the vault after Ray, his older brother and fellow artist, dismissed it on first listen. “He just said mad stuff about it, so I dubbed it,” Melo recalls, shelving the song without ever playing it for anyone else. Nine months later, Ray heard the track again and was all in: “He was like, you gotta drop this. This is the one.” Melo scrapped his entire rollout and released the song instead.

“Every story involves my brother,” he points out—a truth that rings throughout the interview. Though they work in different genres, their creative bond runs deep, built on shared ambition, mutual growth, and respect for each other’s craft. Melo describes Ray as a lyrical beast, someone whose talent he admires, but he’s quick to shut down the idea of competition. For him, it was never about being better than one another, but about honoring their individual styles and bringing them together when it made sense. “You exist for what you do, I exist for what I do,” he says, reflecting on their dynamic and their ability to grow side by side without stepping on each other’s paths.

Melo grew up watching Ray Rav in his early days, recording on whatever gear he could get his hands on, “bad mics, bad speakers, bad mixing, all that. I heard his whole growth,” he says. Brotherhood is the backbone of their music, and that early exposure has now turned into a partnership. Now they exchange ideas, mix tracks together, and push each other forward. “I trust him more than anybody on this planet,” Melo says. Ray's fingerprint is on much of Melo's music, but over the years, their dynamic has grown into something more mutual, with Melo now sharing knowledge and insights of his own with his brother.

Still, at 19, Melo SG already moves with the long game in mind and understands that success isn’t about how fast you rise, but about growing into yourself—for yourself as much as for your listeners. With a certain hunger to his sound, the young Brooklyn artist is growing his fanbase and working steadily on pushing out more content to match his ambition. The video for his song “Like Uzi,” released earlier this year, captures that same energy. Shot on impulse during a content run for Ray, it features Melo chasing a handheld camera through the New York backstreets. “Once I did that video, I was like, I really want to start doing more content like this,” he says.

Before the music, Melo SG was the quiet kid who paid attention, stayed sharp, and said little. “I was one of the smartest kids in school,” he says, explaining that while he had friends, he wasn’t naturally outgoing, and being social was something he grew into over time. As the youngest in his household, he spent his early years observing and studying the world around him, but the quietness wasn’t shyness, it was preparation. Certain life experiences brought him to a point where staying quiet was no longer an option, “It took me to the point where it was time for my voice to be heard.”

Another standout track is “Nun Bout Dat,” notable not just for its energy but also for the story behind its production. The beat was made by Knockout, a 12-year-old producer who was only 11 when he created it. Melo first heard the beat on Knockout’s Instagram and immediately took interest. After months of having it stuck in his head, he finally got in the studio with Knockout and recorded the track. The process was quick—he freestyled, recorded the hook on the spot, and released it the same day it was mixed. The final track is punchy and catchy, with lyrics like “It’s that gas, it’s that cash, it’s that poppin’ tags” delivered with bounce, and paired with a video shot with the same unfiltered energy.

With a new song out this week titled “BIA,” Melo SG is continuing to shape his sound on his own terms. “I’m focused on singles right now, just building up the fanbase,” he says. “I want to make more music that truly reflects who I am and what I like to listen to.” And while fans may be anticipating a full project, Melo isn’t rushing it. He’s taking his time, growing his discography and building his career track by track.