In 2013, I found myself in Denton, TX, the rapidly growing college town that’s roughly 40 miles northwest of Dallas. Home to UNT, TWU, and NCTC, Denton has a unique, organic and independent vibe about itself that can’t be duplicated anywhere else. I was only in Denton to achieve one mission: to party as hard as I can until the sunrise. In the midst of accomplishing this goal every weekend accompanied by endless alcohol, sleepless nights and questionable situations, I met a ton of like minded college students and eccentric residents. Every weekend was a story: some weekends I’ll never forget and other weekends are too difficult to remember. It seemed as if every weekend I spent in Denton, it was always a new group of people to meet and associate with. During that time, I was introduced to the local rap and hip- hop scene. In a short period of time, I was affiliated with a handful of artists that strived to put their town on the map. The deeper I got into the scene, the more I noticed that certain names were consistently floating in the airwaves. One of the names that constantly rang a bell in my ear was Milla Da Mayor. At first, I truly believed that the city of Denton had a mayor named Milla, but I quickly figured out that I was wrong. Shortly after, I discovered that his real name was Marcus Washington. Marcus seemed like a myth to me, like an old urban folklore that the townspeople would bring up in conversation. I never saw his face or anything of that nature . To me, he was a mystery man with a plan to represent the town he loved the most

On September 1, 1984, Marcus was born at Flow Hospital, which is now known as City Park Apartments. He grew up in the Village East Apartments for a short period of time before residing in south east Denton around 6 or 7 years old. “[After moving to south east Denton] the rest is history” he says. Growing up was rough with a single mother, who recently passed away in early October. His father was in his life but was rarely present, considering he was a truck driver and constantly on the go. Along with his two sisters, La’Tasha and La’Tricia, his grandparents played a big role in their lives growing up, they were always there for them by being their backbone and supporting them. The nickname “Milla Da Mayor” was conceived by the thoughts of his friend Pree. Marcus is a socialite, not only does he know a lot of people, he knows a lot of different kinds of people. In conclusion, “ Milla Da Mayor” was fitting to his persona. As he started mentioning his newfound nickname, it eventually stuck with him.

Depending on who you talk to, Milla is one of the head honchos in the Denton’s rap and hip- hop scene and there is truth in that statement. Over the span a few years, I’ve witnessed an abundance of support from Marcus catering to the culture. From promoting and hosting events, even creating platforms to shed light on his hometown music scene and the surrounding area, Marcus has put in a lot of time and hard work to make sure that artists receive the attention that they deserve. With an entourage of close friends and associates by his side, the father of 3 (Jose, Reginae and Pablo) possesses a cool, laid back and humble spirit that makes him approachable, which makes perfect sense as to why he knows so many people.

Initially, Marcus enjoyed the atmosphere and environment that the scene had to offer, although he never seen himself into rapping or music. Attending artist’s shows and posing as their entourage was the beginning of his endeavors. Entrepreneurship creeped in shortly after as he started a brand under the name “Street Hop” with an artist named Renzo. In 2012, he founded Cash & Respect but it didn’t launch until August 2013 with the help of Renzo. At the time, Marcus was attending NCTC for business administration. One of the projects he had to do was to create a business and business plan. He decided that the project was going to be about running a record label and named it Cash & Respect, named after a mixtape that Renzo recently dropped. After he aced the project, the teacher asked him why he wasn’t already doing what he presented. From there, it became the official blueprint for the label. In 2017, he formed Pit Stop Collectives. Since he knew plenty of artists outside of Denton, he formed the collective as a platform for all DFW artists. He felt as if it would go hand in hand with Cash & Respect and it would benefit everyone involved.

Around 2016, I started my short lived career as a rap artist. It was at this point that I was well aware of Milla and the Cash& Respect brand. My twitter was flooded with a handful of Denton locals retweeting Cash & Respect tweets. Around the same time, Marcus came across Tiron and his brand Aeronotiqz, an entertainment and promotion company that caters to the DFW scene by giving artists a chance to shine on stage in front of a large audience. At the time, Marcus was managing Masa Lopez. Masa wanted to do shows in Fort Worth and Dallas, so Marcus reached out to Tiron via Twitter. After attending an Aeronotiqz show and collaborating on another show, Tiron presented a tour to them. Marcus and Masa went along on the tour and have been close associates every since. “ Tiron is one of the realest dudes outside of Denton who have reached out many of times or to collaborate on events to make things better” Marcus says. “ I never felt any funny stuff from dude and he’s running one hell of a brand, plus the events wil only get better and global.”

Milla Da Mayor is always striving to network and build connections world wide, in hopes of building a pipeline for artists and host events nationally and internationally. Recently, he introduced himself to djing and producing. Due to the lack of artists getting their music produced in Denton, he purchased dj equipment to help give an organic boost to the area. Marcus’ ultimate goal is to make a global presence and make a ton of money to support his family and close friends. He has high hopes in striking a distribution deal or work as an A&R for a company while remaining independent with his brand. Marcus is the true definition of “ The Man with a Plan” and I would love to see him reach the peak of his success. I would like to dedicate this article to his mother as she is watching her son flourish in what he loves to do. RIP Momma Milla.