Just as Young Miko and her team, which includes Mariana López Crespo — her best friend and manager — and her longtime producer Mauro (López Crespo’s brother) were getting her career off the ground in 2019, they decided to launch 1K.
Described as a creative collective, 1K is something the Puerto Rican hitmaker is most proud of and hopes that it one day, it can become an empire. “Think Death Row Records,” she explained in her Billboard cover story.
Today, the collective is comprised of nearly 20 individuals who are all also part of Miko’s team. “I don’t want to eat alone at the table,” she said. “We’re very passionate about growing 1K by signing and investing in new artists and content creators. We’re all in it to learn, grow and help others.” Young Miko even has 1K tattooed on her hand, which she shows off proudly.
The intention of the collective, the “Rookie of the Year” singer explained, is for everyone who is part of the group to build their own empires while still contributing to each other’s projects. “We are musicians, creatives, producers, executives, and we want to support other projects – in music or beyond – that excite us from other artists that have a future,” Miko said.
“I am super proud of every member of our collective,” Mauro, who started producing for Young Miko in 2020, added. “We’ve built this from the ground up and we all contribute ideas, even outside of our area. My role is to produce, but I go to the team and talk to them about visual effects, and they take it into account. Sometimes they accept my suggestions and sometimes not. We’re allowed to explore other areas of creativity and that’s important.”
Furthermore, the collective aims to create safe spaces for each team member and future collaborators who join the group. It’s something that, even onstage, Young Miko makes sure to remind her fans. “I decide who can enter this space that is so vulnerable,” she said during the last show of her XOXO U.S. Tour earlier in September. “Your heart and space are in your hands; nobody should have any type of control over you.”
Read Young Miko’s Billboard cover story here.
Young Miko will speak at the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Week, taking place Oct. 14-18 in Miami. For tickets and details, visit BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com.
