Raw Lyricism and Crafting Edge: A Conversation with The Holdup

The Holdup is the project of writer, producer, and performer Michael Garmany. 

When I ask Mike what inspires him to be so vulnerable with his lyricism, he responded: 

“Talking about how I feel is very cathartic. I’m a very verbal person. I don’t carry a lot of shame with my own psychological and emotional struggles. It’s a feedback loop: It makes other people feel good when you say things that they’re maybe a little shy to talk about and it validates them, which validates me.” 

A a unique marriage of pop, reggae, and R&B, The Holdup offers more than just vibes—He brings a rare authenticity to the stage. The result: rhythms that stick to the brain and lyrics that enter the veins. With each chorus break, I fall deeper into the artist’s inner world of self discovery, love, and angst. 

Artists such as Third Eye Blind, Smash Mouth, and Oasis watered his passion for lyricism at a young age. And as Mike grew older, Canadian rapper Drake demonstrated how he could implement his own life experiences into music:

“When [Drake] came out, I was like, oh, I can talk about how much everything sucks, but I can kind of brag about it. It was a new perspective.” 

Mike tells me he only writes what feels authentic to him, but that this hasn’t always looked the same. When he first started making music, he was younger and more reckless. His experiences supplied an entertaining level of immaturity for the music, but as he’s grown up and become sober, he’s finding ways to remain genuine, but with a similar edge as before. 

“There's probably some part of me that still wants to be perceived as cool, but in a different way. Cool is just having your shit together, just, like, really getting to know yourself and, like, having a sense of peace and wisdom and confidence because of those things.”

The Holdup’s eight new songs out on Spotify now both tease his upcoming album, I OWE THE IRS 60K DOLLARS, and demonstrate his unique capacity for balancing a certain edginess with themes of personal growth. One of my personal favorites of the new tracks is “PUSSY OR GOD,” in which he explores themes of impulsivity and searching for something greater than the carnal. 

“I like that one just because it has the best vibe. In that one I feel like I talked about something that would otherwise be kind of be boring, but I found an edgy, semi-immature way to say it.” 

At the San Luis Obispo stop of his most recent tour, I had the pleasure of seeing The Holdup live, and his comfortability truly shines on stage. The audience not only gets to enjoy the music—they get to know him as well. The communal feeling amongst the crowd makes for an all-the-more-impactful performance. He’s honest about his at-times-strained relationship with music and how he’s relearning to embrace sound rather than look for commerciality. 

As The Holdup finishes up touring in April, we can anticipate the release of his eighth album I OWE THE IRS 60K DOLLARS, along with re-recordings of 20 of his most popular songs.

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Julia White is our Editor-in-Chief. She conducted the interview and wrote the article. Kirk Cedric is the tour photographer of The Holdup. He took the photos. Layla Bilal is on our Art Team. She made the graphics.